Bayou of Pigs: The True Story of an Audacious Plot to Turn a Tropical Island into a Criminal Paradise

by Stewart Bell

The story of how a criminal Shangri-La almost happened

In 1981, a small but heavily armed force of misfits from the United States and Canada set off on an unlikely mission: to invade the impoverished Caribbean island of Dominica, overthrow its government in a coup d'etat, and install a new bought-off prime minister. For two years, the gangleaders recruited manpower, wooed investors, forged links with the mob, stockpiled weapons, and planned their assault. They called it Operation Red Dog. They were going to make millions. All that stood in their way were two federal agents from Louisiana on the biggest case of their lives. Bayou of Pigs tells a remarkable story of foreign military intervention, revolutionary politics, greed, treachery, stupidity, deceit, and one of the most outlandish crimes ever attempted: the theft of a nation.

Stewart Bell (Toronto, ON) is the author of Cold Terror (978-0-470-84056-6).

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction, Crime, American

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[UF · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago, and I never knew anything of what occurred then. I'm a Dominican and it was really enlightening to me to read this. And my God, thank you for stupid criminals because my country might have been very different had they succeeded.

I remember discussing the contents of this book with my mother, and she remembers this happening and gave me her take on it.

This was an interesting read, and I recommend it not only to Dominicans but Americans as well.

[Toni Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bayou of Pigs" is an account, a fine piece of investigative journalism relating how a group of white Canadian and American supremacists and mercenaries planned to overthrow the government of Dominica in a coup d'état back in the early 80's.

For two years the gang leaders recruited manpower, sought investors, stockpiled weapons, forged links with the mob and planned their preposterous mission "Operation Red Dog". Installing a puppet government at the helm, the capital would be turned into a paradise for criminals. Millions would be made with cocaine and arms dealerships and casinos. Fortunately, federal agents from Louisiana derailed their plans....On April 27, 1981, as the mercenaries were about to set sail for Dominica, federal agents moved in, arrested them and seized their weapons. Arrests followed in Toronto and Dominica.

This book is based on hundreds of files recently declassified by the US government, documents uncovered in three countries and interviews from multiple witnesses. It also discloses photos and documents taken from the investigation, the mercenaries' contracts and assault plans. There are detailed accounts of the roles played by the mercenaries and by high-level members of the US and Canadian far right.

I could hardly put this highly captivating, well-researched and sharply written story down. It is filled with comical twists and turns and enough bizarre plots and conspiracies, like a script right out of Hollywood. I must admit, it is scary thinking crimes are committed against good people and nations only to advance political, nationalistic and criminal ambitions. "Very well done", I am looking forward to reading more of this author's work.

[Jim]

Dominica sounds like such an awesome place, we've decided this is where we're going to go this year for our vacation: Calibishie Cove.

[Les Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre. But interesting if you are interested in the island of Dominica.

[Ben Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply a great damn story about a bunch of white supremacist idiots in the late 70s/early 80s who, under the banner of anti-communism, justify a very badly planned attempt to overthrow a little-known Caribbean island called Dominca. Full of comedy throughout, BoP has a great pace (easily-handled chapters broken up into shorter subsections) -- a trend which is necessary with today's mobile device distractions and glut of ways to pass time in insignificant ways.

[Sharon Dorival · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is kind of an odd story. I never heard this version of the coup before. Very intriguing.

It is quite easy to persuade power hungry individuals. They are blinded by their desire for what is not rightfully theirs. I will always admire Dame Eugenia Charles. What I digested about politics came from the way she led the country. I didn't like how she dealt with the dreads. I felt like many suffered because the mistakes of a few brainwashed ones. I guess Dominica never needed an army so by defusing them she forced the crooks to rethink their plans. Lesson learnt: be weary of too good to be true schemes.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what is scarier: the fact that this entire book is true, or that these guys thought this would work. Clearly, students in the US do not learn enough Caribbean history past the party with pirates, because I’ve ever heard of any of this—and I’ve been to Dominica twice.

[Too Many Toys · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became interested in the topic because of the relationship to the Kennedy investigation. This occurred around the time I graduated high school and I didn't hear about it. The book was entertaining and informative. There was about the right amount of background vs. story.

[Dave Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gairy is a wanted man. Patrick John is a wanted man. What began as hearing a random calypso song in a beach-side dive restaurant ends in reading this book. It's not just a strange story, it's also an interesting look back at the instability and violence of the late 1970's and early 1980's.

[Lew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

It never disappoints that real people are a lot stupider than fictional characters. Even worse is that some are in positions of importance. In this sad ere of Trump, I guess that I need to adjust; almost anything is possible.

The writing doesn't disappoint; quite good.

[Stephen Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about the half witted attempts to stage a coup in Dominica

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishing true story that somehow I missed when it happened in the early 1980s. Highly recommended.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, the fact thta i'm from Dominica makes this 10 times better

[Dennis Coon]

Bayou

Great in depth work and research for this book. At times it held my interest. At times I thought details were warranted.

[Josh Samuels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great unknown history book. Right up my alley.

[Evan Frew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m someone who needs a physical copy of the material and since this was virtual through my library that definitely added to my experience. It’s an interesting story though!

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

you gotta know better than to let a demon twink convince you to stage a coup

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is a bit overhyped on the internet, cause of the supposed Ku Klux Klan involvement, but the two main perpetrators were mostly in it for the money.

The recruiter succeeded to convince some of the klansmen / rightwingers that they were going to fight communism and that the CIA was involved. The problem was that Dominica wasn`t communist, but their first plan was to invade Grenade with Domica as a starting point.

[Stephanie Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story itself but it would have been more interesting if someone had been telling the story instead of laying out facts.