U.S. Political Officer Reports Grenada Coup from Evacuating Ship

Camp confirms new regime consolidating power as two ministers defect from Gairy government.

Date: March 14, 1979

U.S. Political Officer Reports on Grenada Situation from Evacuating Ship

Details: A U.S. Political Officer, Donald Camp, provided a report to the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown via radio from the Holland American cruise ship

Veendam after departing St. George's harbor at 6:00 PM local time.

Camp stated that he and his two companions were able to board the vessel with "minimal checking" by port officials. He observed that the new government's forces were "not RPT not bothering foreigners". He also confirmed a significant political development: two ministers from the previous Gairy government, Finance Minister George Hosten and Deputy Prime Minister Herbert Preudhomme, had broadcast their allegiance to the new government over the radio. This was notable as the new leader, Maurice Bishop, had previously described these officials as being "under arrest".

The cable also includes other intelligence gathered by the embassy: the confirmed presence of a Soviet ship, the

Pushkin, in the harbor , and reports from Barbados that four police stations on Grenada remained loyal to the deposed Prime Minister Gairy, a report that high Barbadian officials credited.

Key Members & Participants:

  • U.S. Officials:
    • Political Officer Donald Camp: The primary source of the on-the-ground/at-sea observations.
    • Ambassador Frank V. Ortiz: Author of the cable reporting the intelligence.
  • Grenadian Officials (Gairy Government):
    • George Hosten (Finance Minister): Switched allegiance to the new government.
    • Herbert Preudhomme (Deputy Prime Minister): Switched allegiance to the new government.

Significance: This report provided the U.S. government with its first independent observations from a staff member who had just departed the island, corroborating earlier reports that the situation was not hostile to foreigners. Camp's report on the defections of two senior Gairy government ministers provided crucial intelligence that the New Jewel Movement was successfully consolidating its political control and neutralizing the old regime. The additional intelligence about the loyalist police stations and the presence of a Soviet vessel highlights the fluid and complex nature of the situation, indicating that while the coup leaders were consolidating power, pockets of resistance and external interests were still factors.

Source:

U.S. Embassy Bridgetown Cable 00878, "GRENADA COUP," March 14, 1979, Declassified. (Document ID C17671020.pdf).

Link:

https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1979BRIDGE00878_a.html

Internal Link:

Date:
March 14, 1979
Categories:
Greneda Invasion, Log, Matthew Smith, Military & Intel, The Suriname Archive
Tags:
Ambassador Frank V. Ortiz, Cable, Coup, George Hosten (Finance Minister), Grenadian Officials (Gairy Government), Herbert Preudhomme (Deputy Prime Minister), Intelligence Reporting, Political Officer Donald Camp, U.S. Officials
Boxes:
MW Zotero
Years:
1979
Persons:
Donald Camp, Frank Ortiz
META DATA
    Scroll to Top