September 11, 1973: General Augusto Pinochet, with CIA backing, overthrew Chile's democratically-elected socialist President Salvador Allende. The coup followed a sustained U.S. campaign to destabilize Chile's economy—President Nixon ordered the CIA to "make the economy scream" to prevent Allende from taking or holding power.
Allende refused to surrender and died defending the Presidential Palace. Pinochet's dictatorship killed, imprisoned, or disappeared over 40,000 people.
The Chile operation was part of Operation Condor, a covert U.S.-backed plan to install authoritarian regimes across Latin America and crush leftist movements. Condor is estimated to have caused 60,000-80,000 deaths across the continent.
Allende refused to surrender and died defending the Presidential Palace. Pinochet's dictatorship killed, imprisoned, or disappeared over 40,000 people.
The Chile operation was part of Operation Condor, a covert U.S.-backed plan to install authoritarian regimes across Latin America and crush leftist movements. Condor is estimated to have caused 60,000-80,000 deaths across the continent.