 Having apparently resigned his military commission, he assisted Abdelhafid, Caliph of Marrakesh pretender to the sultanate, in overthrowing his brother Abdelaziz, then sultan of Morocco, in a coup d'état known as the Hafidiya.This is how Belton acquired the title 'Kaid', or Commander.During the Spanish Civil War, he was arrested in Seville having crossed the border from Gibraltar.