The day on which the United States of America mourns is 9/11, 11 Sep 2001. For the last 20 years, this date has been a symbol of devastation, particularly for the US. There are speculations that the Al-Qaeda chose this date to attack the US because, during the Ottoman times, this was the date on which defeat of the Sultan was evident. Defeat to the West. So, they chose this date to fight the West again. It was kind of a resurrection day for them.
But there was another 9/11 that the world forgot. It was, 11 Sep 1973, when the US and its then-President Richard Nixon recorded a diplomatic win against the Communist intrusion of a Latin American State Chile. 11 Sep 1973 Coup D’etat in Chile against President Salvador Allende led by Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet. This event saved the fortunes of the Latin American country for generations to come and prevent it from becoming yet another failed socialist dictatorship like Cuba and Venezuela.
Salvador Allende would have destroyed Chile as a democracy. There were concoctions of Soviet and Cuban models during his inglorious tenure. Allende heralded an era of socialism. Private enterprise was crushed, lands were expropriated assets, businesses were nationalized and democracy, in general, was run over. Allende also made the Judiciary an insignificant institution and blatantly ignored the orders and directives of Chile’s Supreme Court. He and his ministers expropriated all states which were larger than 200 acres. No farm in Chile exceeding this limit remained by the end of 1972.
Salvador Allende was too powerful a dictator to defeat democratically. he even had a protection force sent over by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to protect his government. So the United States, under the leadership of President Richard Nixon took a calculated and strategic risk that went on to become a boon for Chile as a country. On Sep 15 1970 Nixon ordered the CIA to help instigate a military coup against Allende during a closed-door meeting with his NSA Henry Kissinger and CIA director Richard Helms. The CIA Director noted in his scramble book:
One in 10 chance perhaps but save chile not concerned risks involved → no involvement of embassy → 01 million available → more if necessary → full-time job → best man we have → game plan – make the economy scream.
By the second week of Sep 1970, the CIA was instructing its operatives to foment economic, political and psychological warfare to create an environment for a revolution. This involves providing the Chilean military with the pretext for seizing power. The funnelling of money and weapons to anti-Allende elements and airing in the assassination of the commander-in-chief of Chile’s armed forces General Rene Schneider in
October 1970. The effort paid off ultimately and laid the ground for the September 11 Coup D’etat against Salvador Allende. On ‘The Day’ in 1973, the Chilean military (Army, Navy, Air Force and Police) overthrew Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet seized power who ultimately helped save Chile from taking a radical socialist turn. Pinochet’s reforms led Chile to become the best-performing economy in Latin America through the 1990s.
Salvador Allende killed himself at the Presidential Palace with a Rifle gifted to him by his compatriot Fidel Castro and that was the end of communism in Chile.
This 1973 episode may see its sequel in near future too. That time it was Cuba and this time it is China. China has politically invaded Honduras, another Latin American country. Honduras, the worst place for women in the world, is due for General Election on 28 Nov 2021. Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, the wife of former President Manuel Zelaya who was deposed in the 2009 coup, is the presidential candidate of Libre party in the 2021 presidential election. She has been initiated into the CCP ideologies long back. She openly advocates Chinses supremacy and will officially kind of handover the country to the Chinese if elected to power. Like Salvador Allende of Chile, she also opposes private enterprises, lands assets and democracy. And the problem at hand for the US is, she has gained popularity in recent times. If she is elected to power, then all efforts made by Richard Nixon will go in vain. Honduras will become an overseas version of the CCP in foreseeable future.
India, in recent times, played a big role in destabilizing the grip of CCP in the Latin American region. Now, it’ll be very interesting to see whether the present US govt does anything this time, or, just sit in the spectator’s bench to witness the destruction of already infamous Honduras. Either way, another 9/11 will come up. Time will tell, whether that’ll be in favour of the US or otherwise.
