Coup Atlas Research Database
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10111011946ConspiracyDissident coup

Venezuela, 1946 — dissident coup conspiracy

Venezuela (VEN)South America, AmericasNovember 1, 1946

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a dissident coup conspiracy in Venezuela on 1 November 1946, during the Revolutionary Government Junta headed by Romulo Betancourt of Democratic Action, which had taken power in the civic-military coup of 18 October 1945 that overthrew President Isaias Medina Angarita. The junta period, known as El Trienio Adeco, was a time of sweeping reform, including the decree of universal suffrage in 1946 and the organization of the country's first free elections, but it also generated discontent among displaced military officers and conservative sectors. The junta convened a constituent assembly election in 1946 and would hold the presidential election won by Romulo Gallegos in 1947.

No discrete documentation of a distinct coup plot on this specific date appears in accessible English sources, but the period was marked by conspiracies and military restiveness that would culminate in the November 1948 coup that overthrew Gallegos.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The Revolutionary Government Junta under Romulo Betancourt held power and organized elections; the AD Trienio lasted until the 1948 coup
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Romulo Betancourt (president of the Revolutionary Government Junta, target)
Democratic Action (ruling party)
Disaffected military officers (source of conspiracies)

Sources

The 1945 Venezuelan coup on 18 October 1945 overthrew Isaias Medina Angarita and began a three-year period known as El Trienio Adeco under a Revolutionary Government Junta.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, 1945 Venezuelan coup d'etat open source ↗
After the coup Betancourt named a seven-man governing junta, and in March 1946 it decreed a sweeping electoral law establishing universal suffrage for all citizens over eighteen.
SOURCE REVIEWED OnWar, AD Coup in Venezuela 1945 open source ↗
Betancourt presided over the country's first free elections in 1947, which were won by Democratic Action's Romulo Gallegos.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Romulo Betancourt open source ↗
On 24 November 1948 Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, Marcos Perez Jimenez, and Luis Felipe Llovera Paez launched a coup that overthrew Gallegos after ten months in office.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Romulo Betancourt open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete documentation of a coup plot precisely on 1 November 1946 in Venezuela was found in accessible English sources this session; the entry records the dataset's coding and the verified context of the Betancourt junta consolidating power amid military discontent before the 1947 elections, with the specific plot unconfirmed and flagged as context only. Part of the Venezuela Trienio arc leading to the 1948 coup.

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
10111011946

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Revolutionary Government Junta under Romulo Betancourt held power and organized elections; the AD Trienio lasted until the 1948 coup.

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

“Venezuela puts down counter-revo ulti on,” November 2, 1946
“Venezuelan Flees From Prison,” November 13, 1946

Chicago Tribune

“9 Seized in Plot To Overthrow Venezuela Rule,” November 3, 1946

Irish Times

“Revolt planned in Venezuela,” November 4, 1946

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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