López, Narciso [key], 1798?–1851, Spanish-American soldier, b. Venezuela. After serving in the Spanish army during the Venezuelan revolution against Spain, he left his native country for Cuba (1823). He went to Spain, fought against the Carlists, and became a field marshal and a senator in the Cortes. He obtained an appointment as governor of Trinidad, Cuba, but lost it when the supreme command in Cuba was changed in 1843. A liberal, he began to plan a revolution against Spain, and in 1848 he was forced to flee to the United States when his scheme was discovered. He obtained American aid and planned a filibustering expedition to Cuba (1848). It did not succeed, and, two years later, a new expedition against Cárdenas was scarcely more successful. In 1851 a third expedition did gain a foothold on the island, but ended in complete defeat—López himself was captured and executed.
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