Augusto Pinochet

General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte{{an|Name}} (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military government that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. He came to power in a violent coup that deposed Salvador Allende, a Marxist physician who had become the first Socialist to be elected President of Chile. The coup ended a period of strained relations between the United States?which had actively sought Allende's removal?and the South American country, and allowed Pinochet to implement profound neoliberal economic reforms and, at the same time, to commit extensive human rights violations, both at home and abroad.

Chilean foreign relations under Pinochet

The new junta quickly broke off the diplomatic relations with Cuba that had been established under the Allende government. Having come to power with the self-proclaimed mission of fighting communism, Pinochet found common cause with the military dictatorships of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and later, Argentina. The six countries eventually formulated a plan that became known as Operation Condor, in which one country's security forces would target suspected Marxist "subversives," guerrillas, and their sympathizers in the allied countries. As details of the plot leaked out after each of the regimes collapsed, it was widely condemned as coordinated state terrorism. The military governments maintained, however, that it was aimed at preserving stability during a time when many urban and rural Marxist guerrillas were actively seeking to violently overthrow each country's respective government. Under Pinochet, Chile was the only country in Latin America not to support Argentina in its war with the U.K. over the Falkland Islands in 1982. Pinochet's government received tacit approval and material support from the United States of America. The exact nature and extent of this support is disputed. (See U.S. role in 1973 Coup, U.S. intervention in Chile and Operation Condor for more details.)

Related Topics:
Cuba - Bolivia - Brazil - Paraguay - Uruguay - Argentina - Operation Condor - Urban - Rural - U.K. - Falkland Islands - 1982 - United States of America - U.S. role in 1973 Coup - U.S. intervention in Chile

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~