El Barcelonazo


El Barcelonazo was an attempted coup d'état against President Rómulo Betancourt's government that occurred in the Pedro María Freites Barracks in the city of Barcelona, Anzoategui State on 26 June, 1961.

Background

The military conspiracy had been discovered a month before the uprising, and on 30 May, several of those involved had been arrested by the government.

Details

The military took up arms at the Pedro María Freites Barracks and the Mariño Fusiliers Battalion at dawn, but they did not have the support of other parties. The government regained control and defeated the uprising. By 10:00 in the morning, the main soldiers were arrested.

Results

The uprising left 30 people dead, above 50 injured and more than 100 arrested. Later, other movements arose in Ciudad Bolívar and La Guaira, the latter known as Guairazo, but they failed and their leaders were also arrested.