| 1968 Peruvian coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of thePage 11 Scandal and theCold War | |||||||
 Juan Velasco Alvarado and Belaunde hours before the coup | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of Peru |  Armed Forces of Peru | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Fernando Belaúnde Terry | Juan Velasco AlvaradoFrancisco Morales-Bermúdez | ||||||
The1968 Peruvian coup d'état took place during the first presidency ofFernando Belaúnde (1963–1968), as a result of political disputes becoming norms, serious arguments between President Belaúnde and Congress rising, dominated by theAPRA-UNO (Unión Nacional Odríista) coalition, and even clashes between the President and his ownAcción Popular (Popular Action) party were common.[1] Congress went on to censor several cabinets of the Belaúnde administration, and a general political instability was perceived. GeneralJuan Velasco Alvarado led the coup.[2][3]
A dispute with theInternational Petroleum Company over licenses to theLa Brea y Pariñas oil fields inTalara Province, northern Peru sparked a national scandal when a key page of a contract (the 11th) was found missing. TheArmed Forces, fearing that this scandal might lead to another uprising or a takeover from theAPRA party, seizedabsolute power and closed downCongress, almost all of whose members were briefly incarcerated. General Velasco seized power on October 3, 1968, in a bloodless militarycoup, deposing the democratically elected administration ofFernando Belaúnde, under which he served asCommander of the Armed Forces. President Belaúnde was put on a plane to Argentina where he was sent into exile.[3] Initial reaction against the coup evaporated after five days when on October 8, 1968, the oil fields in dispute were taken over by the Army.[4]
At 1:00 AM on Thursday of October 3, 1968, an armored squadron of tanks went from the Tank Division towards thePresidential Palace in the capital city ofLima, along with support from the armed forces. The intention was to avoid confrontation with the palace guards with an early attack.
Although rumors of a coup and of a possible overthrow circulated around theCouncil of Ministers and Presidential Cabinet, no special measures were taken in the event of defending the palace from mutiny.
Additionally, due to the early timing, the chief military aide to President Belaúnde was still sleeping at his home away from the Presidential Palace, and the Presidential Guards immediately surrendered at the sight of the armored squadron at the steps of the pavilion.[1]
At 2 AM, President Belaúnde was woken up and dragged out of his bed in his pajamas by Velasco-Alvarado and his militants. Belaúnde offered no resistance. Close advisers to Belaúnde also reportedly saw him as drugged the night before the coup, presumably by traitors in the presidential residence itself.
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After hearing a barrage of bullets outside the palace in the morning, Belaúnde found himself alone in the Presidential Palace along with a couple of other family members and ministers.
In the morning, a group of officers found Belaunde and informed him of his arrest at gunpoint. Belaúnde, furious, exclaimed "Identify yourself, you miserable traitor. You are talking to the Constitutional President of the Republic!" The group backed, and Colonel Enrique Gallegos explained Velasco's orders for his deportation to him.
Belaúnde responded "You sons of...traitors...unworthy of the uniform that the country has entrusted to you. You are dismissed! Bringing so many tanks and guns just to detain an unarmed man! Shoot me then, damn it!"[5]
President Belaúnde attempted to resist the arrest. Four officers threw themselves on President Belaúnde, taking him by the arms, and held him back. He was then detained.
Following the coup d'état, at 7 AM, Belaúnde was taken to a barracks and was forcibly taken toJorge Chavez International Airport in Callao, Peru. Velasco, having assumed authority, immediately ordered Belaúnde to be deported, and ordered an ASPA (a privately owned international Peruvian airline) jet on the runway of the airport.
Belaúnde was forced into the jet, and the exiled president was deported toArgentina. Belaúnde would spend the next years of Velasco's regime in both Argentina and theUnited States as a professor.[1]
The President of the Council of Ministers, as well as many other Ministers, were rushed at their homes and the presidential palace. They immediately surrendered.
Prior to being attacked and hearing of Belaúnde's arrest, the President of the Council of Ministers attempted to establish order by calling an emergency Cabinet meeting to swear in the Vice President, Mario Polar. Only three ministers attended, but the Vice President was also detained by the insurgents.
Immediately after the coup, the military nationalized theInternational Petroleum Company.[6] This set off a dispute between Peru and the United States, with the United States seeking compensation.[6][7]