Who was Pepe Mujica, the man who hid a past stained with blood and violence

This Tuesday José "Pepe" Mujica, the former Uruguayan president and a figurehead of the Latin American left, passed away, and with him goes a figure who, far from being the "wise farmer" we were sold, represented one of the darkest chapters of terrorism in Uruguay.

Before becoming president, Mujica was an active member of the Tupamaros guerrilla group, an organization responsible for multiple acts of armed violence in the 60s and 70s. Far from the image of a "pacifist grandfather," he participated in kidnappings, murders, bank robberies, and bombings.

Among his victims, there was no distinction: military personnel, police officers, civilians, even innocent workers. Mujica was arrested and spent more than a decade in prison, not for thinking differently, but for committing violent crimes against the rule of law.

But the media remains silent. The international progressivism turned him into an icon of "socialism with mate," praising his simple life, his old car, and his speeches full of clichés. What good is living humbly when one's conscience is stained with blood?

As president (2010-2015), Mujica didn't apologize. He showed no sign of remorse for his crimes nor sought reconciliation with the victims of Tupamaro terrorism. On the contrary, he pardoned and protected his old comrades, even those accused of crimes against humanity committed in democracy.

Mujica was also a promoter of the Bolivarian model. He supported dictatorships like Maduro's in Venezuela, defended Fidel Castro, and aligned Uruguay with the worst of continental socialism.

He died today. Meanwhile, his allies bid him farewell as an "ethical reference," thousands of Uruguayans remember the pain and fear he sowed. History can't continue to be written by those who best sell their personal marketing.

Mujica wasn't a hero: he was a terrorist recycled into a president