Chilean Political History1960s to 1990s

Salvador AllendeA Marxist who headed the popular Unity

coalition; as a member of the Socialist party, Allende was a senator, deputy, and cabinet minister who ran for president in 1952, 1958, 1964, and 1970, the last of which he won. Under his presidency, he nationalized private industries, banks, and Chile’s major copper mines. He died during the military coup d’etat that ended his presidency.

Popular UnityA coalition led by and supportive of Salvadore

Allende and comprised of most of the Chilean left: the Socialist party, the Radical Party, the Social Democratic party and MAPU. It included socialists, communists, radicals, and dissident Christian Democrats.

General Augusto PinochetThe commander-in-chief of the army, head of the

military junta that overthrew Salvador Allende, and eventually president of Chile from 1973 to 1990. Under his regime, Congress and all political parties were unrecognized or illegal, and social services and incomes were largely cut; these changes induced unemployment, losses of freedom, and suffering in society. However, long-term economic growth ensued as the economy was made international and liberal. In general, the junta subsisted through force, the oligarchy, large foreign loans. Anyone suspected of opposition was subjected to such human rights violations as disappearance, torture and death.

Desaparecidos (Disappeared People)The desaparecidos were taken prisoner by

the military regime without arrest. Generally, they were tortured and then killed.

Rettig ReportNamed for former Senator Raul Rettig,

president of Chile’s National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, is a report of human rights violations during Pinochet’s military dictatorship. It states that 3000 people were killed or disappeared in his time as dictator.

Colonia DignidadOne of the most important detention and

torture centres during Pinochet’s rule, was used by DINA as a concentration camp.

U.S Involvement/CIA/KissingerThe CIA covertly campaigned against Salvador Allende during the

years he ran for president by propagating threats of violence and repression to come with a Marxist victory. Upon his election in 1970, the U.S expressed disapproval and imposed economic sanctions against Chile. The CIA fully supported and promoted a military coup during Allende’s regime. However, though the U.S government was pleased with the outcome, there is no evidence that the U.S. was directly involved in Pinochet’s coup in 1973. The U.S. actively supported the military junta after its overthrow of Allende and made many of Pinochet’s officers into paid contacts of the CIA or U.S. military despite such officers’ known involvement in human rights violations. The U.S. also facilitated communications among the leaders of the Southern Cone countries ( Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uraguay) involved in Operation Condor. On September 11, 2001, Chilean human rights lawyers filed a criminal case against Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State at the time, along with Operation Condor leaders for alleged involvement

Valech ReportPublished in 2004 following a 6 month study

of human rights violations committed in Chile during Pinochet’s dictatorship. A second part was released in 2005. The testimonies are classified for the next 50 years.

Eduardo Frei MontalvaElected to the presidency in 1964 with U.S.

support and anti-leftist political propoganda in order to defeat Allende. After Allende’s 1970 election, Frei led the opposition and supported the military coup in 1973. Frei opposed Pinochet’s free market policies, however. His family alleges he was poisoned in 1982.

Orlando LatelierAmbassador to the U.S. in 1971 under Allende’s

government. In 1973, he was Foreign Minister and Defense Minister. After the coup, he was arrested, tortured, and sent to a political prison.

In 1974, he was released and moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked with the Institute for Policy Studies. On September 21, 1976, he was assassinated by a car bomb along with his American assistant, Ronni Karpen Moffitt. His death is believed to be part of Operation Condor. Apparently, the CIA had knowledge of a planned assassination in the U.S. before it occurred.

DINAEstablished in 1973 as an Army Intelligence

unit, the Direccion de Inteligencia Nacional was the Chilean secret police during Pinochet’s dictatorship which made it possible for him to come into power. DINA was involved in Operation Condor as well as other covert operations and was directly involved with the disappearances, torture, and murders of perceived leftist opponents of Pinochet’s regime.

Manuel ConterasHead of DINA from 1973 to 1977 and a CIA

paid asset from 1975 to 1977. He was one of the most powerful and feared men in Chile as he led the agency to search out and murder political opponents of Pinochet’s dictatorship. He is regarded as the main obstacle to a reasonable human rights policy within Pinochet’s government, though he blamed Pinochet, stating that he personally ordered human rights violations.

U.S. School of the Americas/ WHISCThe U.S. Army facility at Fort Benning in

Columbus, Georgia. Its motto is “Liberty, peace, and Brotherhood.” It was focussed on teaching nation-building skills such as bridge building and equipment repair. It is criticized for its training of members of governments guilty of serious human rights violations as well advocating techniques that violate the Geneva Conventions. Numerous graduates have been associated with death squads and violent coups in Latin American countries.

Operation CondorA campaign of counter-terrorism and

intelligence operations, established and carried out by 6 military dictatorships in the Southern Cone from the 1950s to the 1980s. Its aim was to eliminate Marxist influence and ideas and to deter subversive elements against the respective governments. The Cone countries cooperated in locating, observing, and assassinating political opponents within Latin America and abroad.

Terror ArchivesFound in a police station in a suburb of Asuncion,

Paraguay, by human-rights activist and judge Jose Fernandez and lawyer Dr. Martin Almada, a former prisoner, one year after Operation Silencio began, the terror archives are records describing the fates of those kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the security forces of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uraguay under operation Condor. The archives note 50,000 persons murdered, 30,000 disappeared, and 400,00 incarcerated people.

Operation SilencioA process started in April 1991 to avoid and

prevent human rights abuse investigations by Chilean judges. Those involved fled Chile to escape testifying before the court.