Venancio Roberto

Who is Venancio Roberto?

Venancio Roberto was a resident of Hagåtña, Guam who briefly seized the office of Commissioner of Guam from December 31, 1898 to January 2, 1899 before his rule was declared illegitimate by Lieutenant Commander Vincendon Cottman of the USS Brutus. In 1898, Roberto overthrew José Sisto, and was put in office by a military junta composed of a number of district leaders from around the island; only two days later, the United States Navy decided that Sisto held the legitimate claim to the office, despite Roberto's generally more pro-United States leanings. The coalition, which included local leader Father José Palomo y Torres and former governor Francisco Portusach Martínez, stepped aside until the ownership of Guam could be determined.