On March 13, 1979 the New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop seized power in Grenada in an almost bloodless coup while Prime Minister Eric Gairy was abroad, establishing the People's Revolutionary Government and making the small Caribbean island the only Marxist-Leninist state in the Commonwealth. Gairy had led Grenada to independence in 1974 but ruled through fraud and intimidation, relying on a private militia known as the Mongoose Gang. In early 1979 he reportedly planned to have the New Jewel Movement's leadership arrested or killed while he traveled to the United States to address the United Nations.
Learning of the plan, the movement acted first: on the morning of March 13, 1979, while Gairy was in New York, its small National Liberation Army seized the military barracks, radio station, government buildings, and police stations within hours. Bishop announced the takeover over the radio and became prime minister, suspending the constitution. Gairy did not return and remained in exile.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Prime Minister Eric Gairy, overthrown on March 13, 1979 while abroad in New York; he was not physically harmed and remained in exile.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Eric Gairy (prime minister overthrown while abroad)
Maurice Bishop (New Jewel Movement leader who took power)
Sources
On 13 March 1979 the New Jewel Movement launched a revolutionary coup against the government of Prime Minister Gairy while he was away visiting the U.S., and within hours the movement gained control of the country's military barracks, radio stations, government buildings, and police stations.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, New JEWEL Movementopen source ↗
The People's Revolutionary Government was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the New JEWEL Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution, making Grenada the only Marxist-Leninist state within the Commonwealth, and the government suspended the constitution and ruled by decree.
On 13 March 1979, while Eric Gairy was in New York attending a United Nations meeting, the New Jewel Movement seized power in a coup that was planned to be bloodless and was almost entirely so, establishing the People's Revolutionary Government with Bishop as Prime Minister.
SOURCE REVIEWEDFreedom History Project, Maurice Bishopopen source ↗
Gairy was aware of the New Jewel Movement's goals and in 1979 planned to have its leaders murdered while he was away on a trip to the United States, but the movement learned of the plot and acted first, detaining the Mongoose Gang and seizing control of the state.
SOURCE REVIEWEDPeople's World, Remembering Maurice Bishopopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coding note: the dataset labels this a popular revolt, reflecting that the New Jewel Movement seized power with broad popular support while Gairy was abroad; Gairy was not physically harmed and remained in exile, matching the dataset fate. Fate coding: not physically harmed. Casualty nuance: the coup was almost entirely bloodless, with the barracks and radio station taken with little or no fighting; this is recorded as documented. Tragic later turn flagged: Maurice Bishop himself was deposed and executed by a hardline faction of his own party led by Bernard Coard on October 19, 1983, which precipitated the US invasion of Grenada days later; these are separate later events, recorded here only as flagged aftermath, not as part of this 1979 record. Context: Gairy's Mongoose Gang militia and his reputation for fraud and intimidation are recorded as documented background.
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:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Prime Minister Eric Gairy, overthrown on March 13, 1979 while abroad in New York; he was not physically harmed and remained in exile..
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
“Rebels in Grenada Said to Stage Coup,” by Joseph Treaster, March 14, 1979
“ISLAND GEM WITH A TROUBLED HISTORY,” October 26, 1983
“Eric Gairy, 75, Former Premier of Grenada, Ousted in 1979,” August 25, 1997
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 →