He started working in the fire department of Panama at the age of 17, and rose to the rank of commander in April 1950.
He presented law in February 1949 on retirement and bonuses for members of the fire department.
He was Second Vice President of Panama in Marco Aurelio Robles administration[2] from 1964 to 1968, and concurrently served as ambassador to Spain.
[3] In the 1968 elections, he joined the successful ticket of Arnulfo Arias as First Vice President of Panama.
However, he was ousted after about 10 days in office in a military coup against Arnulfo Arias on 11 October 1968.