1979 Salvadoran coup d'état


The 1979 Salvadoran coup d’état occurred on October 15, 1979. The coup overthrew military President Carlos Humberto Romero and led to the establishment of the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador. The coup subsequently led to the start of the Salvadoran Civil War.
The coup was organized with the goal to prevent the government being toppled by leftists, similar to what happened in Nicaragua a month earlier.