Huertas, Esteban (1876–1943)
Huertas, Esteban (1876–1943)
Esteban Huertas (b. 1876; d. 1943), Panamanian general and a key figure in the independence of Panama. He was born in Umbita, Boyacá, Colombia, and went into the army at an early age. He was sent to Panama and participated in the War of the Thousand Days, fighting in the province of Coclé. In October 1903 the Colombian government, nervous about the revolutionary activities in Panama, sent the Tiradores battalion, under the command of Generals Juan B. Tobar and Ramón G. Amaya, to relieve Huertas as military commander because they believed that he was conspiring with the revolutionaries. When General Tobar arrived in Panama City with his officers on 3 November, Huertas had them arrested. Once the news of the arrests reached the revolutionaries, they declared for independence. When the army was abolished after independence, Huertas was given the title of Hero of the Fatherland.
See alsoWar of the Thousand Days .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ernesto De Jesús Castillero Reyes, Historia de Panamá, 7th ed. (1962).
Jorge Conte Porras, Diccionario biográfico ilustrado de Panamá, 2d ed. (1986).
Additional Bibliography
Beluche, Olmedo. La verdadera historia de la separación de 1903: Reflexiones en torno al centenario. Panama: ARTICSA, 2003.
Santos Molano, Enrique. 1903, adiós Panamá: Colombia ante el Destino Manifiesto. Bogotá: Villegas Editores, 2004.
Juan Manuel PÉrez