Mobs were still racing through the streets of Caracas as Rear Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal took the first step toward building a new government for Venezuela. As Pérez Jiménez' DC-4 vanished over the mountains, the slim, unruffled naval chief set up an emergency military junta of four colonels representing the army, air force, national guard and the military schools, put himself at its head.
Before it could even begin to function, the all-military junta brought down a storm of protest from civilian rebels fearful of a new military dictatorship. Larrazabal named two civilian members, Top Industrialist Eugenic Mendoza and onetime University Professor Bias...