Grenada Revolution

In March 1979 the New Jewel Movement seized power in Grenada while prime minister Eric Gairy was abroad, beginning what became known as the Grenada Revolution.

Overview

The movement of Maurice Bishop took the radio station and police barracks in a nearly bloodless coup, promising grassroots democracy, cooperative economics, and nonaligned socialism. The government expanded free healthcare and education, built popular militias, and began an international airport with Cuban assistance that Washington called a military threat. Tensions inside the ruling party turned fatal in October 1983, when a faction led by Bernard Coard deposed and executed Bishop and several colleagues. Citing the turmoil and the safety of American medical students, the United States invaded on 25 October 1983 and crushed the military government within days. Grenada returned to electoral democracy, and the invasion remains debated in international law.