Assassination of the Butcher of Riga: Herberts Cukurs

“The Ones Who Didn’t Get Away” – Part 1

In 1965, a decomposing body was found in a trunk in a vacant house near Montevideo, Uruguay. Alongside the body was a note in Portuguese and German:

“Those who will never forget.”

The victim was Herberts Cukurs, a Latvian war criminal once hailed as a national aviation hero—who later became known as The Butcher of Riga for his brutal role in the Holocaust. His death marked one of Mossad’s most dramatic targeted assassinations outside of Israel, setting the tone for decades of covert justice.

🕊️ From National Hero to Nazi Collaborator

Before World War II, Herberts Cukurs was famous in Latvia as a pioneering pilot. He even flew solo from Riga to Gambia in 1933 and became a national symbol of pride.

But after the Nazi invasion of Latvia in 1941, Cukurs aligned himself with one of the most feared paramilitary death squads: the Arajs Kommando, a Latvian auxiliary police unit responsible for the mass murder of Jews in the Riga ghetto.

Eyewitnesses placed him at the scene of massacres. Survivors recounted how Cukurs personally executed Jews, burned synagogues, and participated in the murder of more than 30,000 people. Children were thrown into fire. Men and women were shot in groups. One survivor testified:

“Cukurs would shoot children with his own hands… and laugh.”

🛩️ Escape to South America

After the war, Cukurs fled to Brazil, where he lived under his real name—openly, even running a sightseeing business in São Paulo. Latvia’s silence, combined with the lack of international extradition, allowed him to operate freely despite the mountain of allegations against him.

In 1960, when Israel captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina, Cukurs knew time was running out.

🕵️ Mossad’s Operation

Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, began tracking Cukurs in the early 1960s. Due to legal constraints, extradition was impossible. So, they opted for direct justice.

An agent operating under the alias “Anton Künzle” befriended Cukurs in Brazil, posing as a Swiss businessman. He slowly gained Cukurs’ trust and eventually invited him to Uruguay for a supposed business venture. Cukurs took the bait.

In February 1965, Cukurs was lured to a rented house near Montevideo. Inside, Mossad agents confronted him. They shot him multiple times and stuffed his body into a trunk. The chilling message they left behind sent a signal to the world: there will be no expiration date on Jewish memory.

📦 The Discovery

Cukurs’ body was discovered by local police days later. The story made headlines around the world.

Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. But it became an open secret: Mossad had struck again.

🎥 Legacy and Denial

Despite overwhelming evidence, some Latvian nationalists continue to frame Cukurs as a patriot, denying or downplaying his involvement in war crimes. Plays and articles have even been written to “redeem” his legacy.

But the testimonies remain. The archives are clear. And justice, however delayed, was served.

🧠 Why This Story Matters

The assassination of Herberts Cukurs wasn’t just about vengeance—it was about justice. In an era when many Nazi collaborators escaped accountability, this operation reminded the world that Holocaust perpetrators would be hunted, even decades later, no matter where they ran.

It also exposed the failures of post-war justice systems, many of which allowed war criminals to disappear into South America’s shadows.