Santiago de Chile 29th June 1973: unable to remove President Allende constitutionally the US government and the Chilean opposition opt for the strategy of a coup. The Battle of Chile II: The Coup D’Etat ***** 1976
The tanks exchange fire with the presidential guard. ibid.
Loyal troops begin the counter-attack to break the siege. ibid.
From the morning of 29th June left wing workers take control of factories, companies, mine and agricultural centres throughout Chile. ibid.
Some officers start to act against factory employees and workers. ibid.
The entire opposition joins the anti-government escalade. ibid.
Command of the army falls meanwhile on General Pinochet. ibid.
More than 800,000 people file past the president of the republic. ibid.
‘The time for reconciliation is over! It’s time to fight!’ ibid. workers’ demonstration
On September 11 the Navy unleashes the coup in the post of Valparaiso. At the same time four North American destroyers move close to the Chilean coast. ibid.
‘I shall repay the loyalty of the people with my life.’ ibid. Allende
At 2.15 p.m. President Allende dies in La Moneda. ibid.
‘The Junta will maintain political power.’ ibid. Pinochet
From 11th September all the army’s resources are used to repress the popular movement with the compliance of the US government. ibid.
Thousands of people lose their lives and the main sports stadiums are turned into concentration camps. ibid.
The Battle of Chile is not yet over. ibid.
Santiago de Chile 1972: In only 18 months Salvador Allende’s socialist government has carried out a large part of its social reform programme. Over a year and a half it has nationalized the big copper, iron, coal, nitrate and cement mines … It has also expropriated six million hectares of arable land and nationalized almost all national and foreign banks. The Battle of Chile III: The Power of the People, 1979
‘The mummies have never respected the present government. It’s the people who respect the government. They follow the government’s orders. But those rich guys, the moneybag men, the men who are losing their interests, they’re the ones who are complaining.’ ibid. worker
‘The fascist groups attacked the students and workers who were showing support for the government.’ ibid.
‘Let’s Create Popular Power!’ ibid. slogan
‘We’ve earned huge fortunes for those guys, the bosses. But the won’t do anything for the welfare of the workers. And now they want to destroy us. There’s a great persecution of trade union leaders.’ ibid. worker
In 1973 the people’s stores are feeding some 300,000 families in Santiago, more than half its total population. ibid.
Start with a coup attempt in a tiny West African nation. Add an unrepentant British mercenary held captive in one of the world’s most brutal prisons. Throw in a dictator fearing western powers are trying to undermine his iron-fisted rule, and beneath it all a spectacular under-water oil reserve. Wide Angle: Once Upon a Coup, PBS 2009
There is another big player: China. ibid.
‘Probably the biggest bonanza in the world at the time.’ ibid.
‘Equatorial New Guinea becomes the new Kuwait. ibid. Ken Silverstein
Obiang seems unphased by criticism. ibid.
The mercenary was Simon Mann. Today he is serving a 34 year sentence. ibid.
‘There were parties at the [Mark] Thatcher house.’ ibid. Mann
Mark Thatcher was arrested in South Africa. He was charged with financing the coup. ibid.
1969: After more than ten years in the planning Gaddafi is ready to make his move. With King Idris out of the country receiving medical treatment in Turkey, the mission he calls Operation Jerusalem is a go … ‘Probably one of the most peaceful coups that has happened in history. Evolution of Evil s1e1: Gaddafi: Mad Dog of the Middle East, History 2015
‘I know as attorney for Lyndon Johnson he murdered John Kennedy.’ The Men Who Killed Kennedy IX: The Guilty Men, Barr McClellan, ITV 1988
‘Lyndon Johnson knew about the assassination.’ ibid. red-head
A political career based on bribery and corruption. ibid.
The rich and powerful men who had met in secret the night before had everything to gain from his death: LBJ was fearful of a long prison sentence, J Edgar Hoover of losing his job, and the oilmen of losing millions of dollars. ibid.
From the moment he became president, Johnson had authority over every aspect of the cover up of Kennedy’s murder. He was unassailable. ibid.
Scott for President. Seven Days in May 1964 starring Burt Lancaster & Kirk Douglas & Fredric March & Ava Gardner & Edmond O’Brien & Martin Malsam & Andrew Duggan & Hugh Marow & Whit Bissell & Helen Kleeb, director John Frankenheimer, opening scene protest banner
29% of people in the United States approve of what I’m doing. ibid. president
I think the signing of nuclear disarmament pact with the Soviet Union is at best an act of naivety and at worst an unsupportable negligence. ibid. Scott
The president trusts Russia; the people don’t. ibid. bloke at drinks party
Stay close, Jiggs. I want to see you after this meeting. ibid. Scott
I’m suggesting, Mr President, there’s a military plot to take over the government. ibid. Jiggs
This country’s in trouble, Jiggs. Deep trouble. ibid. Scott
The enemy is an age. A nuclear age. ibid. president
During the Great Depression certain financiers and industrialists plot to overthrow President Franklin D Roosevelt and install a dictator inn his place. Could a plot to create a fascist state in the US have succeeded? In Search of History s2e4: The Plot to Overthrow FDR, 1988
Retired general Smedley D Butler is approached about leading a plot to overthrow FDR. ibid.
A veritable who’s who of corporate America. The main funding comes from the DuPont family … another prominent member is General Motors president … Funding for the plan will be provided by the J P Morgan banking empire … ibid.
A showdown with Britain that begins over a pig; an all-out war waged in Korea but not in 1950; a little known US invasion of Russia; and controversial interventions in Central America and the Caribbean. In Search of History s4e1: America’s Forgotten Wars, History 1999
1859: In the Pacific north-west a handful of angry farmers on tiny San Juan island are about to plunge the United States into a war against Great Britain: they’re not quarrelling over the issue of slavery or states’ rights, believe it or not they’re fighting over a dead pig. ibid.
The United States is invading Korea; as US sailors and marines approach the shore and attempt a daring assault landing, Korean guns open fire and blast the American force. But this is not the Korean war of the 1950s; the year is 1871. ibid.
America’s involvement in the complex and confusing Russian revolution in 1918 … Surprisingly, American soldiers would spend more time in combat than any American unit did in France during World War I. ibid.
A decade after the [Panama] canal is completed the interventions begin when the marines arrive in Nicaragua in 1914. ibid.
1954: Project Ajax: A secret CIA plot to overthrow leftist prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh codenamed The Old Bugger. The Shah would be maintained on the throne. Secrets of War s1e56: Cold War: Eisenhower’s Operatives
Dwight Eisenhower orchestrated some of the most devious covert operations the world has ever known. ibid.
Soon CIA aeroplanes were buzzing Guatemala dropping small bombs. ibid.
On March 17th 1960 Eisenhower authorised $4,400,000 to fund a cover operation to train a cadre of Cuban exiles. ibid.
During his eleven year reign Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev diverged from the path of former dictator Joseph Stalin by instituting many controversial liberal reforms. Secrets of War s1e64: Brezhnev’s Kremlin
Brezhnev decided to disguise the coup as a democratic procedure. ibid.
Prescott Bush led Nazi coup attempt against White House in 1933. Document: The White House Coup, Radio 4 2007
On 21st November 1934 the following rather chilling article appeared in The New York Times: it concerns the discovery of a planned coup that could have altered the course of American history. ibid.
Major General Butler came before the Committee of his own free will … Butler’s testimony shows the plot was at an advanced stage. ibid.