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History Illustrated: Pinochet and Chile’s dark legacy

President Gabriel Boric’s search for those who disappeared under Augusto Pinochet lauded but also seen as falling short.

Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
By Danylo Hawaleshka
Published On 11 Sep 2023

History Illustrated is a weekly series of insightful perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
For the first time, the government in Chile has promised to look for the 1,500 people who disappeared under the regime of General Augusto Pinochet.
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Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
Their saga, and that of their surviving families, began on September 11, 1973, when Pinochet seized power in a violent military coup.
Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
His target was Salvador Allende, the first elected Socialist president in Latin America. It was the Cold War, and US President Richard Nixon wanted him gone.
Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
In 1970, a week before the Chilean Congress ratified Allende’s presidency, the CIA sent a secret cable to its offices in Chile to underscore Nixon’s plan.
Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
Over the next three years, the CIA tried everything — the agency funded the opposition, created anti-Allende propaganda and instigated labour unrest to destabilise the economy.
Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
By 1973, with the economy in crisis, Pinochet saw an opportunity to seize power.
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Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
The presidential palace came under heavy fire from the air force. It is where Allende died under mysterious circumstances. In 2011, an autopsy report concluded he had committed suicide.
Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
Under Pinochet’s 17-year dictatorship, thousands of people were forcibly disappeared, tortured and killed. He was never held to account.
Pinochet & Chile’s dark legacy
Today, Chile’s left-wing president, Gabriel Boric, promises answers but has been criticised because his plan fails to force the military to divulge what it knows.