On September 4, 1970
President Salvador Allende became the first socialist to be democratically
elected
in the Western Hemisphere in the Twentieth Century (Kornbluh 2). Running
under the party name “socialist parliamentarian,” Allende
gained the presidency after running in four elections. Eleven days later,
the US, under President Nixon, ordered a covert
operation to prevent
Allende’s inauguration. With the help of Henry Kissinger (National
Security Advisor), Richard Helms (CIA Director), and Attorney General
John Mitchell, this coup was underway under the name Project
FUBELT.
To gain a better understanding of Project FUBELT, see the National Security
Archives declassified
documents regarding
the project.
The purpose
of Project FUBELT, under CIA project supervisor Tom Karamessines, was to
remove Salvador Allende from Power. The plan was to create a “coup
climate” in three “thrusts.” These three
thrusts consisted of “economic warfare,” “political
warfare,” and “psychological
warfare” in order to heighten tension and force public outrage
(Kornbluh 17). See CIA
cables (additional
CIA cables) from headquarters regarding the creation
of a coup climate.
Ambassador
Korry pointed out to Nixon (on September 21, 1970) that in order to block
the president’s
ascension, General Schneider would have to be eliminated. With the
help of General Viaux, the plan included
the kidnapping and assassination of Schneider. For further information,
see the debreifing
of Richard Helms. However, at the last minute, President
Nixon called this plan off, and began planning how to overthrow Allende
post-inauguration (Kornbluh 26-7), however, they received news of Chilean
plans to kidnap and kill Schneider, led by General Valenzuela. After
an exchange of arms and one failed attempt, Colonel Wimert succeeded,
and despite emergency open-heart surgery, General Schneider died the
morning of October 25 (Kornbluh 28).
Thus
the "coup climate" was gained, allowing for a coup d'etat, and the
removal of president Allende. On September 11, 1973 General Agusto
Pinochet, who had just 19 days prior become the commander in cheif
of the army, staged a bloody coup d'etat which resulted in the death
of Allende and Pinochet's rise to military control of the state (CNN.com).
Further
Reading:
Kornbluh, Peter. The Pinochet File: A Declassified
Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability.
Chapter 1: Project FUBELT - "Formula for Choas".
National Security Archive. New York, NY. © 2003.
Chile and the United States: Declassified Documents
relating to the Military Coup, 1970-1976. National Security Archives
Online. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm.
CNN Pinochet Special. http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0003/pinochet.timeline/frameset.exclude.html.