It was the original 9/11, when the fascist General Pinochet backed by more than simply moral support from the empire, overthrew the democratic government of Chile. This was a key part of the US' War on Democracy.

granma.cu - Allende: a predecessor

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

One of the more shameful moments in American foreign policy.


And that is saying something.

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"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

You said a mouthful.

For the record, it wasn't the 'original 9/11. Yes, it was el once de septiembre, but there was a previous 'once' that was as catastrophic but which didn't involve the US (there was no US). See the War of Spanish Sucession for info.

but please don't get me started on Chile.

Yes, Allende came to power through democratic means and was supported by a huge number of Chileans but many in his government were far from 'democratic' in their ideology and outlook.

Besides, the US govt wasn't the only foreign government who got its hands bloodied in that affair. The British and Canadian governments had as much to do with it as 'ours' did. Oh, and let's not forget the Russians and Cubans too.

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"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

Well i would never dream of excusing the British. The old witch Thatcher was probably Pinochet's very best of friends. However, as with most incidents planning was primarily a US thing, they fought the propaganda war that lead up to this.

And you seem to surprisingly be following the CIA line of Allende's government was communist, that is the clear implication you have made. Even if they were - which they weren't, they still came to power democratically, by the will of the people and the US, Pinochet and any other involved party overturned that will and instead enforced their own. That cannot be excused, and should never be forgotten.

ALso i must ask as to why and on what basis you implicate the USSR and Cuba. For simply respecting the wishes of the people of Chile, for recogniing Allende's government as just and legitimate ?

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

Well, here we go...

With any luck this one may be as long and winding as the Ukrainian famine...

First off, let me make my position on this clear (or as clear as possible).

You may remember, I lived in Chile for a year as an undergrad. While I was there I read more books on Chilean history than you could shake a stick at, discussed 'el golpe' with more people or different political orientation than you could shake a stick at and have heard about every possible angle one could take on this whole issue.

I am neither pro nor anti Allende and am very much anti Pinochet. I celebrated with a bottle of 'Gato Negro' the night he finally died.

Regarding the issue of 'planning'...

The US State Dept, Embassy personel and CIA agents were definitely involved, paid many bills and likely shared lots of 'ideas'.

"The CIA spent $425,000, however the CIA did not provide direct assistance to any candidate as they had in 1964, but rather focused on anti-Allende propaganda, a "scare campaign" of posters and pamphlets linking an Allende victory with the violence and repression associated with the Soviet Union [1]. Editorials and news stories reinforcing this message were also written with CIA guidance, especially in the newspaper El Mercurio, and disseminated throughout the national media. The goal was to contribute to and exploit the political polarization and financial panic of the period."
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But they did not 'plan' the coup. According to every source I know...

here's some:

Chile - LANIC

FYI: LANIC is the best source I know for Latin America, so if you're ever looking for info, I can't recommend it highly enough.

The US government got involved FIRST at the behest of the Chilean right and only later at the behest of US business interests. What you call the 'propaganda war' was aided but not led by the US or any of its agents but led and principally funded by Chileans themselves. Yes, we have blood on our hands, but clearly we don't learn from previous experience.

With regard to the 'CIA line' that you claim I 'follow'...

Yes, Allende was a Socialist. He helped found the Chilean Socialist party. But as you well know, there is no clear line between Communist and Socialist especially as seen from the American perspective.

Allende called himself a Marxist:

"The Communist Party is the party of the working class, the Communist Party is the Party of the Soviet Union, the first socialist state in the world, and whoever wants to create a socialist government without the communists is not a marxist; and I am a marxist."

so one could be forgiven for concluding that Allende is also a Communist.

Allende's Socialist party was part of a coalition called 'Unidad Popular' (Popular Unity). Other coalition members included the Communists and the Radicals among others.

Now to the election...

Allende did win a very hard fought elecion by a slim margin. However, he only won a plurality. Additionally, there was a lower than average turnout for this election for some reason (83%, it's usually over 90%). Admittedly, if it had been higer it might have helped Allende, but of course things might have gone any other way as well.

Allende won only 36.6% of the vote. While his top opponent, Alessandri won 35.2%. You have to admit (OK, no you don't), that's a pretty small margin for victory. Honestly, in most other countries there would have been a run-off, which Allende would likely have lost, but we'll never know.

Now to the Soviet involvement:

"KGB money was more precisely targeted. Allende made a personal request for Soviet money through his personal contact, KGB officer Svyatoslav Kuznetsov, who urgently came to Chile from Mexico City to help Allende. The original allocation of money for these elections through the KGB was $400,000, and additional personal subsidy of $50,000 directly to Allende [1]. It is believed that help from KGB was a decisive factor, because Allende won by a narrow margin of 39,000 votes of a total of the 3 million cast. After the elections, the KGB director Yuri Andropov obtained a permission for additional money and other resources from the Central Committee of the CPSU to ensure Allende victory in Congress. In his request on 24 October, he stated that KGB "will carry out measures designed to promote the consolidation of Allende's victory and his election to the post of President of the country"
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^ a b c d e f Vasili Mitrokhin and Christopher Andrew, The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World, Basic Books (2005) hardcover, 677 pages ISBN 0-465-00311-7, pages 69-88. A great read! Highly recommended!

And Cuba:

You probably know of Castro's visit to Santiago as well as Allende's visit to Havana. Support was clear, at least of the ideological and intangible sense. But, and I can't find a source for this yet, but it has been contended that Cubans were responsible for shipping Soviet-made weapons to Chile for use by the coalition party members should they need to take a more 'radical' approach to the 'Chilean road to Socialism'.

Now, let me say this from my personal experience:

Chile is still a very divided nation when it comes to politics. Those wounds are just below the surface and many, many people, rightly have very strong emotions one way or the other regarding the events of the 70's and since then. There are those who would, and do, argue that without the Coup and the resultant bloodshed, Chile would not be where it is today, one of the most stable nations in the hemisphere. And of course others who say that no amount of political or economic success or stability is worth 15 thousand murders.

The truth is, I agree with both sides.

Chile is 1973 was involved in a Civil War, nothing less. And laying the blame for what happened at the feet of Uncle Sam is disingenuous at best and does not take into account ANY of the developments IN Chile that led to it and which would have led to it whether the US got involved or not.

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"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

I believe you, Mono, because from my experience your analyses regarding Latin America are spot on.

As you know, I'm not Soviet apologist, so I won't even go down that road. I just have no respect for the vast majority of US involvement in this region, and believe in self determination.

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"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

I couldn't agree more with self determination.

Unfortunately, niether the US nor the Soviet governments gave/give a damn about what the 'locals' think regarding their own form of government.

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"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

My nutshell description of the Cold War would be two empires (the USA and Russia) expanding their sphere's of influence and power, in the disguise of protecting capitalism/spreading communism, respectively.

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"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

To the detriment of every country they put their grubby little hands on.

Certainly to the detriment of 15 thousand Chileans, many of whom are buried in graves that say nothing more than 'sin nombre'.

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"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

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"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."