Cuba, 1959 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as a military, dissident, foreign-backed conspiracy in Cuba on 8 August 1959, corresponding to the Trujillo Conspiracy (Conspiracion Trujillista), a Dominican-backed plot to overthrow Fidel Castro in the summer of 1959. Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, fearing Castro would export revolution after Cuban-backed expeditions targeted the Dominican Republic in June 1959, prepared a counter-revolutionary foreign legion of Cuban exiles and roughly 200 former Batista soldiers to invade Cuba and support an internal anti-Castro, anti-communist uprising. The plot was penetrated by Second Front of Escambray leaders William Morgan and Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo, who feigned participation while informing Castro; the trap was sprung in mid-August 1959, capturing the Dominican-backed invaders who landed near Trinidad.
The foiled conspiracy deepened the Cuba-Dominican Republic feud and hardened Castro's regime against internal dissent.
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
04008081959
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Castro foiled the Trujillo-backed plot and consolidated his revolutionary government.
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
Chicago Daily Tribune
New York Times
Washington Post and Times Herald
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 →