On April 24, 1965 constitutionalist officers and Dominican Revolutionary Party supporters rose against Donald Reid Cabral, the businessman who headed the government installed after the 1963 overthrow of Juan Bosch, seizing Radio Santo Domingo, distributing arms to civilians, and triggering defections across the garrisons and police. The next morning, April 25, rebels stormed the presidential palace at 10:30 and arrested Reid Cabral, demanding Bosch's return and the restoration of the 1963 constitution; rebel commander Colonel Francisco Caamano, fearing the crowd outside would lynch Reid, later allowed him to escape, the loyalist commanders having already abandoned him. On April 26 the constitutionalists declared Jose Rafael Molina Urena, in line under the 1963 constitution, provisional president, as huge crowds demanded Bosch's return, while General Elias Wessin y Wessin rallied loyalist forces, whose aircraft began bombing rebel positions the same day.
The arrest of Reid Cabral opened the Dominican Civil War and, within days, the US intervention of Operation Power Pack.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Donald Reid Cabral, head of the post 1963 government, arrested at the presidential palace at 10:30 am on April 25, 1965 and later allowed to escape by Caamano to prevent his lynching; he was not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Donald Reid Cabral (deposed de facto president, arrested)
Francisco Caamano (colonel, constitutionalist military leader)
Rafael Fernandez Dominguez (colonel, constitutionalist organizer)
Jose Rafael Molina Urena (declared provisional president on April 26)
Juan Bosch (exiled president whose restoration was the movement's goal)
Elias Wessin y Wessin (loyalist general who organized the counteraction)
Sources
On April 24, 1965, after Reid Cabral rejected a meeting sought by junior officers amid news of a plot, military constitutionalists and Dominican Revolutionary Party supporters seized the Radio Santo Domingo building, distributed weapons to civilian comrades, and prompted defections by the February 27 camp garrison, navy frogmen, and much of the police; the following day, at 10:30 am, rebels stormed the presidential palace and arrested Reid, and rebel commander Francisco Caamano later allowed him to escape, fearing a gathered mob would lynch him, as Reid had already lost loyalist support.
On April 26 Jose Rafael Molina Urena was declared provisional president and large crowds gathered to demand Bosch's return from exile, while Reid had appointed General Wessin y Wessin chief of staff, who rallied the government troops as Loyalists; loyalist P-51s bombed the National Palace and other constitutionalist positions.
On 24 April 1965 members of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, Christian Socialists, professionals, and dissident armed forces elements led by Colonel Francisco Caamano seized the government and arrested Reid Cabral, whose military backed administration had embarked on a course of corruption and repression reminiscent of the Trujillo dictatorship; their appeal for restoration of democracy and the return of the constitutionally elected President Bosch met popular enthusiasm and the consternation of pro-Cabral armed forces elements and the US embassy.
SOURCE REVIEWEDEncyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (via Encyclopedia.com), Dominican Revolt (1965)open source ↗
A US Defense Department report to President Johnson recorded that the rebel insurrection against the government of Donald Reid Cabral began on Saturday, April 24, 1965, that the Dominican Revolutionary Party seized control and appointed Rafael Molina Urena as president, and that on April 26 loyalist forces bombed rebel held areas of Santo Domingo.
SOURCE REVIEWEDForeign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, Volume XXXII, Document 99open source ↗
Editorial Note
Paired record care: this April 25 record is the constitutionalist coup that arrested Reid Cabral; the companion record 1965-04-27 covers the loyalist counterthrust that broke the constitutionalist provisional government two days later, and the two must not be merged. Date structure: the rising began April 24 (the radio seizure and defections), the palace storming and arrest came April 25, the dataset's date, and Molina Urena's proclamation April 26. The deposed leader's not physically harmed fate is documented down to the detail of Caamano releasing Reid to forestall a lynching. Arc links: back to 1963-09-25 (Bosch's overthrow, batch 15 of the enrichment run) and forward to the US intervention beginning April 28.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Donald Reid Cabral, head of the post 1963 government, arrested at the presidential palace at 10:30 am on April 25, 1965 and later allowed to escape by Caamano to prevent his lynching; he was not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
“FORMER REBELS BACK IN DOMINICAN FORCE,” July 1, 1966
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 →