Ramon Mercader: killer or hero?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Do you like films about super agents who carry out secret missions, risking their lives? If yes, then you will definitely like this article! Today we will learn about the biography of the Spanish spy, who became famous throughout the world. Whereby? Read below.

First meeting

The full name of our hero is Jaime Ramon Mercader del Rio, but this did not stop him from being known as Ramon Ivanovich Lopez. He was a secret agent of the Soviet government in Spain. Everyone knows that it was he who was responsible for the death of Leon Trotsky. For this act, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Biography

Ramon Mercader was born in the winter of 1913 in a we althy family of a magnate who owned a railway in Barcelona. His name was Pau Mercader and he was a Catalan. The boy's childhood passed in an incomplete family: he was raised by one mother Caridad, a Cuban by birth. Mother and son did not feel the need, but lived separately in France. In the early 1920s, Ramon moved to Paris.

Future Hero of the Soviet Union Mercader Ramon in his youth was the head of a communist organization (Barcelona). However, his activities were completely contrary to the authorities, so in 1953 the young man was arrested forcommunist propaganda and was imprisoned in Valencia for several months. Ramon Mercader later took part in the Spanish Civil War. He was on the Republican side. After a while, the young man became a major. It is known that Ramon took part in the bloody battles near Guadalajara.

Famous case

Mercader Ramon, whose biography was just beginning to spin into an interesting spiral, was recruited by the NKVD of the USSR in 1937. This happened thanks to his mother Caridad, who herself was an intelligence agent of the USSR. Soon Naum Eitingon prepared a man for an important mission - the assassination of Leon Trotsky. After he proposed the creation of the "Fourth International" in 1938, he became the most dangerous enemy for the whole country. The Soviet government saw him as a traitor to Marxist ideas. In 1929, Trotsky was expelled from the USSR, and three years later he was deprived of his citizenship. Well, maybe he crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed.

In the fall of 1939, Ramon Mercader leaves for New York with a Canadian passport in the name of F. Jackson. Under this name, he becomes close to S. Ageloff, who was a close friend of Trotsky. Soon Mercader is sent to Mexico City, ostensibly to resolve some issues related to doing business. All this time, Agent Eitingon helps him. Ramon persuades S. Ageloff to move in with him. Spying on Trotsky and his family begins.

In the spring of 1940, the agent changes his name and becomes Jacques Mornard. With the help of S. Ageloff, he manages to get to know Trotsky. lionthe young man is to his liking, because he fully supports his personal views. Over time, Ramon rubs himself into the confidence of Trotsky so much that he can come to him on friendly visits. On an August afternoon, Jacques Mornard visits his friend to show him a new article. While Trotsky is reading the proposed material, Agent Mornar hits him on the head with an ice pick. Ramon Mercader struck from behind and from above, hoping that Trotsky would die quickly and quietly. However, Leo did not lose consciousness, but with screams he attacked his killer. Interestingly, while doing so, he ordered his guards not to kill Ramon. He was severely beaten, but left alive. For almost 24 hours, Leon Trotsky lived, and then died from a deep wound, which reached 7 cm.

Arrest

How does the short biography continue? Ramon Mercader ends up at the police station but refuses to give any evidence. A Soviet newspaper wrote that the murderer of Trotsky called himself Jean Morgan Vandendrein, a close friend of the murdered man. Ramon was under investigation for quite a long time. He was often interrogated, trying to get the truth. He was also subjected to torture and severe beatings. After some time, not having achieved the desired results, Ramon is transferred to a prison with a milder regime. The trial of a man takes place in Mexico. Mercader is being sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum term under Mexican law.

An agent of the NKVD of the USSR spent 20 years in prison. In 1960 he was released and sentto Cuba, from where they were secretly delivered to the USSR. May 31, 1960 Ramon received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin. He received all this personally from Alexander Shelepin, the head of the KGB. Ramon received a dacha and a four-room apartment. Soon he moved to live in Cuba, where he worked for some time as an adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1978, Ramon Mercader dies of a sarcoma.

Culture

The activities of Ramon Mercader are captured in cinema. In total, four films were made dedicated to his act. The first film, The Assassination of Trotsky, was filmed in 1972. Alain Delon played the main role in the film. In 1993, the Russian film "Trotsky" was shot, where Mercader was played by V. Razbegaev. In 2002, the Americans created the movie Frida, in which A. Savala Kugler played the main villain. In 2010, a Russian TV series called "Fights" appeared on television.