Domingo Laín

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Domingo Laín Sáenz (Paniza, Zaragoza; 1940 – Mountains of Colombia; March 22, 1974) was a Spanish priest and ELN guerilla.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Biography

In 1951, at the age of 11, the young Lain entered a minor seminary, where he eventually met Manuel Perez (who would much later become the leader of the ELN) and Jose Antonio Jimenez Comin in 1955. They became friends. In 1959, they entered the major seminary and they were ordained priests in 1965.

In October 1968, José Antonio and Manuel, expelled from the Dominican Republic, arrived and joined Domingo in the Ciénaga de la Virgen neighborhood of Cartagena. They participated in the "Golconda group", which was aligned with the political ideology of Catholic revolutionary Camilo Torres Restrepo.

They were eventually expelled from Colombia, but travelled to France, contacted the ELN in Madrid, and returned in 1969 with fake passports.

In 1970, they joined the National Liberation Army, and 4 years later, Lain fell in combat.[4]

References

  1. 1.Andalán (2012-06-07). "A la búsqueda de Domingo Laín". Andalán.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  2. 2."Cura Pérez, el sacerdote aragonés que luchó y dirigió el Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) de Colombia". Revista La Comuna (in European Spanish). 2018-04-11. Archived from the original on 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  3. 3."CeDeMA". cedema.org. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  4. 4.[4.2]Público (2017-02-08). "La guerrilla de los curas españoles". www.publico.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  5. 5.Clarín, Redacción (1998-04-07). "Murió un histórico líder guerrillero de Colombia". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  6. 6."Historia - El ELN: una guerrilla colombiana tan antigua como las FARC, pero aún beligerante". France 24. 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2026-06-03.