Chile 1973 Coup: Pinochet, Allende, and US Covert Action
Introduction
On 11 September 1973, the armed forces of Chile, led by General Augusto Pinochet, overthrew the government of President Salvador Allende — the world''s first democratically elected Marxist head of state. Allende died inside the La Moneda presidential palace during the assault. A four-man junta was installed; Pinochet became the dominant figure and ruled Chile as a military dictator until 1990.
The coup is distinguished from general Cold War interventions by the depth and specificity of the declassified documentary record confirming US covert involvement. The Nixon administration''s role is not a theory — it is established historical fact confirmed by thousands of declassified documents released through the National Security Archive''s Chile Documentation Project between 1999 and 2000.
Track I and Track II: The Two Covert-Action Programmes
Following Allende''s election victory in September 1970 and before his inauguration in November 1970, the Nixon administration pursued two parallel covert-action tracks authorised by the 40 Committee — the inter-agency group overseeing covert operations, chaired by Henry Kissinger.
Track I aimed to use political, economic, and diplomatic pressure to persuade the Chilean Congress not to ratify Allende''s election and to encourage a constitutional coup. This included working with Chilean opposition politicians and media.
Track II was a parallel, more aggressive programme that bypassed the 40 Committee''s usual oversight. CIA operatives were directed to instigate a military coup directly. Track II included contact with Chilean military officers willing to act against Allende. One operation involved supplying weapons and providing support for the kidnapping of Army Commander-in-Chief General René Schneider — a constitutionalist who opposed any coup — in October 1970. Schneider was shot during the kidnapping attempt and died three days later. Declassified CIA documents confirm US operational involvement in the planning, though the specific assassination team was not the one originally supported.
Nixon''s "Make the Economy Scream"
A White House tape recording and associated documents confirm that President Nixon instructed CIA Director Richard Helms to "make the economy scream" in Chile — a policy of economic destabilisation designed to create the conditions for Allende''s overthrow. The phrase appears in Helms''s notes from a meeting with Nixon on 15 September 1970. The economic pressure programme included blocking credit and investment, working with ITT Corporation (which had Chilean operations and feared nationalisation), and coordinating with international financial institutions.
ITT Corporation
International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT), which owned a 70% stake in Chile''s telephone company, collaborated directly with the CIA and the Nixon administration in efforts to prevent Allende from taking power. Internal ITT documents leaked to journalist Jack Anderson in 1972 revealed the corporation had offered the CIA a $1 million fund to prevent Allende''s inauguration. A subsequent Senate investigation — the Church Committee''s subcommittee on multinational corporations — documented the ITT-CIA collaboration in detail.
The Coup and Its Aftermath
On 11 September 1973, the Chilean air force bombed La Moneda and ground forces stormed the palace. Allende died during the assault; the official Chilean investigation concluded in 2011 that he died by suicide with an AK-47 rifle. The junta immediately imposed martial law, dissolved the legislature, and began a systematic campaign of political repression targeting Allende supporters, trade unionists, and leftists.
The Rettig Commission (1991) documented 2,115 deaths and disappearances attributable to political violence under the Pinochet regime between 1973 and 1990. The subsequent Valech Commission (2004) documented 28,000 cases of political imprisonment and torture. A widely cited figure — approximately 3,200 killed or disappeared — reflects continuing archival and investigative work.
The NSA Chile Declassification Project
Between 1999 and 2000, the Clinton administration authorised a major declassification of US government documents relating to Chile, coordinated through the National Security Archive. Thousands of CIA, State Department, NSC, and DIA documents were released. The documents confirmed Track I, Track II, knowledge of the coup planning, and communications between US officials and Chilean military officers in the period leading up to September 1973.
Verdict
Confirmed. US covert involvement in destabilising Allende''s government and facilitating conditions for the coup is established by thousands of declassified primary documents. The Nixon administration''s direct authorisation of covert action, the Track I/Track II programmes, the "make the economy scream" directive, ITT collaboration, and US awareness of coup planning are all documented facts, not theory.
Evidence Filters10
NSA Chile Declassification Project: thousands of documents released 1999–2000
SupportingStrongThe Clinton administration authorised a major declassification of CIA, State Department, NSC, and DIA documents relating to Chile between 1999 and 2000. The released documents confirm Track I, Track II, and US awareness of coup planning months in advance.
Nixon "make the economy scream" directive — documented on tape and in Helms notes
SupportingStrongRichard Helms's contemporaneous notes from a 15 September 1970 White House meeting record Nixon ordering that the Chilean economy be made to "scream" to destabilise Allende. The tape recording and Helms's notes are primary sources in the declassified record.
40 Committee authorisation of Track I and Track II confirmed
SupportingStrongDeclassified documents confirm the 40 Committee, chaired by Kissinger, authorised both covert-action tracks against Allende. Track II, which included contact with Chilean military officers and support for Schneider's kidnapping, was run without full oversight.
ITT Corporation collaboration with CIA documented by Church Committee
SupportingStrongA Church Committee subcommittee investigation (1973–75) documented ITT Corporation's offer of $1 million to the CIA to prevent Allende's inauguration and ongoing collaboration with US intelligence. Internal ITT documents leaked to journalist Jack Anderson in 1972 first revealed the scheme.
General Schneider assassination: US operational involvement confirmed
SupportingStrongDeclassified CIA documents confirm US operational involvement in planning the kidnapping of constitutionalist General René Schneider in October 1970. Schneider was shot and died; his death removed the primary military obstacle to a coup.
Rettig and Valech Commissions document 3,200+ deaths and 28,000 torture cases
SupportingStrongChile's own truth commissions — the Rettig Commission (1991) and Valech Commission (2004) — document the full scale of political violence under Pinochet: 2,115 documented deaths and disappearances (Rettig), 28,000 cases of political imprisonment and torture (Valech).
Debate over direct US operational role on September 11 itself
NeutralWhile US covert involvement in destabilising Allende is confirmed, some historians distinguish between creating conditions for the coup and directly ordering or orchestrating the September 11 operation. CIA Station Chief Henry Hecksher's exact operational role on the day remains subject to interpretive debate.
Rebuttal
The debate over direct operational involvement on September 11 does not alter the documented fact of prior US covert action to destabilise Allende. The distinction between "creating conditions" and "pulling the trigger" is analytically important but does not exculpate US policy.
Allende's death: suicide confirmed by Chilean investigation 2011
DebunkingStrongA 2011 Chilean judicial investigation using forensic evidence confirmed that Allende died by suicide during the La Moneda assault, using an AK-47 gifted by Fidel Castro. Some early accounts had alleged he was murdered. The forensic finding resolves this subsidiary question.
Rebuttal
The confirmed suicide finding applies specifically to the cause of Allende's death — it does not exonerate the coup plotters or the US government for the broader covert-action programme.
Allende's Death Was Confirmed as Suicide by 2011 Forensic Investigation
DebunkingStrongA 2011 Chilean judicial exhumation and forensic analysis by international experts concluded that Salvador Allende died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, consistent with the account of his personal physician Dr. Patricio Guijón who witnessed the death. The finding effectively closed the alternative hypothesis of assassination by Pinochet forces inside La Moneda, which had been a persistent element of coup mythology. Theories that continue to assert assassination without engaging the 2011 forensic findings should be evaluated against this substantive evidentiary update.
CIA Track II Was Distinct From Track I; Pinochet's Coup Had Its Own Chilean Military Logic
NeutralThe Nixon administration's 'make the economy scream' policy (Track I) involved economic pressure through multilateral institutions, while Track II targeted General René Schneider specifically to remove a constitutionalist obstacle in 1970 — three years before the coup. Pinochet's 1973 coup was planned by Chilean military officers responding to their own assessment of political and economic crisis under Allende; CIA involvement in coup planning itself was more limited than Track II mythology suggests. Conflating the 1970 Schneider operation with the 1973 coup overstates continuity of US operational direction across three years.
Evidence Cited by Believers6
NSA Chile Declassification Project: thousands of documents released 1999–2000
SupportingStrongThe Clinton administration authorised a major declassification of CIA, State Department, NSC, and DIA documents relating to Chile between 1999 and 2000. The released documents confirm Track I, Track II, and US awareness of coup planning months in advance.
Nixon "make the economy scream" directive — documented on tape and in Helms notes
SupportingStrongRichard Helms's contemporaneous notes from a 15 September 1970 White House meeting record Nixon ordering that the Chilean economy be made to "scream" to destabilise Allende. The tape recording and Helms's notes are primary sources in the declassified record.
40 Committee authorisation of Track I and Track II confirmed
SupportingStrongDeclassified documents confirm the 40 Committee, chaired by Kissinger, authorised both covert-action tracks against Allende. Track II, which included contact with Chilean military officers and support for Schneider's kidnapping, was run without full oversight.
ITT Corporation collaboration with CIA documented by Church Committee
SupportingStrongA Church Committee subcommittee investigation (1973–75) documented ITT Corporation's offer of $1 million to the CIA to prevent Allende's inauguration and ongoing collaboration with US intelligence. Internal ITT documents leaked to journalist Jack Anderson in 1972 first revealed the scheme.
General Schneider assassination: US operational involvement confirmed
SupportingStrongDeclassified CIA documents confirm US operational involvement in planning the kidnapping of constitutionalist General René Schneider in October 1970. Schneider was shot and died; his death removed the primary military obstacle to a coup.
Rettig and Valech Commissions document 3,200+ deaths and 28,000 torture cases
SupportingStrongChile's own truth commissions — the Rettig Commission (1991) and Valech Commission (2004) — document the full scale of political violence under Pinochet: 2,115 documented deaths and disappearances (Rettig), 28,000 cases of political imprisonment and torture (Valech).
Counter-Evidence2
Allende's death: suicide confirmed by Chilean investigation 2011
DebunkingStrongA 2011 Chilean judicial investigation using forensic evidence confirmed that Allende died by suicide during the La Moneda assault, using an AK-47 gifted by Fidel Castro. Some early accounts had alleged he was murdered. The forensic finding resolves this subsidiary question.
Rebuttal
The confirmed suicide finding applies specifically to the cause of Allende's death — it does not exonerate the coup plotters or the US government for the broader covert-action programme.
Allende's Death Was Confirmed as Suicide by 2011 Forensic Investigation
DebunkingStrongA 2011 Chilean judicial exhumation and forensic analysis by international experts concluded that Salvador Allende died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, consistent with the account of his personal physician Dr. Patricio Guijón who witnessed the death. The finding effectively closed the alternative hypothesis of assassination by Pinochet forces inside La Moneda, which had been a persistent element of coup mythology. Theories that continue to assert assassination without engaging the 2011 forensic findings should be evaluated against this substantive evidentiary update.
Neutral / Ambiguous2
Debate over direct US operational role on September 11 itself
NeutralWhile US covert involvement in destabilising Allende is confirmed, some historians distinguish between creating conditions for the coup and directly ordering or orchestrating the September 11 operation. CIA Station Chief Henry Hecksher's exact operational role on the day remains subject to interpretive debate.
Rebuttal
The debate over direct operational involvement on September 11 does not alter the documented fact of prior US covert action to destabilise Allende. The distinction between "creating conditions" and "pulling the trigger" is analytically important but does not exculpate US policy.
CIA Track II Was Distinct From Track I; Pinochet's Coup Had Its Own Chilean Military Logic
NeutralThe Nixon administration's 'make the economy scream' policy (Track I) involved economic pressure through multilateral institutions, while Track II targeted General René Schneider specifically to remove a constitutionalist obstacle in 1970 — three years before the coup. Pinochet's 1973 coup was planned by Chilean military officers responding to their own assessment of political and economic crisis under Allende; CIA involvement in coup planning itself was more limited than Track II mythology suggests. Conflating the 1970 Schneider operation with the 1973 coup overstates continuity of US operational direction across three years.
Timeline
Nixon orders CIA to "make the economy scream"
Three days after Allende's election victory, Nixon meets CIA Director Helms at the White House. Helms's notes record the instruction to destabilise Chile's economy and prevent Allende from taking power. The 40 Committee authorises Track I; Track II is initiated with less oversight.
Source →General Schneider shot during kidnapping attempt
Army Commander-in-Chief General René Schneider, a constitutionalist who opposed any military coup, is shot during a CIA-linked kidnapping operation. He dies three days later. His death removes the primary military obstacle to a coup and demonstrates the operational reach of US covert action.
Military junta overthrows Allende; La Moneda bombed
Chilean air force jets bomb La Moneda presidential palace. Ground forces storm the building. Allende dies inside — later confirmed by Chilean forensic investigation as suicide. General Pinochet becomes the dominant figure of the four-man junta. Mass arrests and political executions begin immediately.
NSA Chile Documentation Project releases thousands of declassified documents
The Clinton administration authorises a major declassification of Chile-related CIA, State Department, NSC, and DIA documents. Thousands of pages released through the National Security Archive confirm Track I, Track II, the Schneider operation, and US awareness of coup planning. The documentary basis for US complicity moves from allegation to confirmed historical record.
Source →
Verdict
Thousands of declassified CIA, NSC, State Department, and DIA documents released 1999–2000 confirm that the Nixon administration ran two parallel covert-action programmes — Track I and Track II — to prevent Allende from taking power and to destabilise his government. Nixon's "make the economy scream" directive is on tape. ITT Corporation collaboration is documented by the Church Committee. The coup occurred 11 September 1973; approximately 3,200 were killed or disappeared under Pinochet 1973–90.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the US government cause the 1973 Chilean coup?
The US government ran documented covert-action programmes — Track I and Track II — to prevent Allende from taking power and to destabilise his government. Nixon's "make the economy scream" directive is on tape. Whether this constitutes "causing" the coup or "creating conditions" for it is a matter of analytical distinction; the documentary record of US covert action is not in dispute.
What is the 40 Committee and what did it authorise?
The 40 Committee was the inter-agency group overseeing US covert operations, chaired by Henry Kissinger. Declassified documents confirm it authorised Track I — political and economic pressure against Allende — and that Track II, a more aggressive programme involving contact with Chilean military officers, was run with less oversight. Both tracks are confirmed by the 1999–2000 document releases.
How did Allende die?
A 2011 Chilean judicial investigation using forensic analysis concluded that Salvador Allende died by suicide during the La Moneda assault, using an AK-47 rifle gifted to him by Fidel Castro. The finding resolved a decades-long question about whether he was killed by coup forces or died by his own hand.
What happened to Chile under Pinochet after 1973?
Pinochet ruled Chile as a military dictator until 1990. The Rettig Commission (1991) documented 2,115 deaths and disappearances; the Valech Commission (2004) documented 28,000 cases of political imprisonment and torture. A widely used figure of approximately 3,200 killed or disappeared reflects ongoing archival and investigative work. Pinochet was arrested in London in 1998 on a Spanish extradition request but died in 2006 before trial.
Sources
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Further Reading
- paperChurch Committee Report: Covert Action in Chile 1963–1973 — US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1975)
- articleThe Death of Allende — National Security Archive briefing book — National Security Archive (2003)
- bookThe Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability — Peter Kornbluh (2003)