Mercader was a member of the Soviet-era secret police the NKVD led by Lavrentiy Beria.
He worked under chief of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria who almost raped Stalin’s daughter once.
Leon Trotsky was a famous Bolshevik revolutionary, Mercader killed him in August 1940 in Mexico City.
It was an honorated killing by Soviet officials and Mercader received several Soviet recognitions.
These were typically military related awards such as the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union given to Joseph Stalin after the Battle of Stalingrad.
Mercader was recognized enough to have received the Hero of the Soviet Union in the 1960s awarded by the KGB.
Leon Trotsky
Trotsky was one of the founders of the Soviet governing body the Politburo, setup in 1917.
His own dogma based on Marxist ideas became known as Trotskyism.
Not everyone agreed with his philosophy and the ambitious young Joseph Stalin became a rival faction leader within the communist party.
Stalin’s rise to power led to Trotsky’s removal from all offices he was member of. It became clear he was in danger of being an enemy of the state.
After Trotsky’s exile from the Soviet Union Stalin had strict orders which were very clear, to assasinate the exile Leon Trotsky.
Leon Trotsky Killed
Trotsky was living in a village near Mexico City in 1939 when his assassin located him.
Little did he know, that Mercader had been following him all along during his exile.
Trotsky survived multiple attempts by the NKVD to kill him.
Mercader was slowly infiltrating his group of friends under a false identity.
His assumed alias was that of Jacques Mornard, a foreign diplomat.
Trotsky’s assassin gained the trust of his confidantes and bodyguards and eventually Trotsky himself.
This would prove to be a deadly decision.
Mercader convinced Trotsky he was sympathetic to his philosophy and an eager student.
One day while working with him he drove an ice axe into Trotsky’s head, but he survived the blow.
Trotsky died later from his injury.
Mercader spent 20 years in Mexican prison for his crime.
He then moved to the communist country of Cuba whose government was glad to take to him in as a Soviet hero.
His last words are believed to have been related to the murder he committed 30 years earlier.
“I hear it always. I hear the scream. I know he’s waiting for me on the other side.”
Mercader apaprently felt guilty or was just scared of a vengeful Trotsky on the other side of eternity.
References
Borger, Tuckman (13 September 2017). “Bloodstained ice axe used to kill Trotsky emerges after decades in the shadows”. The Guardian.
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