Since then, of course, many socialists have been elected around the world. Allende had - was a very prominent politician in Chile, had run for president four times. KORNBLUH: It was the middle of the cold war. INSKEEP: You said a word that maybe hints at why the United did that it was a socialist government, this is the middle of a cold war. We undermined and destabilized a democratically elected socialist government in Chile, and then the declassified document show very, very clearly, we fully embraced - the United States government under Nixon and Kissinger embraced what was clearly a bloody dictatorship thereafter. And he continued that blank created the conditions as best as possible.Īnd that sums up the U.S. And then there was a deleted word, which I believe refers to the Central Intelligence Agency. And five days after the coup, he received a call from President Nixon, who said to him: Does our hand show in this? In other words, in the coup. He was just becoming secretary of state at the time of the coup. KORNBLUH: Yes, he was national security adviser. INSKEEP: This is Henry Kissinger, a national security adviser at the time? KORNBLUH: We were able to obtain the declassification of the Kissinger telcons, the transcripts of his telephone conversations. INSKEEP: Based on the documents, what role did the United States play in bringing Pinochet to power in the 1970s? PETER KORNBLUH (Author, “The Pinochet File”): Good morning, Steve.

government's involvement in Chile based on declassified intelligence documents. He's author of “The Pinochet File,” a history of the U.S. This morning we brought in Peter Kornbluh.

His government was accused of many human rights abuses for which the dictator was never quite brought to trial. Pinochet took over Chile in a military coup in 1973. INSKEEP: That he would even have to make such a denial hints at the crimes for which he was accused. AUGUSTO PINOCHET (Former President of Chile): (Spanish spoken) He said in Spanish, I have no regrets at all. Late in his life, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet made a flat statement.

The Pinochet File by Peter Kornbluh