HE was the last surviving Watergate burglar, whose arrest nearly 50 years ago ultimately led to the downfall of Richard Nixon’s presidency. Eugenio Martinez has died at the age of 98, but the scandal of the events of 1972 and his role in them endures.

 

Who was he?

Martinez, who died on January 30, was one of the five men in the failed burglary at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the famed Watergate complex in Washington DC. The group were recruited by E. Howard Hunt, a White House consultant, to bug the DNC.

 

They were caught in the act?

Security guard at the building, Frank Wills, spotted the men and called the police, triggering their arrests and an investigation and cover-up bid that would become globally renowned and inspire the now iconic 1976 movie, All The President’s Men, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.

 

The scandal brought about Nixon’s downfall?

He resigned in August 1974 rather than face impeachment and his successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him a month later, saying that to not do so would impact the credibility of government at home and the regard of the US abroad generally. But the pardon was largely condemned and is said to have contributed to his failure to win the 1976 election.

 

Martinez said he was duped?

He served 15 months in jail for his part in the burglary, but later said he believed he had been hired for the break-in in order to find evidence of links between Democratic presidential candidate, Senator George McGovern, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In a 2009 interview, he said: “If an operation were presented to me in the same way as then, I would accept again.”

 

He was pardoned?

Aside from Nixon, Martinez was the only person mired in Watergate to receive a pardon, which President Ronald Reagan signed in 1983.

 

He led quite a life?

Born in Cuba in 1922, he was later exiled due to his opposition to Fulgencio Batista, the elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its US-backed dictator from 1952 to 1959. After Batista was overthrown Martinez went home, but was again exiled later in 1959 for criticising Castro.

 

He was involved in the Bay of Pigs?

A CIA contract agent, Martinez ran hundreds of covert missions throughout his life, frequently travelling back to Cuba in the process. Backed by the CIA, he led the infamously failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba in 1961 to hasten revolution by attacking communist dictator Castro’s troops. His granddaughter told the Miami Herald he took part in 365 CIA missions and was regarded as a “prolific asset”.

 

Meanwhile, Watergate endures…

A new movie is in the works, based on the true story of Frank Wills, the hotel security guard who spotted the burglars and opened the entire can of worms. "Mr Watergate" Will tell "his story", according to the producers.

 

Fun fact?

Wills played himself in All the President's Men, the movie that was based on the 1974 book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, detailing their headline-grabbing investigation.