1973 Chilean coup d'état

The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a critical moment in both the history of Chile and the Cold War. 

Following many years of social unrest and political tension between the opposition-controlled Congress of Chile and the socialist President Salvador Allende, as well as economic warfare ordered by US President Richard Nixon. 

Allende was overthrown by the armed forces and national police."Controversial legacy of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet ...Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who overthrew Chile's democratically elected Communist government in a 1973 coup ..." , The Christian Science Monitor, 11 December 2006"CHILE: The Bloody End of a Marxist Dream" , Time Magazine, Quote: "....Allende's downfall had implications that reached far beyond the borders of Chile. His had been the first democratically elected Marxist government in Latin America..."

The presidential palace was bombed. During the air raids and ground attacks that preceded the coup, Allende gave his final speech, in which he vowed to stay in the presidential palace. Direct witness accounts of Allende's death agree that he killed himself in the palace.

This marked the beginning of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

References

Category:1973
Category:Cold War
Category:20th century in Chile