Spanish officer who led 1981 coup dies on day documents declassified

Antonio Tejero, who died at 93, was part of rightwing network whose efforts were thwarted by King Juan Carlos

The Spanish officer who led his armed followers into the Spanish congress in a failed military coup in 1981 has died on the same day that the socialist-led government declassified documents relating to the murky attempt to overthrow the country’s post-Franco democracy.

Antonio Tejero, who was 93, was part of a network of rightwing police and military officers whose efforts to seize power were thwarted after King Juan Carlos refused to support the coup and ordered the generals to obey the democratic constitutional order.