[1][2] He was a member of the League of Unity and Armed Revolution [pt] and was a Grand Officer of the Order of Liberty.

[3] Born in Oliveira de Azeméis on 29 January 1934,[4] Mortágua's family moved to Lisbon at the age of 12.

[5] In 1961, he took part in one of the most prolific terrorist acts against the Estado Novo regime, Operation Dulcineia, in which rebels seized control of a Portuguese passenger ship, led by General Humberto Delgado.

[4] On 10 November 1961, he hijacked a TAP Air Portugal plane along with Hermínio da Palma Inácio and other collaborators with the goal of flying over Lisbon at a low altitude and dropping leaflets against the regime.

[4] Following the Carnation Revolution, he was decorated as a Grand Officer of the Order of Liberty by President Jorge Sampaio.