LISTEN to the FULL episode 11 w/ Brian Manning, the son of former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, the late Patrick Manning, BELOW!
The only Islamic coup in the Western Hemisphere happened in the twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago in 1990 over a period of six days after which it was foiled.
It occurred during a period of political turbulence in Trinidad and Tobago, during a new administration's term of office, after that administration collapsed, after it had just replaced the party that had ruled Trinidad and Tobago continuously for 30 years prior.
The Islamic Group was working with the radical left in the country, but they took the radical revolutionary rhetoric into stark reality. This was unexpected.
During those chaotic six days of the attempted coup, the leaders of the opposition parties in parliament were given a chance to form a government of national unity alongside the insurrectionists and hold fresh elections in 90 days.
Brian Manning was the son of Patrick Manning, the leader of the People's National Movement, the previous ruling party. He remembers what happened during those confusing times, and what his father's response was to the offer made by the insurrectionists.