1974 Huntsville Prison Siege
Encyclopedia
The 1974 Huntsville Prison Siege was an eleven-day prison uprising that took place from July 24 to August 3, 1974 at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville
, Texas
. The standoff was one of the longest hostage-taking sieges in United States
history.
and Texas. Having smuggled pistols and ammunition into the prison, he and two other convicts took eleven prison workers and four inmates hostage
.
At the precise moment that a one o’clock work bell sounded, Carrasco walked up a ramp to the third-story library and forced several prisoners out at gunpoint. When two guards tried to go up the ramp, Carrasco fired at them. His two accomplices, who were also armed, immediately joined him in the library.
The prison warden and the director of the Texas Department of Corrections immediately began negotiations with the convicts. FBI agents and Texas Rangers
arrived to assist them, as the media descended on Huntsville. Over the next several days the convicts made a number of demands, such as tailored suits, dress shoes, toothpaste, cologne, walkie-talkies and bulletproof helmets, all of which were provided promptly. With the approval of Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe
, an armored getaway car was rolled into the prison courtyard. Carrasco claimed that they were planning to flee to Cuba
and appeal to Fidel Castro
.
After a grueling eleven-day standoff, the convicts finally made their desperate escape attempt just before 10 PM on Saturday August 3, 1974. They moved out of the library toward the waiting vehicle in a makeshift shield consisting of legal books taped to mobile blackboards that was later dubbed by the press the “Trojan Taco”. Inside the shield were the three convicts and four hostages, while eight other hostages ringed the exterior of the “taco”.
Acting on a prearranged plan, prison guards and Texas Rangers blasted the group with fire hoses. However, a rupture in the hose gave the convicts time to fatally shoot the two women hostages who had volunteered to join the convicts in the armored car. When prison officials returned fire, Carrasco committed suicide and one of his two accomplices was killed. Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas
, who was an onsite reporter for Houston’s KPRC-TV
at the time, later wrote, “It is a tragedy that two hostages died. It is a miracle all the rest lived.”
Two women, Elizabeth Beseda and Julia Standley, died during the incident.
, and he was executed on May 23, 1991. Cuevas's last meal
request consisted of chicken dumplings, steamed rice, sliced bread, black-eyed peas, and iced tea. Cuevas's last words were "I’m going to a beautiful place. O.K., Warden, roll ‘em."
(born Joe Teusch) adopted the drug king's surname.
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The standoff was one of the longest hostage-taking sieges in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history.
Siege
From July 24 to August 3, 1974, Federico "Fred" Gomez Carrasco and two other inmates laid siege to the education/library building of the Huntsville Unit. “Fred” Carrasco, the most powerful heroin kingpin in South Texas, was serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of a police officer. He was also suspected in the murder of dozens of people in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Texas. Having smuggled pistols and ammunition into the prison, he and two other convicts took eleven prison workers and four inmates hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
.
At the precise moment that a one o’clock work bell sounded, Carrasco walked up a ramp to the third-story library and forced several prisoners out at gunpoint. When two guards tried to go up the ramp, Carrasco fired at them. His two accomplices, who were also armed, immediately joined him in the library.
The prison warden and the director of the Texas Department of Corrections immediately began negotiations with the convicts. FBI agents and Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
arrived to assist them, as the media descended on Huntsville. Over the next several days the convicts made a number of demands, such as tailored suits, dress shoes, toothpaste, cologne, walkie-talkies and bulletproof helmets, all of which were provided promptly. With the approval of Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe, Jr. was a Uvalde, Texas rancher and businessman who was the 41st Governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979....
, an armored getaway car was rolled into the prison courtyard. Carrasco claimed that they were planning to flee to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and appeal to Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
After a grueling eleven-day standoff, the convicts finally made their desperate escape attempt just before 10 PM on Saturday August 3, 1974. They moved out of the library toward the waiting vehicle in a makeshift shield consisting of legal books taped to mobile blackboards that was later dubbed by the press the “Trojan Taco”. Inside the shield were the three convicts and four hostages, while eight other hostages ringed the exterior of the “taco”.
Acting on a prearranged plan, prison guards and Texas Rangers blasted the group with fire hoses. However, a rupture in the hose gave the convicts time to fatally shoot the two women hostages who had volunteered to join the convicts in the armored car. When prison officials returned fire, Carrasco committed suicide and one of his two accomplices was killed. Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas
Cal Thomas
John Calvin "Cal" Thomas is an American conservative syndicated columnist, pundit, author and radio commentator.-Life and career:...
, who was an onsite reporter for Houston’s KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV is the NBC affiliated television station based in Houston, Texas, and serving the Greater Houston television market. It has studios located in the Sharpstown district on the Southwest portion of the city, and has a transmitter site in unincorporated Fort Bend County near Missouri City...
at the time, later wrote, “It is a tragedy that two hostages died. It is a miracle all the rest lived.”
Two women, Elizabeth Beseda and Julia Standley, died during the incident.
Aftermath
Ignacio Cuevas, the surviving perpetrator, received the Texas Department of Corrections Death Row ID#526. Cuevas was received as a death row prisoner on May 30, 1975. Cuevas was held at the Ellis UnitEllis Unit
O. B. Ellis Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners. Ellis is situated in a wooded area shared with the Estelle Unit, which is located away...
, and he was executed on May 23, 1991. Cuevas's last meal
Last meal
The last meal is a customary part of a condemned prisoner's last day. Often, the day of, or before, the appointed time of execution, the prisoner receives a last meal, as well as religious rites, if they desire. In the United States, inmates generally may not ask for an alcoholic drink...
request consisted of chicken dumplings, steamed rice, sliced bread, black-eyed peas, and iced tea. Cuevas's last words were "I’m going to a beautiful place. O.K., Warden, roll ‘em."
Cultural references
Tex-Mex musician Joe "King" CarrascoJoe Carrasco
Joe "King" Carrasco is a Tex-Mex "new wave" musical artist, based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He is most widely known as part of "Joe 'King' Carrasco and the Crowns".-History:...
(born Joe Teusch) adopted the drug king's surname.
- "When I was playing with the Mexican bands, they couldn't say Teusch," he says. "That was when Fred Carrasco had tried to break out of Huntsville back in 1974 with a big shootout. Carrasco was killed, so that week the Mexican guys said, "We're going to call you Carrasco."
External links
- "Texas Department of Criminal Justice: An Inventory of the Carrasco Tapes at the Texas State Archives, 1974." University of Texas Libraries.