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Fernando Sottomayor

Fernando Gomes Sottomayor

An officer of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Ribeira das Naus on 25 April 1974 he refused Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis’s order to fire on Salgueiro Maia, and was placed under arrest for it.

Revolutionofficer of the 7th Cavalry Regimentrefused to fire on Salgueiro Maia on 25 April 1974
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Biography

Fernando Gomes Sottomayor was an officer of the 7th Cavalry Regiment.3 On the morning of 25 April 1974 he was in command of the two M47 tanks that Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis, at the head of the forces loyal to the government, sent forward along Avenida da Ribeira das Naus against the column of Salgueiro Maia.21

When Maia came forward with a white handkerchief, the brigadier ordered Sottomayor to open fire on him. Sottomayor refused and was immediately placed under arrest. The tank gunners refused too, and the troops and the tanks ended up going over to the side of the MFA.21

Notes on the sources2
  • His rank: officer cadet (aspirante), according to the 25 April Association and the Commemorative Commission for the 50th Anniversary of 25 April; conscript second lieutenant (alferes miliciano), according to the chronology by Jofre Alves, which gives his full name; “Second Lieutenant Sottomayor” (o alferes Sottomayor), according to the gun-layer corporal José Alves Costa speaking to Correio da Manhã (2014).
  • His dates of birth and death, and what happened to him after 25 April. The register of Honorary Orders has a “Sottomayor, Fernando Carlos Cerqueira Gomes (Tenente)”, Grand Officer of the Order of Liberty on 26 February 2021 — perhaps him, but this has not been confirmed.

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Sources4
  1. 1Operação Viragem Histórica. Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
  2. 2Movimentações do dia 25 de Abril. Associação 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
  3. 3Cronologia do 25 de Abril, por Jofre Alves (blogue Abril de Novo, 2010), na Biblioteca Digital do CD25A. Centro de Documentação 25 de Abril – Universidade de Coimbra — consulted on 2 October 2026
  4. 4O «rapaz do tanque» que recusou disparar no 25 de Abril. Correio da Manhã, 2014 — consulted on 4 October 2026O cabo apontador José Alves Costa explica que não disparou porque «o comandante do carro, o alferes Sottomayor, deu ordens para ninguém fazer fogo».

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