Paloman invasion of Cycoldian Denver

Operation Loco
Military situation as of 17 February 2023        Claimed by Cycoldia       Controlled by Paloma
Date 17 February 2023 Location Duchy of Denver, Cycoldia Result Partial Paloman victory Symbolic liberation of Denver is announced Paloman Military Government established in land controlled to the north
Belligerents
Paloma Paloman Norte de Denver	Cycoldia
Commanders and leaders
Aidan McGrath Jack Ryan Morris Abrams Wiucki-Dunswed Elijah Wiucki-Dunswed	Christina I (assumed) Saffron Spurlock (assumed)
Strength
2	0
Casualties and losses
0	0

Paloman invasion of Cycoldian Denver, known by internal documents as Operation Loco or the Doint, took place on 18 February 2023 when the Paloman People's Army invaded land claimed by the Grand Republic of Cycoldia in Denver.

Background

Cycoldian claims on Pulau Tekukor

Main articles: Pulau Tekukor and Tekukor Island

Tensions between Paloma and Cycoldia had existed since May 2022, when the Paloman-administered territory of Pulau Tekukor was claimed by Cycoldian monarch Christina I as part of Sequeria, despite the latter having no local connection to the claim. Christina published documents which aimed to establish her claim to the land as having been chronologically prior to the establishment of Pulau Tekukor, but she failed to specify her motivation for claiming the land inhabited by Palomans and was accused of forging the timestamps on the documents.

Then Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Martel Sims, sent a letter to Christina I in response to the Cycoldian claims that the claims were in breach of the Paloman National Security Act of 2021 then stating the Cycoldian government should "cease and desist and back away from attempting mischievous behaviour towards the Paloman Government and its territories unless the government will be forced to act accordingly." The letter was subsequently ignored, leading to further tensions between both sides, with the Paloman government seeking an opportunity to claim a Cycoldian territory as a form of tit for tat retaliation.

Operation

Abrams Wiucki-Dunswed during the operation, seen standing on Adams Street during the event

On 18 February 2023, a Paloman force consisting of Abrams Wiucki-Dunswed along with Elijah and George Wiucki-Dunswed first entered the Duchy of Denver and visited McKay Lake in the northern part of the Duchy, establishing a military administrations in the area which would later become Norte de Denver. Later on they went south to Adams Street where they declared a symbolic liberation of Denver from the Grand Duchy of Cycoldia and its return to the United States, noting no opposition during the invasion. Photographs were taken of Wiucki-Dunswed in the city to prove the Paloman presence there.

Reactions

The invasion was viewed positively by many Palomas and other nations with relations with Paloma, with some nations declaring full support of the invasion.

Disputes to validity

Upon becoming aware of the operation, Christina I objected that it did not constitute a Paloman invasion of Cycoldia, claiming that the land labelled as the "Duchy of Denver" on an online map of Cycoldia constitutes a "residential citizenship boundary" rather than a sovereign territorial claim of Cycoldia. The Paloman government argued that this clarification had been made restrospectively after the fact, but Christina maintained that Denver had never been a fully established Cycoldian land claim although being listed on official Cycoldian maps.

See also

• Tekukor Island