Journalist Antonio Nieto shed light on a long-standing misconception over the murder of legendary luchador Espanto I, Jose Eusebio Vazquez Bernal, who was killed in 1968 alongside another luchador.
Espanto started wrestling in the 1950s and became an iconic fixture both alongside and opposite El Santo in the decade following, notably losing his mask to him in 1963 before continuing unmasked for almost five years afterward. He was shot in a bar altercation alongside another luchador Misterio Negro II on May 30, 1968, in a murder that had been attributed for all these years to the owner of the bar.
However, in an “Infiltrado” exclusive, Nieto explained that the owner had not even been in the building at the time. He detailed how Espanto, Misterio Negro II, and a third wrestler, Cruz Diablo, went to one bar after an event at the Coliseo de Monterrey, before ultimately going to the ill-fated venue; Diablo left early, advising them to go back to the hotel, but they insisted upon continuing.
At the second bar, the luchadors were joined by two other workers, one a bartender by the name of Mario Nunez, a colleague of his, and three patrons. An argument broke out over a dice game being played for “large amounts of money,” and when Espanto approached Nunez at the bar, the bartender pulled out a revolver and warned him to leave.
Espanto was said to have feigned to leave before turning back, after which Nunez fired a single round and pierced the luchador’s heart. Misterio Negro II then approached the bar, prompting Nunez to fire three times.
¡NUEVO CAPÍTULO!
Tras casi 60 años, revelamos el verdadero motivo del asesinato del mítico Espanto.
Y por primera vez, mostramos su máscara luchada, una de las rarezas más buscadas entre los coleccionistas. #Infiltrado
👉🏻 https://t.co/pivpa0i55Q pic.twitter.com/0lujkfCm4O
— Antonio Nieto (@siete_letras) January 13, 2026
Nunez escaped in a taxi alongside his colleague, who was apprehended hours later, and was never himself apprehended for the murder of Espanto. Publications had long pointed to the killing being caused by the luchadors being drunk, because they had been bothering women, or because they hadn’t wanted the place to close so they could continue drinking. In reality, Nieto said, all evidence points toward Espanto being killed after feeling he was being cheated in a dice game.
