Declassified papers show Pinochet tried to 'cling on to power' in 1988
Just a day before the October 5 referendum, General Pinochet planned to do “whatever was necessary to stay in power” and said he was “not leaving, no matter what”.
Newly published US documents indicate that Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet planned to use violence to annul the 1988 referendum that ended his brutal regime.
Declassified documents released by the independent US National Security Archive on Friday also revealed US officials warning Chilean leaders against using violence if Pinochet tried to cling on to power.
Just a day before the October 5 referendum, Pinochet planned to do “whatever was necessary to stay in power” and said he was “not leaving, no matter what”, according to one Defence Intelligence Agency document based on information from a Chilean Air Force officer.
The documents also say US officials and agencies backed the anti-Pinochet campaign, even though the US government had worked to undermine the socialist administration of Salvador Allende that Pinochet overthrew in a 1973 coup and initially supported his government.
The papers portray Pinochet as furious after the vote results.
In a last attempt to retain power, the strongman who once compared himself to the greatest Roman emperors, summoned members of the military junta to meet in his office to have the results overturned.
A CIA source at the meeting describes Pinochet as being “nearly apoplectic” about the results.