1890 Salvadoran coup d'état

President Francisco Menéndez, politically an Idealist Liberal, gained power on June 22, 1885 after overthrowing Presidents Rafael Zaldívar and Fernando Figueroa.^[1][2]

Ezeta, a pragmatic liberal and former ally of Menéndez, felt betrayed as he had been excluded from the "Junta of Notables" that Menéndez formed to select a successor. On June 22, 1890, Ezeta along with a small army he had rounded up, stormed the Presidential Palace in San Salvador during a banquet which Menéndez was present at. President Menéndez supposedly attempted to hold back Ezeta's forces with a sword in the palace gardens, though he would be found dead in the aftermath of the rebellion.^[3]

Ezeta proclaimed himself Provisional President that same night, also appointing his brother, Antonio Ezeta, the commander-in-chief of the army. Antonio later became the Vice President.^[4][5][6]

• List of Salvadoran coup d'états
• History of El Salvador