Coup Atlas Research Database
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15004111948ConspiracyRebel coup

Paraguay, 1948 — rebel coup conspiracy

Paraguay (PRY)South America, AmericasApril 11, 1948

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a rebel coup conspiracy in Paraguay on 11 April 1948, during the volatile final months of the dictatorship of General Higinio Morinigo, in the aftermath of the 1947 Paraguayan Civil War. Morinigo had crushed a broad rebellion of Liberals, Febreristas, and communists by August 1947 with the help of the Colorado Party's Guion Rojo militia, after which the Colorados became the only legal party. The party then split between the hardline guionistas under Juan Natalicio Gonzalez and the moderates, and Gonzalez was elected president unopposed on 15 February 1948.

Suspecting that Morinigo intended to cling to power as commander-in-chief, Colorado loyalists organized a series of armed uprisings in the spring and summer of 1948. No discrete documentation of a distinct plot precisely on this date appears in accessible English sources, but the period was one of continuous conspiracy. On 3 June 1948 Colorado loyalists under Felipe Molas Lopez revolted and sent Morinigo into exile, allowing Gonzalez to take office in August.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: General Higinio Morinigo clung to power in early 1948 but was overthrown by Colorado loyalists on 3 June 1948
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Higinio Morinigo (dictator of Paraguay, target)
Juan Natalicio Gonzalez and the Guion Rojo (Colorado hardliners)
Felipe Molas Lopez (Colorado loyalist who led the June 1948 revolt)

Sources

On 15 February 1948 Morinigo organized presidential elections won by the only candidate allowed to run, Juan Natalicio Gonzalez, leader of the Colorado Party's Red Banner faction.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Higinio Morinigo open source ↗
Suspecting that Morinigo intended to retain power, on 3 June 1948 some Colorado Party loyalists under Felipe Molas Lopez revolted and sent him into exile in Argentina.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Higinio Morinigo open source ↗
In the spring and summer of 1948 the Guion Rojo organized armed uprisings which resulted in the overthrow of Morinigo and the ascent of Gonzalez to power.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Guion Rojo open source ↗
After the 1947 civil war the Colorado Party became the only legal party and split between the hardline guionistas under Gonzalez and the moderates under Federico Chaves.
SOURCE REVIEWED Study of Internal Conflict, Paraguay 1947 open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete documentation of a coup plot precisely on 11 April 1948 in Paraguay was found in accessible English sources this session; the entry records the dataset's coding and the verified context of the Guion Rojo uprisings and Colorado maneuvering that overthrew Morinigo on 3 June 1948, with the specific 11 April plot unconfirmed and flagged as context only. First Paraguay 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
15004111948

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: General Higinio Morinigo clung to power in early 1948 but was overthrown by Colorado loyalists on 3 June 1948.

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

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wikipedia

New York Times

“PARAGUAY ANNOUNCES FRUSTRATION OF PLOT,” April 21, 1948

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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