Eusebio Rodríguez Salas was a Spaniard known for being the Commissar-General of the police forces of Catalonia[1] (aka PSUC Councilor for Public Order in the Generalitat)[2] who played a central role in the ignition of the Barcelona May Days.
[3] As a railroad worker, he joined the Organizing Committee of the First Provincial Congress of the CNT of Tarragona (April 11–13, 1920), where he served as Secretary of the Bureau at its first meeting and spoke at the closing ceremony.
Known for his fearless and outspoken persona, he rose quickly within the ranks of the PSUC[5] and was appointed in December 1936 Commissar-General by Interior Security Minister Artemio Aiguadé to replace the less aggressive (though also anti-anarchist) Martín Rauret.
[7] During an internal government crisis in April 1937, an article in the CNT newspaper Solidaridad Obrera on the 17th stated that "[The] way to prevent the sacrifices of our comrades from being reduced to naught is... to create an army that will guarantee victory in the war and the Revolution and to remove from the public life of Catalonia, Comorera, Aiguadé, Rodríguez Salas, etc.
[17] José Tarradellas, according to Azaña's memoirs, was critical of Salas' actions; calling them "hazardous" due to a lack of government resources with which to prepare for any resistance, and advocated negotiations without the sending of forces to the building.
[18] On the afternoon of May 3, 1937 Salas, possibly acting on the orders of the Communist-supported Interior Security Minister Aiguadé,[19] visited the building in the middle of the Plaça de Catalunya with three truckloads of Assault Guards[20] and accompanied by the Generalitat representative on the Telefónica committee.
[25] As part of the new provisional government agreed upon days later to stop the fighting in Barcelona, Salas was to remain head of the general commissariat (though Aiguadé sacked) until the arrival of Antonio Escobar, a Catalan delegate appointed by Valencia.