Both armored gunboats of the Paraguayan Fleet last week trained their guns on Asuncion, the capital. Police surrounded important Government buildings and communication centers. Whistles and sirens screamed. Army reinforcements arrived, mumbling about a threatened coup d'état, and arrested leaders of the strongly pro-U.S. National Republican Party, including some Army officers. A few labor leaders and Communists were packed off to jail for good measure.
A coup there had been, but it was not the coup that was publicized. The anti-U.S. military clique had seized power in the country, using the nonexistent coup as an excuse to lock up pro-Allied leaders.
President Higinio...
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