Published at: 03/04/2024 09:00 PM

• At 8:15 in the evening, on March 28, 1967, José Agustín Petit Colina, 29, was arrested along with his friend José Amaro, while they were working with a corn pile he had in his house, located on 17th Street, between Carreras 1 and 2 in Pueblo Nuevo, Barquisimeto in the state of Lara.
• Four heavily armed SIFA officials arrived at the site, in a jeep. After searching the place, they were taken into custody. Later, while the vehicle was still moving, José Amaro was thrown in the middle of the road, under threats of stopping him again if he turned around to see the vehicle fleeing.
• In view of the persistent complaints made by his mother, Sixta Colina, to President Raúl Leoni, the Attorney General of the Republic, Antonio José Losada, sent him a communication dated May 23, 1967, in which he reported “Regarding the arrest of his son, it was carried out by 4 SIFA officials on 17-3-67 in Pueblo Nuevo because he was requested by an alleged collaborator and contact of armed groups operating in the state of Yaracuy.”
• Subsequently, the Attorney General of the Republic made every possible attempt to remove the letter he initially handed them, arguing that the missing person had been kidnapped by members of the Communist Party.
• Sixta del Carmen Colina de Petit died at 97 and spent half her life searching for her son. During the search, she, along with her widow and family members, visited almost all the jails and guerrilla camps in the country, and all their efforts to find him were unsuccessful.
• They also went to the offices of the First Lady of the Republic, Menca de Leoni, to request her support. Where they were treated by a private secretary to get out of the way.
• José Agustín “Tin” was the fourth member of the Petit family to be assassinated by the State Security Corps in the 1960s. A day earlier, on March 27, 1967, Leonel Petit Vásquez, his first cousin, was arrested and shot in Apartaderos, Cojedes state. His cousin, Edmundo Hernández, was murdered in La Victoria Massacre (June 3, 1972) and the latter's wife, Dilia Royas, was shot down in La Massacre de Yumare (May 8, 1986).
• Following the kidnapping of José Agustín, the weekly newspaper Nueva Voz Popular publicly called on President Leoni to also give reason about other missing persons such as: Donato Carmona, Víctor Ramón Soto Rojas, the brothers Alberto and Salvador Pasquier, Alejandro Tejero, Navarro Laurens, César Burguillos and an extensive list. The only answer was official silence.

Biographical profile of a revolutionary:

• José Agustín Petit Colina “Tin” was born in Bariquí, Falcón state, on August 26, 1936, he was the brother of Amado Petit Colina and the first cousin of Mario Petit Vásquez. His parents were Sixta Colina and Amado Petit.
• Following the example of his first cousin, Mario Petit Vásquez, who died in combat in March 1962, and his brother Amado Antonio Petit Colina, who died on May 16 of that same year, he dedicated himself to organizing the fronts of struggle between the peasant communities of the Aroa Valleys, becoming a regional leader of the PCV.
• The guerrilla detachments had in José Agustín a bold courier and supplier of supplies, who moved swiftly between enemy lines.
• By the time the José Leonardo Chirinos Column was heading to Los Andes, José Agustín and his team of collaborators were carrying out supply and logistics tasks. More than 50 guerrilla fighters were supplied with food, boots and uniforms.
• It is presumed that his remains rest, along with other comrades, in the area of Manzanita, where the army had an outpost, like “Tent of Truth: If you don't report, you're a dead man”.
• Other information points to more precise data, always in the Manzanita sector, where it is presumed that his remains were buried in a ravine east of Sabana de Parra, Yaracuy state.
• From a very young age, José Agustín formed a home with Delia Lugo, from whose union six children were born, aged between 4 and 12 years.

Mazo News Team