The coup d’état in Chile on September 11, 1973 was a military action carried out by the Armed Forces of Chile, made up of the Navy, the Air Force and the Army, to overthrow the socialist president Salvador Allende and the leftist government of the Popular Unity.
On the morning of September 11, 1973, the leaders of the Armed Forces bombed and attacked the presidencial palace and demanded the immediate resignation of Salvador Allende. After the bombing of the presidential headquarters, Allende allegedly committed suicide and with him, died the democratic and socialist goverment.
The coup established a military junta led by Pinochet who stablished a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990. During this period, systematic human rights violations were committed as freedoms were suppressed.
The United States government, led by President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, decisively influenced groups opposed to Allende, actively financing and supporting the realization of a coup.
« Back to Glossary Index