Civil Wars and Coups in the Americas: A Numbered List

Although many of the countries in the Caribbean Sea, Central and South America are blessed with natural resources, they have long been plagued with a lack of infrastructure, high illiteracy, dictatorial governments and outside interference. As a result, these countries have often suffered from coups and civil wars. The beginning of the 21st has seen a marked improvement, however. Countries that used to be too dangerous for tourism, such as Colombia, are now slowly returning to normal. Let us hope that this trend continues.


Below is a numbered list of coups and civil wars in Central America, the Caribbean and South America, arranged by country:

Argentina	1	1930	September 6, 1930: General José Félix Uriburu overthrows president Hipólito Yrigoyen
Argentina	2	1943	June 4, 1943: the military overthrows president Ramón Castillo
Argentina	3	1951	September 29, 1951: Failed military revolt against President Juan Peron
Argentina	4	1955	September 16, 1955: the military lead by General Eduardo Lonardi overthrows president Juan Domingo Perón
Argentina	5	1962	March 29, 1962: the military, led by General Raúl Poggi, overthrows president Arturo Frondizi
Argentina	6	1966	June 28, 1966: a military uprising led by General Juan Carlos Onganía overthrows president Arturo Illia
Argentina	7	1976	March 24, 1976: a military uprising overthrew the president María Estela Martínez de Perón
Argentina	8	1987	Failed military coup against President Raúl Alfonsín: April
Argentina	9	1988	Failed military coups against President Raúl Alfonsín: January and December
Argentina	10	1990	December 3, 1990: Failed coup attempt in Argentina against President Carlos Saúl Menem
Argentina	11	1814-1880	Argentine Civil Wars, 1814-1880
Bolivia	12	1899	1899: José Manuel Pando overthrows Severo Fernández
Bolivia	13	1920	1920: Bautista Saavedra overthrows José Gutiérrez
Bolivia	14	1930	June 28, 1930: Carlos Blanco Galindo overthrows Hernando Siles Reyes
Bolivia	15	1934	December 1, 1934: José Luis Tejada Sorzano overthrows Daniel Salamanca Urey
Bolivia	16	1936	May 20, 1936: David Toro overthrows José Luis Tejada Sorzano
Bolivia	17	1937	July 13, 1937: Germán Busch overthrows David Toro Ruilova
Bolivia	18	1943	December 20, 1943: Gualberto Villarroel overthrows Enrique Peñaranda
Bolivia	19	1946	July 21, 1946: Néstor Guillén and Tomás Monje overthrows Gualberto Villarroel
Bolivia	20	1951	May 16, 1951: Hugo Ballivián overthrows Mamerto Urriolagoitía
Bolivia	21	1952	April 16, 1952: Víctor Paz Estenssoro overthrows Hugo Ballivián
Bolivia	22	1964	November 5, 1964: René Barrientos overthrows Víctor Paz Estenssoro[9]
Bolivia	23	1970	October 7, 1970: Juan José Torres overthrows Alfredo Ovando Candía
Bolivia	24	1971	August 21, 1971: Hugo Banzer overthrows Juan José Torres[10]
Bolivia	25	1980	July 17, 1980: Luis García Meza Tejada overthrows Lidia Gueiler Tejada[11]
Brazil	26	1889	November 15, 1889: Deodoro da Fonseca overthrows Pedro II of Brazil.[12]
Brazil	27	1930	November 3, 1930: Getúlio Vargas overthrows Washington Luís.[13]
Brazil	28	1964	March 31, 1964: Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco overthrows João Goulart establishing the 21-year-long dictatorship[14]
Brazil	29	1835-1845	Ragamuffin War (Brazil), 1835-1845
Brazil	30	1932	Paulista War (Brazil), 1932
Chile	31	1781	Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios, (1781) - A failed attempt to declare Chile an independent republic
Chile	32	1810	Government Junta of Chile, (September 18, 1810) - A successful coup in favor of Chile
Chile	33	1811	Figueroa mutiny, (April 1, 1811) - A failed attempt to restore royal power in Chile
Chile	34	1811	1811 Chilean coup d'état, (September 4, 1811) - A successful coup in favor of José Miguel Carrera
Chile	35	1827	Campino mutiny, (1827) - A failed attempt to destroy the opposition to the federalist system [1]
Chile	36	1828	San Fernando mutiny, (June, 1828) of Pedro Urriola, José Antonio Vidaurre and the Maipo Battalion.[1](p337)
Chile	37	1829	Chilean Civil War of 1829, (1829) - An armed conflict between conservatives and liberals over the constitutional regime
Chile	38	1831	Arauco rebellion, (1831) of Pedro Barnechea and Captain Uriarte[1]
Chile	39	1832	Rebellion of Cazadores de Quechereguas Regiment, (1832) - Under Cap. Eusebio Ruiz[1]
Chile	40	1833	Arteaga Conspiracy, (1833), - of General Zenteno and Coronel Picarte[1]
Chile	41	1833	Cotapos revolution, (1833), - of José Antonio Pérez de Cotapos
Chile	42	1836	Freire expedition, (1836) - An invasion of Chiloé Island and failed attempt to depose the government
Chile	43	1837	Quillota mutiny, (1837) - A failed attempt to depose the government that resulted in the death of Diego Portales
Chile	44	1851	1851 Chilean Revolution, (1851) - An armed rebellion by liberals against the conservative President Manuel Montt
Chile	45	1859	1859 Chilean Revolution, (1859) - A rekindling of the armed rebellion by liberals against the conservative President Manuel Montt started in 1851
Chile	46	1891	1891 Chilean Civil War, (1891) - An armed conflict between forces supporting National Congress and forces that supported President José Manuel Balmaceda
Chile	47	1894	Several Balmacedist plots, (1891–94) - Planned by Hernán Abos-Padilla, Nicanor Donoso, Diego Bahamondes, Luis Leclerc, Herminio Euth, José Domingo Briceño, Edmundo Pinto, Manuel and Emilio Rodríguez, Virgilio Talquino and Anselmo Blanlot against the new government[1][2]
Chile	48	1912	Military League plot, (1912) - A failed plot against President Ramon Barros Luco. In September, Gonzalo Bulnes the appointed leader of the plot, desisted.[1]
Chile	49	1919	Armstrong-Moore plot, (1919) - A failed plot by Generals Guillermo Armstrong and Manuel Moore against President Juan Luis Sanfuentes[1]
Chile	50	1924	1924 Chilean coup d'état, (September 5, 1924) - A successful coup against President Arturo Alessandri
Chile	51	1925	1925 Chilean coup d'état, (January 23, 1925) - A successful coup in which Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and Marmaduke Grove overthrew Luis Altamirano to return President Arturo Alessandri to office[3]
Chile	52	1930	Little red plane plot, (September 21, 1930) - A failed attempt against President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo by Marmaduke Grove[1]
Chile	53	1931	Fall of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, 26 Jule 1931, successful rebellion against Ibañez
Chile	54	1931	Chilean naval mutiny of 1931, (September, 1931) - A rebellion in the Chilean Navy against Vice-President Manuel Trucco that ended with the fleet being bombed from the air.
Chile	55	1931	Norte Grande insurrection, (December 25, 1931) - A failed Communist push against President Juan Esteban Montero
Chile	56	1932	1932 Chilean coup d'état, (June 4, 1932) - A successful coup that resulted in the instauration of the Socialist Republic of Chile, in which Carlos Dávila overthrows Juan Esteban Montero[4]
Chile	57	1932	Antofagasta coup d'état, (September 27, 1932) - A successful coup of General Pedro Vignola that resulted in the resignation of President Bartolomé Blanche and the return to civilian rule[1]
Chile	58	1933	Las Mercedes' plot, (1933) - A failed plot against President Arturo Alessandri. Commander-in-Cief of the Army, Pedro Vignola called "to resist the Milicia Republicana by any means"[1]
Chile	59	1935	Humberto Videla's plot, (1935) - failed rebellion of NCO's
Chile	60	1936	1936 plot against Alessandri, (1936) - By René Silva Espejo and Alejandro Lagos[1]
Chile	61	1938	Seguro Obrero massacre, (September 5, 1938) - A failed National Socialist attempt in favor of Carlos Ibáñez that resulted in the murder of 59 young party members
Chile	62	1939	Ariostazo, (August 25, 1939) - A failed attempt of Ariosto Herrera against President Pedro Aguirre Cerda[1]
Chile	63	1948	Pig trotters' plot, (1948) - A failed plot against President Gabriel González Videla[1]
Chile	64	1954	Línea Recta affair, (1954) - A failed plot to allow President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo to assume dictatorial powers[1]
Chile	65	1969	Tacnazo, (October 21, 1969) - A failed plot against President Eduardo Frei Montalva
Chile	66	1973	Tanquetazo, (June 29, 1973) - A failed coup against President Salvador Allende
Chile	67	1973	1973 Chilean coup d'état, (September 11, 1973) - Coup that deposed President Salvador Allende, in favor of Augusto Pinochet[5]
Chile	68	1829-1830	Chilean Civil War of 1829, 1829-1830
Chile	69	1851	Revolution of 1851 (Chile)
Chile	70	1891	1891 Chilean Civil War
Colombia	71	1953	June 13, 1953: Gustavo Rojas Pinilla overthrows Laureano Gómez[25]
Colombia	72	1899-1902	Thousand Days War, 1899-1902 in Colombia
Colombia	73	1948-1958	La Violencia (Colombia), 1948-1958
Colombia	74	1964–now	Colombian conflict, 1964–present
Costa Rica	75	1870	April 27, 1870: Bruno Carranza overthrows Jesús Jiménez Zamora
Costa Rica	76	1876	July 30, 1876: Vicente Herrera Zeledón overthrows Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz
Costa Rica	77	1917	January 27, 1917: Federico Tinoco Granados overthrows Alfredo González Flores
Costa Rica	78	1948	Costa Rican Civil War, 1948
Cuba	79	1952	March 10, 1952: Fulgencio Batista overthrows Carlos Prío Socarrás
Cuba	80	1959	January 1, 1959: 26th of July Movement overthrows Fulgencio Batista
Dominican Republic	81	1965	Dominican Civil War, 1965
Ecuador	82	1925	1925 by Luis Telmo Paz y Miño
Ecuador	83	1935	1935 by Federico Páez
Ecuador	84	1963	1963 by Ramón Castro Jijón
Ecuador	85	1972	1972 by Guillermo Rodríguez
Ecuador	86	2000	2000 by Lucio Gutiérrez
Ecuador	87	2005	Premature end of President Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa
Ecuador	88	2010	2010 Ecuador crisis (an attempted coup)
El Salvador	89	1931	1931 by Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
El Salvador	90	1948	1948 by Manuel de Jesús Córdova
El Salvador	91	1960	October 26, 1960: A bloodless coup overthrows President José María Lemus
El Salvador	92	1961	January 25, 1961: A coup overthrows the junta established just a few months before.
El Salvador	93	1979	1979: A coup d'état brought the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador to power.
El Salvador	94	1979-1991	Salvadoran Civil War (El Salvador), 1979-1991
Grenada	95	1979	March 13, 1979: Maurice Bishop overthrows Eric Gairy
Grenada	96	1983	October 14, 1983: Bernard Coard overthrows Maurice Bishop
Grenada	97	1983	October 19, 1983: Hudson Austin overthrows Bernard Coard
Guatemala	98	1954	1954 by Carlos Castillo Armas who overthrew president Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán with the help of CIA
Guatemala	99	1963	1963 under Enrique Peralta Azurdia
Guatemala	100	1982	1982 under Efraín Ríos Montt
Guatemala	101	1993	1993 Guatemalan constitutional crisis
Guatemala	102	1960-1996	Guatemalan Civil War, 1960-1996
Haiti	103	1806	October 17, 1806: Henri Christophe and Alexandre Pétion overthrow Emperor Jacques I
Haiti	104	1843	Feb 13, 1843: Charles Rivière-Hérard overthrows Jean-Pierre Boyer
Haiti	105	1844	May 3, 1844: Philippe Guerrier overthrows Charles Rivière-Hérard
Haiti	106	1846	March 24, 1846: Jean-Baptiste Riché overthrows Jean-Louis Pierrot
Haiti	107	1859	January 15, 1859: Fabre Geffrard overthrows Emperor Faustin I
Haiti	108	1867	August 26, 1867: Sylvain Salnave overthrows Fabre Geffrard
Haiti	109	1869	December 27, 1869: Nissage Saget overthrows Sylvain Salnave
Haiti	110	1876	April 16, 1876: Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal overthrows Michel Domingue
Haiti	111	1888	October 19, 1888: François Denys Légitime overthrows Lysius Salomon
Haiti	112	1889	October 17, 1889: Florvil Hyppolite overthrows François Denys Légitime
Haiti	113	1902	December 21, 1902: Pierre Nord Alexis overthrows Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal
Haiti	114	1908	December 2, 1908: François C. Antoine Simon overthrows Pierre Nord Alexis
Haiti	115	1911	August 3, 1911: Cincinnatus Leconte overthrows Antoine Simon
Haiti	116	1914	January, 1914: Oreste Zamor overthrows Michel Oreste
Haiti	117	1914	November 7, 1914: Joseph Davilmar Théodore overthrows Oreste Zamor
Haiti	118	1915	February 25, 1915: Vilbrun Guillaume Sam overthrows Joseph Davilmar Théodore
Haiti	119	1915	July 28, 1915: Mulatto uprising overthrows and kills Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam
Haiti	120	1946	January 11, 1946: Dumarsais Estimé overthrows Élie Lescot
Haiti	121	1950	May 10, 1950: Paul Eugène Magloire against Dumarsais Estimé
Haiti	122	1956	December 12, 1956: Joseph Nemours Pierre-Louis overthrows Paul Eugène Magloire
Haiti	123	1957	April 4, 1957: Leon Cantave overthrows Franck Sylvain
Haiti	124	1957	June 14, 1957: Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau overthrows Daniel Fignolé
Haiti	125	1988	June 20, 1988: Henri Namphy overthrows Leslie Manigat
Haiti	126	1988	September 17, 1988: Prosper Avril overthrows Henri Namphy
Haiti	127	1991	September 30, 1991: Raoul Cédras overthrows Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Haiti	128	2004	February 29, 2004: Jean-Bertrand Aristide is forced to leave Haiti
Honduras	129	1912	In 1912, the mercenary army of the Cuyamel Fruit Company installed General Manuel Bonilla as president.
Honduras	130	1963	1963 under Oswaldo López Arellano
Honduras	131	1972	1972 under Oswaldo López Arellano
Honduras	132	1975	1975 under Juan Alberto Melgar Castro
Honduras	133	1978	1978 under Policarpo Paz García
Honduras	134	2009	2009 under Roberto Micheletti
Jamaica	135	1980	The Jamaica United Front attempted a coup on June 23, 1980.
Mexico	136	1876	1876 by Porfirio Díaz against Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
Mexico	137	1911	1911 by Francisco I. Madero against Porfirio Díaz (and Francisco León de la Barra)
Mexico	138	1913	1913 by Victoriano Huerta (and Pedro Lascuráin) against Francisco I. Madero
Mexico	139	1915	1915 by Venustiano Carranza and others against Victoriano Huerta
Mexico	140	1920	1920 by Adolfo de la Huerta against Venustiano Carranza
Mexico	141	1857-1861	War of Reform (Mexico), 1857-1861
Mexico	142	1910-1920	Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920
Mexico	143	1926-1929	Cristero War (Mexico), 1926-1929
Mexico	144	2006–now	Mexican Drug War, 2006–present
Nicaragua	145	1856	1856 under William Walker
Nicaragua	146	1944	1944 by Anastasio Somoza García for Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa against Leonardo Argüello Barreto
Nicaragua	147	1926-1927	Nicaraguan civil war, 1926-1927
Nicaragua	148	1979-1990	Nicaraguan Civil War, 1979-1990
Panama	149	1931	1931 by Arnulfo Arias Madrid and Harmodio Arias Madrid against Florencio Harmodio Arosemena
Panama	150	1941	1941 by Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango against Arnulfo Arias Madrid
Panama	151	1951	1951 by Colonel José Antonio Remón Cantera against Arnulfo Arias Madrid
Panama	152	1968	1968 by Omar Torrijos against President Arnulfo Arias Madrid
Panama	153	1989	1989 coup attempt by Moises Giroldi against Manuel Antonio Noriega
Panama	154	1990	Failed coup attempt in Panama against President Guillermo Endara
Paraguay	155	1936	February 17, 1936: Rafael Franco overthrows Eusebio Ayala
Paraguay	156	1937	August 13, 1937: Paraguayan military overthrows Rafael Franco
Paraguay	157	1954	May 5, 1954: Alfredo Stroessner overthrows Dr. Federico Chávez
Paraguay	158	1989	February 3, 1989: Andrés Rodríguez and the Paraguayan Army overthrow Alfredo Stroessner
Paraguay	159	1947	Paraguayan Civil War, 1947
Peru	160	1914	1914 under Óscar Benavides
Peru	161	1919	1919 under Augusto B. Leguía y Salcedo
Peru	162	1930	1930 under Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro
Peru	163	1948	1948 under Manuel A. Odría
Peru	164	1962	1962 under Ricardo Pérez Godoy
Peru	165	1968	1968 under Juan Velasco Alvarado
Peru	166	1992	1992 under Alberto Fujimori (self-coup)
Peru	167	1980-now	Internal Conflict in Peru 1980-ongoing
Suriname	168	1980	February 25, 1980: military coup led by Dési Bouterse ousts Prime Minister Henck Arron.
Suriname	169	1980	August 13, 1980: the military led by Dési Bouterse ousts President Johan Ferrier.
Suriname	170	1990	December 24, 1990: President Ramsewak Shankar dismissed by Suriname's military.
Uruguay	171	1933	1933 under Gabriel Terra
Uruguay	172	1973	27 June, 1973: Juan María Bordaberry closed parliament and established a civic-military dictatorship[29]
Uruguay	173	1839-1851	Uruguayan Civil War, 1839-1851
Venezuela	174	1945	1945: Dictator Isaías Medina Angarita was overthrown by a rebellion and a popular movement, which saw a transition to a democratic government.
Venezuela	175	1948	1948:A military junta, led by Carlos Delgado Chalbaud overthrows the democratically elected president Rómulo Gallegos
Venezuela	176	1958	1958: Dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez was overthrown by a military rebellion and a popular movement
Venezuela	177	1992	1992: A pair of failed coup attempts
Venezuela	178	2002	2002: Failed coup against Hugo Chávez

The sad record holder for the greatest number of coups seems to be Haiti: from 1806 to 2004, there have been 26 coups! Haiti is a country that has been beset by problems ever since its independence from France in 1804, after a war led by Napoleon Bonaparte that took the lives of 50,000 French soldiers.

Chile seems to have a very long list, but this is probably due to careful history writing (Chile has a separate article for its own coups) rather than great instability: everything about Peru was noted, including  at least 16 failed attempts. A careful look at the record for other countries would probably also reveal many failed attempts not mentioned on Wikipedia.

The above list was compiled (with corrections and additions) from three incomplete lists provided by Wikipedia plus some miscellaneous resources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coups_d'état_and_coup_attempts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coups_d'état_and_coup_attempts_by_country
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chilean_coups_d'état