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He entered the Guardia Civil in 1951 and was the leader of the Comandancia in Guipúzcoa, but had to ask to be transferred to another region when his public declarations against the Ikurriña was known. His life is filled with pro-coup episodes, and he played an important role of the coups during the transición in San Sebastian, Málaga and Madrid. He was the captain-general of the third military region, until the event of 23-F took place.
On February 23, 1981, at 6.21pm, Antonio Tejero together with a group of 200 Guardia Civil armed officers stormed into the Spanish Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes. When they entered, the Congress was about to elect the new Prime Minister (Presidente del Gobierno) Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo , who would take the place of Adolfo Suárez.
At the same time, many military leaders close to Tejero, led by General Miláns del Bosch , declared a state of emergency and ordered tanks out on the street in Valencia. The King (Juan Carlos) hesitated and made several phone calls to see whether enough military support could be guaranteed to confront the insurgents. After several hours, and having ensured the support of the elite paratroop division, the King held a televised speech at 01:14 AM, voicing his condemnation of the coup and that Spain’s democratic process should continue peacefully. The occupants of the Congress surrendered the morning after without harming anyone, having held hostage Spain's parliament and Cabinet for 18 hours.
Tejero was arrested outside the Congress building, and both he and Miláns del Bosch were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Armada was arrested February 28February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 306 days remaining, 307 in leap years. Events 364 Valentinian I is elevated as Roman Emperor. 1258 Hulagu Khan sacks Baghdad 1700 February 28 is followed by March 1 in Sweden, th, 1981, and sentenced to 6 years in prison. He was released December 24December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). There are 7 days remaining. Events 640 John IV becomes Popel 1814 The Treaty of Ghent was signed which ended the War of 1812 1818 Silent Night composed by Franz Xave, 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day., insisting that he had been a victim of a conspiracy set up by Tejero. In all 30 of the 33 suspected set on trial for the attempted coup were convicted.
Alfonso Armada was released July 1July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. Events 1097 Battle of Dorylaeum Crusaders under Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Turkish army under Qilich Arslan I. 1690 Battle of the Boyne as reck, 1990Events January January 3 Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces. January 7 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns. January 9 Lt Gen Bazilio Olara Okello The man who led the coup aginst Dr Apo, claiming he never did anything illegal. Tejero, being the last one left of the coup leaders in jail, was set free after 15 years from the military prison in Alcalá de HenaresAlcala de Henares is a Spanish city. Located in the autonomous community of Madrid, 30 km northeast of the city of Madrid, it has a population of around 200,000. The city is of Roman origin the only Roman town in the Madrid region its Latin name being Com on December 2, 1996. He now lives in Alahurín de la Torre close to Malaga.
Later it was made known that the coup plans originated with Bosch. According to these plans, General Alfonso Armada was supposed to be Prime Minister if the coup succeded.