Salvador Allende Primary Sources

American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical

Further, in the text “CIA and Guatemala Assassination Proposals,” it is revealed that the CIA “developed a major propaganda campaign” that, “included sending wooden coffins, hangmans’ nooses, and phony bombs to selected individuals” (“CIA and Guatemala”) in Guatemala. This use of terror and psychological warfare was intended to horrify Guatemalan civilians and politicians prior to executing the actual coup. It is clear that American foreign policy was quite dangerous in correlation with Guatemala and exhibited a masculine attitude. In relation to de Beauvoir, American foreign policy can be compared to “the great advantage enjoyed by the boy” in which “his mode of existence in relations to others leads him to assert his subjective freedom” (de

In Empire’s Workshop, Greg Grandin argues that the United States engineered a destructive domestic fusion of religious fundamentalism, hawkish neoconservatism, and nationalism - to justify it’s engagement in a jingoistic, self-serving foreign policy in Latin America. Furthermore, his work details the preemptive clash against perceived communist elements, and places the ideological disagreements regarding private-property, as the primary mover in US actions. By examining the Guatemalan coup of 1954, which Grandin describes as the Central Intelligence Agency’s “first full-scale covert operation” in Latin America, we can assess the prototypical reasoning behind US intervention. Moreover, the thorough assessment of the motivations of American

Throughout history, the United States has been portrayed as the same nation that it was when it was formed over two-hundred years ago (Loewen, 209). However, that proves not to be the case when taking a closer look into American involvement in various historic events. Author James Loewen investigates how most history textbooks try to cover-up government action in these events. One example of this is the government’s involvement in the attempted assassinations of Fidel Castro. Throughout the early 1960s, the CIA attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro in numerous schemes. In chapter eight of Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen investigates six events the government tried to cover-up, including the assassination attempts on Fidel Castro.

In the United States, Nixon was in power and Nixon told his main advisor, Henry Kissinger that he wanted Allende out of power. Kissinger thought of only one way to get Allende out of power and it was to begin with the uprise of the Chilean military. Kissinger sent a cable to the CIA agents in Chile stating that the agents were to continue with their work on investigating the military coup. However, the twist was that the CIA agents was not necessary in Chile and three years later, the people of Chile are revolting against their leader. Allende nationalized copper and other industries, which froze prices and raised wages to try to stop the inflation but unfortunately, that only raised inflation more. With Allende’s reform in play, the CIA ran propaganda against Allende.

In June of 1974 Augusto Pinochet and the Junta formally established the Directorate of National Intelligence also known as the DINA (Kornbluh 157) and was a prominent branch of Pinochet’s regime until 1977. The DINA was key in consolidating Pinochet’s power in Chile by eliminating opposition. In order to determine the to what degree were

The article “Paraguay’s Archive of Terror: International Cooperation and Operation Condor” by Katie Zoglin centers around the way in which the Southern Cone countries, with a specific focus on Paraguay, dealt with political opponents. The article was written in the period of winter-spring in 2001. This is significant because the article is also from the American Law Review at Miami University in a period just after the 9/11 attacks. This could affect some of the ideas about military governments and intelligence, being as the U.S. would likely be concerned with these ideas right after a terrorist attack. However, since the article is about Latin America, the influence of 9/11 might not be significant in this particular case.

Prior to the Great Depression, Chile had prospered amidst the workings of free-market and mercantilist polices. The Great Depression, however, disrupted this, as it brought about the necessity of government intervention in the economy. Indeed, government intervention even stretched so far as to transform Chile into a nation insulated by protectionist policies. Furthermore, the Great Depression had undoubtedly brought about a political crisis in Chile with the ousting of Ibáñez del Campo in 1931, who himself had partaken in a military coup d’état to achieve presidency in the first place. It has even been posited that the nationalization of copper that had begun during the presidency of Ibáñez del Campo and which was completed during the presidency of Salvador Allende in the early 1970s built the foundation for a future international economic boycott, which further

One of the most speculative experiences of conquest and dictatorship in the history of Latin America has been the socialist and dictatorial regimes in Chile. Chile has gone through multiple times of dictatorship, lead by the military, and also had lapses of a socialist government. The film “Machuca” by Andres Wood provided an insight of the series of social events in Chile in 1973, ranging from inter personal experiences to political issues and the Chilean nation. “Two dictators, Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet, both brought tremendous suffering upon the Chilean people -- one through his socialist policies and nationalization of

Chile’s economy was effectively owned by US corporation’s, and these corporation’s controlled the country's resources. When Allende nationalized copper the two main American corporation were financially hurt severely and lost a lot of profit. This concerned the US and Nixon worried that Chile was falling under soviet control and communism. One of Nixon’s fears was that the Soviets would have total control in Americas backyard. However, the major reason that the US instigated the overthrow was because the corporations did not want Chile to take over their own resources and use them for their own benefit. The corporations were able to exercise leverage over Allende because Chile was in the middle of an economic depression and Chile was receiving loans from American banks. Once Allende was in power these loans were stopped by US foreign policy and of course Chile suffered economically . At this point,

5.Constable, Pamela, and Arturo Valenzuela. A Nation of Enemies Chile Under Pinochet. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993. Print.

With Pinochet’s rejection of communist thinking he was able to obtain the backing of the United States which was a key difference in his ability to come to power in his country. This in comparison with Castro and the hard hand that the United States used to try to make crush Castro’s reign in Cuba. The United States was not happy that Chile had elected a well-known socialist into presidency and

The term “Covert Action” brings with it a connotation of shadowy figures wrapped in secrecy and intrigue. It also brings with it a substantial amount of moral questions as to “what is right.” The use of covert action has been widely publicized since the early seventies, but trying to find out the truth to these events has been difficult to say the least. What is even more difficult, is historically recording these events into categories of successes or failures. These operations are difficult to dissect because of their secrecy and although events have been recorded, some facts simply aren’t apparent. This paper will seek to identify the complex issues associated with covert operations.

During the 1950’s, President Arbenze was elected for President of Guatemala, he had interesting ideas of making the United Fruit Company national. Imitating what Mexico did in the making PIMEX national. Unlike Mexico, President Cardenas embarked on nationalizing the oil company from the US and the Anglo-Dutch; Arbenze planned to do the same with the United Fruit Company. The United Fruit Company was Guatemala biggest exporter of banana to the US. When Arbenze introduce it to the government, the FBI and CIA became suspicious. Why? The president of the united fruit company were the Dulles brother. They were John Foster Dulles who was Secretary of State, and Allen Dulles head of the DCI who also gave rise of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). They convince the House of Representatives and the US that Arbenze was “red”; code “red” means he was communistic. Even though he was not associated with the Communist party, the Dulles brother wanted to take no risk. They United States planned to take him out of power.

“Victory has a thousand fathers while defeat is an orphan,” remarked John F. Kennedy. The Bay of Pigs invasion code named operation Zapata began in March of 1960 one month and a year before the famed invasion took place. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to begin a covert operation to bring down the pro-communist Cuban government. Nonetheless Fidel Castro’s potential pro-communist beliefs, the seizure of American owned companies and land lead to extreme concern from United States policy makers and officials. The mission, however would become possibly one of the greatest intelligence failures in the history of the United States. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion lead to a new era in the military and intelligence fields that continues to affect foreign policy