Leonardo Ruiz Pineda

Who is Leonardo Ruiz Pineda?

Leonardo Ruiz Pineda, was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician, member and one of the founders of the party Acción Democrática, of which was Secretary General and leader of the clandestine resistance between 1949 to 1952 against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.

Ruiz Pineda was appointed Governor of Táchira in 1946 under Romulo Betancourt, and Minister of Communications in February 1948 in the government of Romulo Gallegos. During the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état he was arrested, and imprisoned for six months. After his release he became Secretary General of Democratic Action in September 1949, succeeding Octavio Lepage, leading the clandestine resistance movement against the military dictatorship. On 21 October 1952 he was assassinated by police in Caracas.