Hudson Austin

Hudson Austin (born April 26, 1938 ) is a retired Grenadian general and revolutionary .

biography

Austin joined the Grenada armed forces and was promoted to general . In 1979 he was one of the supporters of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and saw the support mediated by the Cuban secret service ( Dirección de Inteligencia ) from the Soviet Union as vital for the Caribbean anti-imperialist movement.

Alongside Bernard Coard, he was one of the leaders of the coup d'état of October 19, 1983, which led to the overthrow of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and his execution . General Austin then became head of the Revolutionary Military Council, while the previous Deputy Prime Minister Coard became de facto Prime Minister. The government under Bishop was popular with the people, but the violence of the coup aroused fear and resentment among the population. After the coup d'état against Bishop, the Governor General of Grenada - as the Queen's representative, filling the position of Head of State - asked the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the USA for help. On October 25, 1983, the United States launched an invasion (Operation Urgent Fury) with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, as a result of which the government of the New Jewel Movement (NJM) was overthrown.

In 1986, Austin was sentenced to death along with Coard and thirteen other people for killing Bishop . In August 1991 that sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and it was overturned in February 2007. In December 2008, he was finally pardoned and released.

Web links

• rulers.org