Assassination of José Calvo Sotelo

The assassination of José Calvo Sotelo took place in Madrid, Spain, in the early hours of Monday, 13 July 1936, during the Second Spanish Republic. A group comprising Assault Guards and socialist militia members, led by a Civil Guard captain in civilian clothes, arrived at Calvo Sotelo's home under the pretext of escorting him to the General Directorate of Security (Dirección General de Seguridad, DGS). During the journey, socialist militant Luis Cuenca Estevas shot him twice in the back of the head and later delivered the body to the Almudena Cemetery morgue. The murder was in retaliation for the killing of Lieutenant Castillo of the Assault Guard, a Socialist sympathizer and militia trainer, earlier that day. Calvo Sotelo, a prominent monarchist and opposition leader, became the most significant and final high-profile victim of the political violence that surged following the Popular Front's victory in the February 1936 elections, which resulted in 384 deaths (111 by leftists, 122 by rightists—61 by Falangists—and 84 by security forces).

The assassination caused widespread shock, not only due to Calvo Sotelo’s political stature but also because the perpetrators included state security personnel and Socialist militants, one of whom was the bodyguard of PSOE leader Indalecio Prieto. Civil Guard Captain Condés, who led the group, was also linked to the PSOE. The Popular Front government, under Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga and President Manuel Azaña, did not respond decisively, further intensifying public outrage.

The event accelerated the military conspiracy against the Republic, which had been developing under General Mola since April. Calvo Sotelo’s murder swayed many hesitant officers to join the planned uprising, which began four days later with the failed coup of 17 July 1936, sparking the Spanish Civil War. Following the Nationalist victory, the Franco regime declared Calvo Sotelo a “protomartyr” of the so-called "Liberation Crusade". Monuments were erected in his honor, including a major one in Madrid’s Plaza de Castilla, inaugurated by Franco in 1960. Streets and squares across Spain bore his name, and a state-owned enterprise established in 1942 was named after him.

Socialist Julián Zugazagoitia later wrote that Calvo Sotelo had become the leading civilian figure of the monarchist cause, admired for his intellect and leadership, and trusted by monarchists and much of the conservative CEDA bloc.