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War and Conflict: Twentieth Century - What Happened In Grenada?

What happened in Grenada?

On October 24, 1983, nearly 3,000 U.S. marines and U.S. Army rangers landed on Grenada, a small island in the Caribbean Sea. Along with the Americans came about 300 military personnel from neighboring Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, St. KittsNevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. These forces had arrived in response to a week-long coup (military overthrow of a government) that began on October 12. During the coup Prime Minister Maurice Bishop (1943–1983) was overthrown and killed by a Marxist (supporter of the Communist theories of German political philosopher Karl Marx) military council headed by General Hudson Austin. Although the United Nations and U.S. allies condemned President Ronald Reagan (1911– ) for the action in Grenada, American troops detained Austin and restored order on the island. Governor-general Paul Scoon (1935– ) formed an interim (temporary) government to prepare for...

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