VEINTIMILLA, Ignacio de (vay-een-te-meel'-yah), South American dictator, born in Cuenca, Ecuador, about 1830. He entered the military service, rose to the rank of general, and as commander on Guayaquil led in September, 1876, a revolution against President Borrero. He defeated the government troops at Galte on 14 December, and on the 25th of that month entered the capital, and was proclaimed president by the Liberal party. In 1877 he defeated a rising of the Clerical party, but, as he retained many Conservative members in his cabinet, he wag soon suspected by the Liberals of a leaning toward the clergy. The convention of Ambato, "packed" in Veintimilla's interest, declared him in 1878 dictator for an unlimited period, and he issued a decree abolishing religious liberty and suppressing four opposition newspapers, one of whose editors he cast into a dungeon. His rule was arbitrary, his chief aim seeming to be to aggrandize and enrich himself and his personal followers. When the end of his constitutional term approached in 1882 he instigated several mock pronunciamentos, and for their suppression proclaimed himself supreme chief. But soon his terrorism became so unbearable that there were genuine revolutions under General Alfaro and General Salazar. The government stronghold of Esmerahlas was captured in January, 1883, by the latter, and the garrison of Quito by Colonel Reynaldo Flores, forcing the dictator to take refuge in his last stronghold, Guayaquil. He was there hemmed in by the combined forces of the different revolutionary leaders, re-enforced in May by the arrival of Antonio Flores, and, after a protracted struggle, the city was occupied on 9 July by the insurgents, and Veintimilla fled to the steamer "Santa Lucia," which conveyed him to Peru. On 21 July he reached Lima, where he has since resided.