However, there was an instance, back in the '70's or early '80's where a group of mercs in powerboats seized control of one of the very small island nations in the the Indian Ocean (the name escapes me).

They 'bossman' actually managed to hang on for quite a while until a group of mainland-africa nations cobbled together a force & expelled him.

I didn't know about it until I read a short  back-page newswire (AP, I think) article about the 'rescue' operation in my local newspaper.

Considering how incompetent native 'local-yokel' coups generally turn out to be, even when initially successful,  in 3rd world nations, I don't think it's really that far-fetched, esp since it appears the 'americans' may very well have also been 'natives' themselves.

--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 1/5/15, Ros Knox & Michael Barry <rosmike@homemail.com.au> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [TML] Real Life (tm) mimics Traveller...
 To: tml@simplelists.com
 Date: Monday, January 5, 2015, 4:56 PM

     Tried to
 engineer a coup? It's all fine
       for fantasies, ie roleplaying games and the sad
 musings of a
       couple of pathetic wannabees who don't understand
 the complexity
       of modern nations.

       I consider the private coup to be an international
 sport for
       sociopaths. Fortunately sociopaths have a huge
 handicap, in that
       they are narcissists without a strong sense of the way
 in which
       their opponents might respond. They are also unable to
 engage in
       trust-based relationships, which are essential in
 maintaining a
       successful private conspiracy.

       A private coup might work where you can guarantee
 rapid military
       success with immediate and substantial political
 support; it helps
       if you can also cut off outside aid to your enemies. A
 backup plan
       with rapid extraction and impunity from prosecution is
 also
       essential.

       Generally today the perpetrators are working for a
 hostile
       government, ie it's not a private coup. Sandline
 International
       played this game during the 90s in several smaller
 African and
       Pacific nations, generally on the side of a powerful
 internal
       faction in return for perpetual mineral rights on
 success, ie a
       Short ticket. However the strategy couldn't work
 without
       substantial financing from international banks to
 cover the
       initial expenses.

       I remember a quote from a movie about a group of Brits
 who
       similarly tried to engineer a coup in Africa. When
 they fail and
       are imprisoned, they're told with disdain:
 "You can't play chess
       and ignore the black pieces."

       MB

       On 6/01/2015 10:29 AM, Craig Berry wrote:

       One of my favorites as well. It made a
 huge impact
         on me when I read it at my father's urging. I
 believe I was
         about ten years old at the time. It was part of his
 systematic
         campaign to raise an imperial Brit in the California
 70s. It
         actually worked, mostly. :>

         On Mon, Jan 5,
 2015 at 3:26 PM, Phil
           Pugliese (via tml list) <nobody@simplelists.com>
           wrote:

           This
 email was sent from yahoo.com which
 does not allow
               forwarding of emails via email lists.
 Therefore the
               sender's email address (philpugliese@yahoo.com)
               has been replaced with a dummy one. The
 original message
               follows:

             Certainly!  And one of RKipling's
 best, IMO...

             --------------------------------------------

             On Mon, 1/5/15, Craig Berry <cdberry@gmail.com>
             wrote:

              Subject: Re: [TML] Real Life (tm) mimics
 Traveller...

              To: tml@simplelists.com

              Date: Monday, January 5, 2015, 4:21 PM

                  "The

                  Man Who Would Be King" by Kipling.
 Some plots (in both

                  senses) never go out of style.

                  On Mon, Jan 5, 2015 at 3:15

                  PM, Phil Pugliese (via tml list) <nobody@simplelists.com>

                  wrote:

                  This

                  email was sent from yahoo.com
                 which

                  does not allow forwarding of emails via
 email lists.

                  Therefore the sender's email address
 (philpugliese@yahoo.com)

                  has been replaced with a dummy one. The
 original
                 message

                  follows:

                  Recently came across this little gem. It
 could fit
                 right

                  into the TU as a Mercenary
 'ticket';

                  Two Americans Charged In Gambia Coup
 Plot

                  The Justice Department charged two
 Americans with
                 attempting

                  to overthrow the Gambian government in a
 failed coup
                 last

                  week, including a property developer from
 Austin,
                 Texas, who

                  allegedly planned to install himself as
 the country's

                  leader, according to the Federal Bureau of
                 Investigation.

                  Cherno Njie, the Texas developer, led and
 financed the

                  effort to oust Gambian President Yahya
 Jammeh, an FBI
                 agent

                  said in an affidavit. But after it was put
 down by
                 Gambian

                  government soldiers, one of the alleged
 conspirators,
                 Papa

                  Faal, a dual American and Gambian citizen
 living in

                  Minnesota, fled to Senegal, where he
 turned himself in
                 at

                  the U.S. embassy. He then explained the
 plot to the
                 FBI,

                  according to the affidavit.

                  Both men are charged with violating the
 Neutrality Act,
                 a

                  law that dates from 1794 that makes it
 illegal for
                 Americans

                  to take up arms against a foreign
 government with which
                 the

                  U.S. is at peace. They are expected to
 appear in court
                 in

                  Baltimore and Minnesota today.

                  Information on their attorneys wasn't
 immediately

                  available.

                  Mr. Faal, who told the FBI he had served
 in the U.S.
                 Army

                  and Air Force, told U.S. law enforcement
 he decided to
                 join

                  the coup because he thought elections were
 rigged and
                 the

                  "plight of the Gambian people,"
 according to the

                  affidavit. A group of about a dozen people
 planned to

                  restore democracy to Gambia and hoped to
 take control

                  peacefully, but they thought 160 members
 of the

                  country's military would join them,
 according to the

                  affidavit.

                  -----

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                Craig Berry (http://google.com/+CraigBerry)

                "Eternity is in love with the
 productions

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         --

           Craig Berry (http://google.com/+CraigBerry)

             "Eternity is in love with the productions
 of time." -
             William Blake

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