Spain, 1978 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 17 November 1978, corresponding to Operacion Galaxia, a plot by far-right officers to halt Spain's transition to democracy. The operation was planned for 17 November 1978, a date chosen because King Juan Carlos would be away in South America, and its aim was to occupy the La Moncloa palace and seize the government of Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez, imposing military rule. It took its name from the Cafeteria Galaxia in Madrid, where the conspirators met on 11 November 1978.
The three men in charge were Guardia Civil Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero, Police Captain Ricardo Saenz de Ynestrillas, and an army colonel whose name was never made public. An infantry captain and an army commander present at the discussions informed their superiors, and the plot was betrayed and foiled before it could be carried out. Tejero and Saenz de Ynestrillas were court-martialed in 1980 and given only minimal sentences; Tejero went on to lead the far more serious 23-F coup attempt of February 1981.
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
23011171978
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Suarez government and the democratic transition survived; the plot was foiled and the leaders received light sentences.
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
CSP
Wikipedia
Los Angeles Times
The Observer
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 →