José de Antequera y Castro

José de Antequera y Castro was a Panamanian lawyer and judge in the Viceroyalty of Peru who worked with the Real Audiencia of Charcas. He traveled to Paraguay to investigate allegations of corruption against Governor Diego de los Reyes Balmaseda. Controversially, he found Reyes guilty and then took the position of Governor of Paraguay for himself in 1721. He defended his position even against explicit instructions from the Viceroy of Peru to hand the Governorship back to Reyes, and rallied the militia to fight off attempts by Spanish authorities to push him out of power. However, his position eventually became untenable, and under the threat of an overwhelming military response, he fled the governorship. He was eventually arrested and executed.