US EditionAntonio Tejero, Franco loyalist and leader of Spain's failed 1981 coup, dies at 93
- On February 25, the family and their law firm said Antonio Tejero Molina, the former Guardia Civil lieutenant colonel, died peacefully in Alzira at age 93.
- On Feb. 23, 1981, Tejero led about 200 armed civil guards into the Congreso de los Diputados to interrupt the session to swear in Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, driven by officers nostalgic for Franco-era privileges.
- Television cameras showed Tejero waving a pistol and wearing the Guardia Civil tricorn hat as officers fired and lawmakers took cover during nearly 18 hours of live broadcasts of the siege.
- Courts sentenced him to 30 years for military rebellion, and he served roughly 15 years before conditional liberty and expulsion from the Civil Guard.
- Tejero's death coincided with the Spanish government declassifying documents on the 23-F coup, which historians say underscored the fragility of democracy, while Javier Cercas's book 'Anatomy of an Instant' details the event that turned into 'the founding myth of Spanish democracy'.
163 Articles
163 Articles
On February 23, 1981, the Spanish military wanted to bring down Spain's young democracy. Now the government is releasing the last secret files and thereby strengthening the image of ex-king Juan Carlos as the nation's savior. Is he now returning to Spain?
On the 45th anniversary of the coup attempt on 23 February 1981, the Spanish government announced that it would release secret files on this subject, which have been available online since Friday.
DECRYPTAGE - The declassification of the documents on the attempted putsch of Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero shows that the sovereign in exile was immediately desolidated.
Spain's years after Franco's death in 1975 were marked by constant threats from armed forces dissatisfied with the democratic transition. Of the many coup attempts, only one reached the stage of action: the Tejero coup, named after its leader. The plot was thwarted largely by the actions of King Juan Carlos I, but the king was later accused of supporting the coup plotters. On the 45th anniversary of the coup attempt, the government declassified …
The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said this Thursday that it would be "desirable" that the king emeritus,...
The popular president points out that the publication of official documents on the attempted coup has opened the debate on the role of Juan Carlos I, reviving conflicting opinions regarding his possible return to national territory
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