The Washington herald., 1922-06-06
FORMER DICTATOR
OF VENEZUELA NOW
LIVING in POVERTY
General Cipriona Castro,
''The Wolf" In Humble
Circumstances.

SAN JUAN. Porto Rico. June s.
Gen. Cipriana Castro, former dicta-
tor of Venezuela. is living in San
Juan in poverty.
None of the glories Of his past
hang about the little wooden build
ing in a side street of Santurce. a
suburb, which houses The Wolf of
Venezuela" who. for so many years.
held the power OF life and death
with an absolutism more complete
than the Cars over the people ST.
mon Bolivar set free.
But despite his humble circum-
stances, Castro is said to dream still
of the day when he may return to
Venezuela and rule. AS a conse-
quence, secret agents of Gen. Juan
Vicente Gomez. present President
of Venezuela. are reported to keep
a constant watch on the movements
of Castro.
Houses Alike.
When the United Press correspon-
dent called on Gen. Castro, he was
directed to a modest street of small
wooden houses. all built alike. So
| much alike, in fact. that the CORE
spondent got into the wrong house
twice before locating the right one
| Gen. Castro was awaiting him
restlessly. pacing the little front
porch, with head bent and arms
clasped behind his back. after the
manner of pictures of Napoleon al
St. Helena. His feet were encased
in ancient carpet slippers and he
wore travellers cap.
Ushered into the little parlor OF
the home by the former dictator. the
correspondent saw a house such as
would be occupied by a poor family
in the United States. The wooden
walls of the parlor were unpapered
| and the floor bare of rug or carpet
An upright piano. somewhat ancient,
its veneer blistered and Clipped as
IL it had been in a fire; a small
plain table and four modest chairs
comprised the furniture Of the room
Bedroom Unpapered.
An open door leading from the
parlor revealed the generals bed
room beyond. which. like the par
| Tor, was unpapered and bare OF
floor. A small iron bed. a chair and
a dresser completed the furnish
ings.
| But IL Gen. Castro has lost his
political power and the 25.000.00C
bolivars he is reported to have had
on deposit in Europe when he lief,
Venezuela, he has lost none of the
fire and spirit which brought him
dictatorship in his own country.
| He is a small man. scarcely more
than five feet tall and is beginninc
to show signs of age. But his eyes
can still light with the old fire and
something of the dominant attitude
of the old days comes back when he
discussed the situation of his coun-
try today in Spanish as staccato as
a machine-gun.
seized Refns Of Power.
Don Cipriano Castro. whose blood
Is said to be half Indian. seized the
reins of power in Venezuela in the
late nineties. By ruling with a roc
| of iron, which meant ruthless i'm.
prisonment of his political enemies
he held the country for many years
Sixteen years ago he was compelled
to so to Europe for his health, leav.
ing the Venezuelan government un-
der control of Juan Vincente Gomez
his principal lieutenanS, Durina
Castro's absence. the Gomez faction
became dominant and Castro. on his
return. was forbidden to land In
his own country.
Since then he has wandered about
the earth. literally a man without
a country. For a time he lived n
Madrid but nine years ago, in 1913
he attempted to enter the United
States. He was permitted to land
under bond. but two months latel
his appeal for the right of perma.
| nent residence was denied by the
United States courts and he wa.
barred as an undesirable alien.
4 Thereafter he returned to Madrit
and finally came to Porto Rico
where relatives reside, in order tc
be near them. He lives here in Sc
clusion. very seldom appearing or
the streets. known only to his i'm
mediate neighbors, almost forgot
| ten.