Page "Nguyen Van Thieu" Paragraph 25

Thiệu took a cautious approach, as did Có and Cang, and they were pre-empted by Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, an undetected communist double agent, who launched a coup with Phát on a hardline Catholic platform without U. S. backing.

With U. S. support against both Khánh and the plotters, Kỳ and Thi put down the coup attempt and then ousted Khánh.

This left Kỳ, Thi and Thiệu as the three most prominent members in the new junta.

There were claims that Thiệu ordered the military to capture and extrajudicially kill Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, who died in 1965 after a series of coup attempts between various ARVN officers.

Other sources blame Kỳ.

During this period, Thiệu became more prominent as other generals fought and defeated one another in coups, which forced several into exile.