09/11/2023
The United States was not only a victim on this day in history, but also a villain. A few decades previous to the attack on the World Trade Center, President Nixon and the CIA helped Chile’s military overthrow a democratically elected government because socialism.
--On This Day in History S**t Went Down: September 11, 1973--
It wasn’t quite like America’s involvement in overthrowing a democratically elected government in Guatemala in 1954, or when they did the same thing in Iran in 1953, or that time in Indonesia in ... get the picture? This one was a bit different, except Nixon wanted Chilean President Allende out and that’s what fu***ng happened.
Salvador Allende ran for president four times before he was successful, narrowly attaining the nation’s top political position in 1970 via a coalition government. He was a “hey maybe we should look after the people” kind of guy, seeking to nationalize industries, improve education, and elevate the living conditions of the working class. Of course the right wing was furious, because caring about people is co**ie bu****it, and the right controlled congress so there was a lot of conflict during the three years of Allende’s reign.
Unlike many other South American countries, Chile was recognized as a politically stable democracy for decades, until that Augusto Pinochet crudnugget got involved. Pinochet, a Chilean Army general, got a lot of help from the U.S. in seizing power. From Day One of Allende’s election victory Nixon said we gotta get rid of that fu**er, and he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations to destabilize Allende’s government and make it ripe for a coup d’état. One of the more direct things the CIA did was pay for the assassination of the chief of the Chilean Army, who was opposed to a coup, so that a more coup-friendly general could take command.
The CIA created turmoil, but the real damage was done via American economic policy, leading international reprisals against Chile that nuked that nation’s economy. This led to rampant inflation, strikes, food shortages, and violence between left and right, making it ripe for Pinochet to lead a violent overthrow of the government. And that’s what he did, on September 11, 1973. The CIA and therefore Nixon were informed of the coup the day before as a “thanks for all the support” courtesy.
Pinochet said resign motherfu**er and Allende said no fu***ng way and Pinochet said suck on these rockets and sent fighter jets to bomb the presidential palace. As troops approached, Allende took his AK-47—a gift from Fidel Castro—and put the barrel under his chin and bid the world adios. For years it was alleged he’d not taken his life, but in 2011 his body was exhumed and examined by an international team of independent experts and they said yeah he did himself in.
Perhaps he did it because he knew what a murderous motherfu**er Pinochet was. The next 17 years of Pinochet as military dictator of Chile super sucked, all with the blessing of the United States.
Get my book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY S**T WENT DOWN at JamesFell.com/books.
