Do you like movies about super-agents who perform secret missions, risking their lives? If so, then you will definitely like this article! Today we learn about the biography of the Spanish spy, who became famous throughout the world. Whereby? Read below.
First meeting
The full name of our hero is Jaime Ramon Mercader del Rio, but this did not stop him from being known as Ramon Ivanovich Lopez. He was a secret agent of Soviet power in Spain. Everyone knows that it is he who is guilty of the death of Leo Trotsky. For this act he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Biography
Ramon Mercader was born in the winter of 1913 in a wealthy family of tycoon who owned a railway in Barcelona. His name was Pau Mercader, and he was a Catalan. The boy’s childhood passed in an incomplete family: he was raised by one mother Caridad, a Cuban by birth. Mother and son did not feel the need, but lived separately in France. In the early 1920s, Ramon moved to Paris.
The future Hero of the Soviet Union Mercader Ramon in his youth was the head of a communist organization (Barcelona). However, his activities were completely contrary to the authorities, so in 1953 the young man was arrested for communist propaganda and imprisoned in Valencia for several months. Later, Ramon Mercader took part in the Spanish Civil War. He was on the side of the Republicans. After some time, the young man became a major. It is known that Ramon took part in the bloody battles near Guadalajara.
Famous thing
Mercader Ramon, whose biography was just beginning to spin in an interesting spiral, turns out to be recruited by the NKVD of the USSR in 1937. This happened thanks to his mother Caridad, who herself was an intelligence agent of the USSR. Soon, Naum Eitingon prepared a man for an important mission - the murder of Leon Trotsky. After he proposed the creation of the “Fourth International” in 1938, he became the most dangerous enemy for the whole country. The Soviet government saw in him a traitor to Marxist ideas. In 1929, Trotsky was expelled from the USSR, and three years later he was deprived of citizenship. Well, perhaps he crossed the line, which was not worth it to cross.
In the fall of 1939, Ramon Mercader leaves for New York with a Canadian passport in the name of F. Jackson. Under this name, he draws closer to S. Ageloff, who was a close friend of Trotsky. Soon, Mercader sent to Mexico City, ostensibly to solve some issues related to doing business. Agent Eitingon helps him all this time. Ramon persuades S. Ageloff to move with him. The surveillance of Trotsky and his family begins.
In the spring of 1940, the agent changes his name and becomes Jacques Mornard. With the help of S. Ageloff, he manages to get acquainted with Trotsky. Leo loves the young man, because he fully supports his personal views. Over time, Ramon is rubbed into Trotsky's trust so much that he can come to him with friendly visits. On august afternoon, Jacques Mornard visits his friend to show a new article. While Trotsky reads the proposed material, Agent Mornar hits him on the head with an ice ax. Ramon Mercader struck from behind and from above, hoping that Trotsky would die quickly and quietly. However, Leo did not lose consciousness, but with shouts attacked his killer. Interestingly, he ordered his guards not to kill Ramon. He was brutally beaten, but left alive. For almost 24 hours, Leon Trotsky lived, and then died from a deep wound, which reached 7 cm.
Arrest
How does a short biography go on? Ramon Mercader ends up at the police station, but refuses to give any evidence. The Soviet newspaper wrote that Trotsky’s killer called himself Jean Morgan Vandendrein - a close friend of the murdered man. For quite some time, Ramon was under investigation. He was often interrogated, trying to achieve the truth. He was also tortured and severely beaten. After some time, having not achieved the desired results, Ramona was transferred to a prison with a milder regime. The trial of a man takes place in Mexico. Mercader is sentenced to 20 years in prison, which was the maximum term under Mexican law.
An agent of the NKVD of the USSR spent 20 years in prison. In 1960, he was released and sent to Cuba, from where he was secretly taken to the USSR. May 31, 1960 Ramon received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded the Golden Star medal and the Order of Lenin. He received all this personally from Alexander Shelepin, the head of the KGB. Ramon received a summer house and a four-room apartment. He soon moved to live in Cuba, where for some time he worked as an adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1978, Ramon Mercader dies of a sarcoma.
Culture
The activities of Ramon Mercader captured in the cinema. In total, four films were dedicated to his act. The first tape "The Assassination of Trotsky" was removed in 1972. The main role in the film was played by Alain Delon. In 1993, the Russian film "Trotsky" was shot, where V. Razbegaev played Mercadera. In 2002, the Americans created the movie "Frida", in which A. Saval Kugler played the main villain. In 2010, a Russian series called “Fights” appeared on television.