Word: bogot
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...hundred thousand Colombians paraded in Bogotá last week to honor their new President, Lieut. General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, who exactly a month before had overthrown the unpopular regime of Laureano Gómez. The five-hour parade was extraordinary: instead of marching, the people rode in 1,500 buses, 2,300 taxis and 3,000 trucks (thus paralyzing normal transportation in the capital and for miles around). Beaming down from the balcony of the presidential palace, Rojas could see that the buses and taxis were arranged by reds, yellows and blues to form enormous Colombian flags. Bands played...
Flying on to Bogotá, Eisenhower brought White House greetings to Colombia's popular President Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, newly installed in office after last month's army coup. "I want my first words in Colombia," said Eisenhower, "to be a tribute to the courage displayed in action by the heroic Colombian soldiers in Korea." Proud that his countrymen are the only Latin Americans fighting for the U.N., General Rojas said that they would stay as long as needed...
Cool Officer. That is how matters stood late last year, when General Rojas Pinilla, a career officer of moderate Conservative sympathies, returned to Bogotá from duty with the Inter-American Defense Board in Washington. What he saw shocked him. His friend Ospina, having announced new presidential ambitions for 1954, was being hounded out of public life by Gómez. The fighting with Liberal guerrillas was still going on, and Rojas' army was being forced to carry out the government's share of the butchery. Laureano was preparing an extremist constitution on the Spanish-Portuguese model, which...
...officer with a record of 33 years' service, must have looked to Gómez like one man who might stand up to him. He demanded that Acting President Urdaneta fire the army chief. Urdaneta made out a retirement order-to go into effect the minute Rojas left Bogotá airport last April on an airline junket to Germany. Rojas' baggage was already on the plane when a loyal officer brought word of the order. He canceled the flight, and the firing was held off for the time being, to avoid trouble with the army...
...still in bad health, Laureano Gómez decided to force the issue. He stalked into the Presidential Palace and abruptly resumed the full presidency, ousting Urdaneta. Implacable as ever, he immediately fired Rojas. The general, weekending at a country town, got the word by telephone, flew back to Bogotá, went to a battalion barracks in the heart of the city and waited. Soon the new Minister of War, named by Gómez that morning, arrived to take charge; Rojas quietly arrested him. Then the general sent tanks and troops into the city. In an hour, without...