U.S. acknowledges role in 1973 Chilean coup after declassifying key documents

The US government recently declassified two key reports related to the 1973 coup in Chile, acknowledging its involvement in the incident.

The US embassy in Chile communicated that as part of a commitment to increase transparency, portions of the president’s daily reports from September 8 and 11, 1973, concerning Chile, were made public.

These documents were part of the daily briefings received by President Richard Nixon (1969-1974) at the time, prepared by intelligence services to keep him informed about the situation in the South American nation.

The declassification, Washington clarified, was a response to a request from the Chilean government, aiming to provide a more profound understanding of the shared history.

During a press conference, Chile’s acting Foreign Minister, Gloria de la Fuente, expressed gratitude to the Biden administration for initiating the transparency process.

The 1973 coup saw the Chilean Armed Forces, under General Augusto Pinochet, bomb the La Moneda Palace, the government headquarters, and overthrow the socialist President Salvador Allende (1970-1973).

The US government supported groups opposed to Allende, orchestrated disinformation campaigns, and conducted covert operations led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to destabilize Allende’s administration.

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