Laos, 2007 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 5 June 2007, corresponding to the alleged 2007 Laotian coup conspiracy centered on former Royal Lao Army Major General Vang Pao. On 4 June 2007, following a six-month undercover sting by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives dubbed Operation Tarnished Eagle, US federal courts issued warrants and some 250 agents arrested Vang Pao, a leader of California's Hmong community who had commanded CIA-backed Hmong forces during the Vietnam War, along with nine others across California; an eleventh man was arrested later. The group, associated with Vang Pao's Neo Hom organization, was charged with conspiring to violate the US Neutrality Act by obtaining large quantities of heavy weapons, including AK-47s, Stinger missiles, anti-tank rockets, mines, and explosives, to overthrow the communist Pathet Lao government of Laos, with the first arms delivery planned for 12 June.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harrison Jack, a West Point graduate, allegedly sought to recruit Special Operations veterans as mercenaries. All federal charges were ultimately dropped. The 5 June 2007 coding matches the announcement and arrests.
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
81206052007
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Lao government was the intended target; the US arrested the plotters and later dropped charges.
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
The Australian
The Daily Telegraph
The Independent
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 →