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1973 Chilean Coup

September 11, 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S.-backed military coup in Chile that ousted democratically-elected Salvador Allende in 1973 and led to a 17-year repressive dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet. This page features new Democracy Now! interviews about how Pinochet was eventually arrested and indicted, as well as highlights from our coverage over the years.

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  • Costa-gavras5
    Costa-Gavras joins us for the hour to discuss a nearly 50-year career that has earned him the reputation as one of the world’s greatest living political filmmakers. Born in Greece...
    Oct 09, 2013 | Story
  • Charles-horman1
    As we continue our look at the 40th anniversary of the U.S.-backed military coup in Chile and the ongoing efforts by the loved ones of its victims to seek justice, we turn to the case of...
    Sep 09, 2013 | Story
  • Vjara2
    This week marks the 40th anniversary of what’s known as the other 9/11: September 11, 1973, when a U.S.-backed military coup ousted Chile’s democratically elected president...
    Sep 09, 2013 | Story
  • Eduardo_galeano-1

    Eduardo Galeano, Chronicler of Latin America's "Open Veins," on His New Book "Children of the Days"

    One of Latin America’s most acclaimed writers, Eduardo Galeano is out with the new book, "Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History." Galeano’s classic "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" made headlines when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez gave President Obama a copy at the Summit of the Americas in 2009. Since its publication in 1971, "Open Veins" has...
    May 08, 2013 | Story
  • Isabel_allende_democracy_now

    Isabel Allende on "Maya's Notebook," Drug Addiction, 1973 Chilean Coup & Death of Poet Pablo Neruda

    The best-selling Chilean novelist Isabel Allende is out with a new book, "Maya’s Notebook: A Novel." It tells the story of a teenager named Maya Vidal and her struggles with drug addiction, grief and history. Although a work of fiction, the story is rooted in real-life tragedy. Three of Allende’s stepchildren have struggled with addiction: Two of them have died of drug-related causes, one in 1994 and the other just a...
    Apr 30, 2013 | Story
  • Dirty_war_1

    Operation Condor Trial Tackles Coordinated Campaign by Latin American Dictatorships to Kill Leftists

    A historic trial underway in Argentina is set to reveal new details about how Latin American countries coordinated with each other in the 1970s and '80s to eliminate political dissidents. The campaign known as "Operation Condor" involved military dictatorships in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. They worked together to track down, kidnap and kill people they labeled as terrorists: leftist activists,...
    Mar 07, 2013 | Story
  • Screen_shot_2012-08-03_at_9.34.05_am

    WikiLeaks in Latin America: Online Whistleblower's Wide Impact in Region Where Assange Seeks Asylum

    If Julian Assange is granted asylum in Ecuador, he will become a resident of Latin America, where the trove of classified U.S. State Department cables he strategically disseminated through WikiLeaks has generated hundreds of headlines, from Mexico to Chile. A year after thousands of cables on Latin America were first released, the revelations have had different results — in two countries it led to the forced departure of the U.S....
    Aug 03, 2012 | Story
  • Naomi_button

    Naomi Klein on Occupy Wall Street & Chile: Courage to Ask Questions We Don't Have Answers For

    In part two of our conversation with journalist and author Naomi Klein, she discusses how her book, "The Shock Doctrine," focuses in part on Chile, where the 1973 coup led to the privatization of education and now Chilean students are protesting in the streets. Klein talks about their demands and dismisses the critique that the related Occupy Wall Street movement lacks its own clear set of demands. [includes rush transcript]
    Oct 06, 2011 | Web Exclusive
  • Splash_image20110908-1545-2whdxs-0

    A Fateful Day: 9/11 Also Marks Important Anniversaries in India, Guatemala, Haiti and Attica, NY

    On the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we look back at several national and international events linked to that day. This year on September 11, India will mark the 105th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi launching the modern nonviolent resistance movement. We play part of a 2003 interview with Gandhi’s grandson, Arun. On September 11, 1990, renowned Guatemalan anthropologist Myrna Mack was assassinated...
    Sep 08, 2011 | Story
  • Juangarces

    40 Years After Chilean Coup, Allende Aide Juan Garcés on How He Brought Pinochet to Justice

    Wednesday marks the 40th anniversary of the so-called "other 9/11": On September 11, 1973, a U.S.-backed coup led by General Augusto Pinochet ousted the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. It is estimated more than 3,000 people were killed during Pinochet’s dictatorship, which lasted another 17 years. In 1998, Pinochet was arrested in London on torture and genocide charges on a warrant issued by a Spanish judge,...
    Sep 10, 2013 | Story
  • Nixonkissinger2

    "Make the Economy Scream": Secret Documents Show Nixon, Kissinger Role Backing 1973 Chile Coup

    We continue our coverage of the 40th anniversary of the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende with a look at the critical U.S. role under President Richard Nixon and his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger. Peter Kornbluh, who spearheaded the effort to declassify more than 20,000 secret documents that revealed the role of the CIA and the White House in the Chilean coup, discusses how Nixon and Kissinger backed the Chilean...
    Sep 10, 2013 | Story
  • Robertreich1

    Inequality for All: Robert Reich Warns Record Income Gap Is Undermining Our Democracy

    Five years ago this weekend, the Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers collapsed, triggering the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Today, the divide between the 1 percent and the 99 percent is as great as ever. According to one recent study, the top 1 percent has captured about 95 percent of the income gains since the recession ended. "Since the recovery, almost all of the gains have gone to the very, very top. People who are...
    Sep 13, 2013 | Story
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    Kerry, Kissinger and the Other Sept. 11

    By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan

    As President Barack Obama’s attack on Syria appears to have been delayed for the moment, it is remarkable that Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting, on Sept. 11, with one of his predecessors, Henry Kissinger, reportedly to discuss strategy on forthcoming negotiations on Syria with Russian officials.

    Sep 12, 2013 | Column
  • Allende

    Interview with Forensic Expert Who Confirmed Chilean President Salvador Allende Committed Suicide

    Amy Goodman traveled to Spain in 2012 and interviewed Francisco Exteberria, the forensic specialist who exhumed the bodies of ousted President Salvador Allende and singer Víctor Jara to determine the nature of their deaths. [includes rush transcript]
    Sep 11, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • 911_1

    Chomsky on 9/11, Syria's "Bloody Partition" and Why U.S. Role Ensures Failure of Mideast Talks

    Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author, weighs in on today’s 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks and how the civil war in Syria appears destined to permanently break the country apart. "[9/11] was very significant, a major terrorist act, thousands of people killed," Chomsky says. "It’s the first time since the War of 1812 that U.S. territory had been attacked. The...
    Sep 11, 2013 | Story
  • Guzman2

    Interview with Chilean Judge Who First Prosecuted Augusto Pinochet: "It Was the End of My Career"

    Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman interviews Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán, who chose to become the first to prosecute Augusto Pinochet. [includes rush transcript]
    Sep 11, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Guzman1

    Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán Who Charged Pinochet With Kidnapping: Truth is First Step Toward Justice

    In 1999 Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán surprised many when he formally charged General Augusto Pinochet with kidnapping and placed him under house arrest. In this web exclusive video, Guzmán explains how "this case made me another person." [includes rush transcript]
    Sep 11, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Judge

    Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón Tells the Story of the Arrest of Chile's Augusto Pinochet

    In this web-only exclusive video, Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón recalls in detail how he and Spanish attorney Juan Garcés led the process that resulted in the historic arrest of General Augusto Pinochet in 1998 on torture and genocide charges. [includes rush transcript]
    Sep 11, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Pinochetcoup2

    The Pinochet File: How U.S. Politicians, Banks and Corporations Aided Chilean Coup, Dictatorship

    Part 2 of our conversation on the 40th anniversary of the Chilean coup with Spanish lawyer Juan Garcés, a former personal adviser to ousted Chilean President Salvador Allende, and Peter Kornbluh, author of "The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability." [includes rush transcript]
    Sep 10, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Allende

    Epitaph for Another 9/11: Renown Writer Ariel Dorfman on 1973 U.S.-Backed Coup in Chile

    "That September 11, that lethal Tuesday morning, I awoke with dread to the sound of planes flying above my house. When, an hour later, I saw smoke billowing from the center of the city, I knew that life had changed for me, for my country, forever." Those are the words of our guest, Chilean-American author Ariel Dorfman, writing not about the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon 10 years ago this week, but...
    Sep 08, 2011 | Story