Prima ballerina: A prime suspect in Panama plot to oust the president
On Mastermind this week, I was so astounded, I nearly spilled my cup of tea when quizmaster John Humphrys revealed that ballet dancer, Margot Fonteyn was once arrested for attempting a coup in Panama.
“That’s like Strictly’s Darcey Bussell plotting the overthrow of the government of Portugal,” gasped my daughter.
I have to admit, it does sound far-fetched, so can you tell me what it was all about, Queries Man? – M.
Far-fetched, but still true. Dame Margot Fonteyn was an English prima ballerina who spent her entire career with the Royal Ballet.
She is probably most famous for her legendary dance partnership with Rudolf Nureyev in the 1960s, just after the Russian had defected to the West.
In 1955, she married the Panamanian politician, Roberto Arias, who was then appointed Panamanian ambassador to the UK.
Four years later, in 1959, while on holiday in Panama, Fonteyn was arrested, detained for 24 hours, then deported to New York.
Her husband had attempted a coup d’état against President Ernesto de la Guardia, quite possibly with the support of Fidel Castro.
Fonteyn admitted to the British ambassador that she had indeed been involved in the plot. The Ambassador kept her confession quiet and negotiated her release, while Arias escaped capture by fleeing to Peru.
Back in Britain, Fonteyn said that the plot was hatched when she and her husband were visiting Cuba in January 1959, with Castro promising to assist Arias with arms or men.
When she retired from dancing in 1979 the couple returned to Panama and became ranchers, where she looked after a herd of four hundred cattle.
She passed away in 1991.