Coup Atlas Research Database
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09311051957ConspiracyMilitary coup

Nicaragua, 1957 — military coup conspiracy

Nicaragua (NIC)Central America, AmericasNovember 5, 1957

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a military coup conspiracy in Nicaragua on 5 November 1957, during the first year of the presidency of Luis Somoza Debayle, who had assumed the acting presidency after his father, the dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia, was assassinated in September 1956, and had won the fraudulent February 1957 election. United States diplomatic assessments of the dynastic succession noted several possibilities of trouble: covert opposition from ambitious figures, the radical opposition under Colonel Gomez Flores who had long attempted to mount a revolutionary attack, resentment of Luis's brother Anastasio Somoza Debayle within the National Guard officer corps, and rumors of a military junta prepared to take over the government. The coded November 1957 conspiracy fits this pattern of opposition and military plotting against the newly consolidating Somoza succession, which the family survived to rule until 1979.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Luis Somoza consolidated the dynastic succession and the Somoza family ruled Nicaragua until 1979
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Luis Somoza Debayle (president of Nicaragua, target)
Anastasio Somoza Debayle (National Guard commander and brother)
Anti-Somoza opposition and disaffected Guard officers (plotters)

Sources

Following the assassination of Anastasio Somoza Garcia in September 1956, Luis Somoza was tapped as acting president and elected president in his own right through fraudulent elections in 1957.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Somoza family open source ↗
United States assessments noted that ambitious figures might work covertly against Luis and that the radical opposition under Colonel Gomez Flores, who had attempted to mount a revolutionary attack for years, might redouble its efforts.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, FRUS 1955-57 vol. VII open source ↗
Many older National Guard officers resented Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who himself estimated that 50 percent of the Guard might be against him, and there were rumors of a military junta prepared to take over the government.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, FRUS 1955-57 vol. VII open source ↗
In the aftermath of his father's death, Anastasio Somoza Debayle supervised the brutal interrogation of opposition political leaders while holding command of the military.
SOURCE REVIEWED Encyclopedia.com, Anastasio Somoza Debayle open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot precisely on 5 November 1957 was found in accessible English sources this session; the entry records the dataset's coding and the verified context of anti-Somoza opposition and Guard discontent during the 1956-57 dynastic succession, with the specific plot unconfirmed and flagged as context only. Distinct from the September 1956 assassination of Somoza Garcia. First Nicaragua record in the dataset run.

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
09311051957

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Luis Somoza consolidated the dynastic succession and the Somoza family ruled Nicaragua until 1979.

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

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
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

New York Times

“Nicaragua Frustrates ‘Plot’,” November 5, 1957
“SOMOZA IMPEDED IN REFORM STEPS; Nicaragua President’s Plan to Liberalize Regime Runs Into Political Obstacles‘Heavy Blows’Predicted President Elected Last May Economic Crisis Averted,” by Paul P. Kennedy, December 8, 1957
“9 NICARAGUANS GUILTY: Officers Convicted of Plotting Against President Somoza,” January 1, 1958

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 →

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