Guillermo Antonio Rodríguez Lara (born 4 November 1923), known as "Bombita", is an Ecuadorian former political and military leader who was dictator of Ecuador from 15 February 1972 to 11 January 1976.

Biography

Rodríguez was born in Pujilí, Cotopaxi on 4 November 1923. He took courses in C&R&Bn Staff, Irregular Warfare Orientation, and Maintenance Management at the School of the Americas located in Panama. As commander of the army, he led a military coup d'etat executed by a navy commander named Jorge Queirolo G. and forced president José María Velasco into exile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. During his rule, drilling the country's oil reserves funded the construction of hospitals, schools, roads (notably, paving the Quito-Tulcán road), the oil refinery at Esmeraldas, and new equipment for the armed services. The Ecuadorian military removed him from power in 1976. Rodríguez turned 100 on 4 November 2023. He is now the oldest living former state leader in the world.