Alves shut down the Cabral and Henda Committees and expanded his influence within the MPLA through his control of the nation's newspapers and state-run television.

Alves and Chief of Staff José Jacinto Van-Dúnem, his political ally, began planning a coup d'état against Neto.

[1] Alves and Van-Dunem planned to arrest Neto on 21 May before he arrived at a meeting of the Central Committee and before the Commission of Enquiry released its report on the activities of the Nitistas.

While the Cuban force captured the palace and radio station, the Nitistas kidnapped seven leaders within the government and the military, shooting and killing six.

[2] The Angolan government arrested tens of thousands of suspected Nitistas from May to November and tried them in secret courts overseen by Defense Minister Iko Carreira.

Those who were found guilty, including Van-Dunem, his wife Sita Valles, Jacob Caetano (the head of FAPLA's 8th Brigade), and political commissar Eduardo Evaristo, were shot and buried in secret graves.

Cuban Armed Forces Minister Raúl Castro sent an additional 4000 troops to prevent further dissension within the MPLA's ranks and met with Neto in August in a display of solidarity.