Bolivia, 1971 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 26 April 1971, in the period of mounting plotting against the left-wing nationalist government of General Juan Jose Torres in Bolivia, before the successful right-wing coup of August 1971. Torres had come to power in October 1970 and pursued an anti-imperialist course, nationalizing some U.S.
properties, expelling the Peace Corps, convening a Popular Assembly of worker and peasant delegates, and alienating conservative business interests and much of the officer corps. On 10 January 1971 Colonel Hugo Banzer led a failed coup attempt against Torres and was exiled to Argentina, but he did not give up his ambitions. Through the spring of 1971 conservative groups unified with rightist officers, and the United States grew increasingly concerned, with the CIA and the 40 Committee later approving covert funding for Torres's opponents.
The April 1971 coding sits in this period of intensifying right-wing conspiracy that culminated in Banzer's August 1971 seizure of power.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
14504261971
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Torres was overthrown in August 1971 by Banzer; he fled into exile and was later assassinated in 1976.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Irish Times
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Sun
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →