Page "Hugo Banzer" Paragraph 4

On August 18, 1971, General Banzer, at long last, masterminded a successful military uprising that erupted in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where he had many supporters.

Eventually, the plotters gained control over the La Paz garrisons, although not without considerable bloodshed.

The combined levels of United States and Brazilian involvement for the coup d ' état have been debated but it is apparent that significant clandestine financial & advisory assistance existed at a critical level within the Nixon administration for Banzer.

With such backing secured, General Banzer emerged as the strong man of the new regime, and, on August 22, was given full power as president.

Conversely, President Juan Jose Torres was forced to take refuge in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he was kidnapped and assassinated by right-wing death squads associated with the Videla government and with the acquiescence of Hugo Banzer.

His murder was part of Operation Condor.

Interestingly, he received the political support of the center-right Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario ( MNR ) of former president Víctor Paz Estenssoro and the conservative Falange Socialista Boliviana of Mario Gutiérrez, considered to be the two largest parties in the country.

For the next seven years, and with the rank of Army General, Banzer ruled Bolivia as dictator.