In 1983 the United States invaded the island of Grenada and Overthrew the communist government in favor of a pro-Western one in a span of less than two months.
Problems between the US and the Caribbean nation began in 1979 (while the Cold War was still in effect) when a bloodless coup placed the pro-Marxist Maurice Bishop as the Prime Minister, which led to strengthened ties between Grenada and communist nations like Cuba and the Soviet Union.
Bishop was eventually murdered in October of 1983 during a power struggle with hard-liners in his own movement, creating a breakdown in civil order that threatened the lives of American medical students who were living on the island. In response, and at the request of allied Caribbean nations, the US launched «Operation Urgent Fury,» sending the Marines to the north of the island and Army Rangers to the south.
During the fighting, the US suffered from lack of sufficient intelligence data, which made it difficult to find the medical students who needed to be rescued. The Grenadian Army and its Cuban allies also offered greater resistance than the Americans expected.
Despite the difficulties, the Americans were able to take the island by mid-December. An Interim Advisory Council was established and it governed Grenada until December 1984, when Herbert A. Blaize, the head of the New National Party, was made Prime Minister through parliamentary elections.
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