The League of Armed Communists and a Flight to Freedom (… Sort Of)

In the sixties and seventies, Nuevo Leon became a vibrant scene of social mobilizations, with the League of Armed Communists being a prominent protagonist during the dirty war in Mexico. With the aim of establishing a socialist government, they carried out several actions, including the shocking hijacking of flight 705 in Monterrey in 1972. Learn about its history, its objectives and the details of the hijacking.

During the sixties and seventies, the state of Nuevo León stood out as one of the territories with the greatest participation in social mobilizations. In particular, the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL) was the scene of numerous student protests, reaching its peak in 1971 with a significant conflict. This erupted when the university rector decided to modify the organic law, which established the collection of fees, generating strong opposition from the students. Years later, it was from this university that the members of the League of Armed Communists would emerge.

With the purpose of “overthrowing the government to establish a socialist government that would put an end to the bourgeoisie”, and following the principles of Marxism, they organized themselves as an armed group composed of students and interns of the UANL. They carried out a series of actions aimed at achieving their objectives. Undoubtedly, a crucial moment in the history of guerrillas in Mexico was the hijacking of flight 705 in the city of Monterrey.

On the morning of November 8, 1972, at 9:20 AM, three members of the League of Armed Communists, led by Germán Segovia Escobedo, boarded the Boeing 727 of Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, carrying four .38 caliber pistols. On board the plane were more than 100 passengers, including Wesley Parsons, U.S. Consul, and the children of the governor of Nuevo León, Luis M. Farías, along with some prominent businessmen. A few minutes after the flight began, the four men began the hijacking. They neutralized the stewardesses, pointed at the pilots and announced through the microphone that they belonged to the League of Armed Communists. Mass hysteria spread immediately, and the pilots were ordered to transmit their message through the control tower.

The pilots of the plane transmitted the group's demands. They demanded 4 million pesos, arms and ammunition, as well as the release of political prisoners, among them Porfirio Guajardo, Edna Ovalle and Ángel Mejía Núñez, who had been detained in Saltillo. The news spread quickly, spreading like wildfire through radio and television. The media saturated the airport, especially when they learned that the intended destination was Cuba.

However, before heading for the Caribbean territory, they returned to the airport, where they released some passengers and where all their demands were met. Among these demands was the delivery of the money by Juan Urrutia, a police captain known for his reputation as a repressor and torturer of activists. Although their demands were met, more than 70 people, including the pilots, the consul, and the governor's sons, were still being held hostage when the plane took off for Cuba.

They landed at 7:20 p.m. at José Martí airport. Later, the plane returned to the capital with the rest of the passengers, without the members of the League, who were never extradited by the Cuban government. The Federal Security Directorate (DFS) informed that, upon the arrival of the plane, agents of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office took statements from all the crew members and the corresponding investigations were carried out at the homes of the members of the League. Thus ended another episode of guerrilla warfare in Mexico.

Source: Archivo General de la Nación. “La liga de comunistas armados.” gob.mx, https://www.gob.mx/agn/es/articulos/la-liga-de-comunistas-armados?idiom=es. Accessed 4 June 2024.