The US State Department has released previously classified CIA documents that provide insight into information that former President Richard Nixon received amid Chile’s 1973 coup.

Nearly 50 years after the military action occurred on September 11, 1973, the trove of secret documents was released in response to a formal petition from the Chilean government. They reportedly contain information pertaining to Nixon and his top advisor Henry Kissinger’s involvement in the military takeover.

On the morning of the US-backed military coup in Chile, Nixon was briefed by the CIA that Chilean military officers were “determined to restore political and economic order” but “may still lack an effectively coordinated plan that would capitalize on the widespread civilian opposition.” That was revealed in the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) dated September 11, 1973.

“The military, which was led by General Augusto Pinochet, would go on to launch a coup against the Allende government. Allende died during the events in the coup on Sept. 11, and his death is now widely regarded as a suicide. On Sept. 13, Pinochet was named the president of Chile,” The Hill reported.

The Coup In Chile: CIA Releases Top Secret 9/11/1973 President’s Daily Brief

– The two PDBs are among the most historically iconic of missing records on the September 11, 1973, military coup https://t.co/gZUFjmdYJP

— NatlSecurityArchive (@NSArchive) August 26, 2023

“After withholding this document in its entirety for decades, the CIA finally released the September 11, 1973, PDB today in response to a formal petition from the Chilean government of Gabriel Boric for still secret records as the 50th anniversary of the coup approaches,” the National Security Archive wrote.

“The CIA also partially declassified a second PDB, dated September 8, 1973, which erroneously informed President Nixon that there was ‘no evidence of a coordinated tri-service coup plan’ in Chile and said that ‘should hotheads in the navy act in the belief they will automatically receive support from the other services, they could find themselves isolated,'” the archive continued.

The Sept. 8 document stated that former Marxist President Salvador Allende believed his armed forces would ask for his resignation and “raised the prospect of an ‘armed confrontation’ between his followers and the military.”

The Hill reported, “According to the briefing, Nixon was told Allende believed his supporters lacked enough weapons to succeed in such an event and it was too late to distribute more since the armed forces would stop it. The document detailed Allende’s belief that the situation was ‘serious’ and required ‘some tactical retreats.'”

“He is worried about the sustained opposition pressures against him and, especially, about the intentions of the military,” the briefing revealed.

“[T]he State Department said that ‘the U.S. Government completed this declassification review in response to a request from the Government of Chile and to allow for a deeper understanding of our shared history.’”

The passive voice is the State Department’s best friend.

— Wally Ballou! (@Jazz_Phan) August 26, 2023

The two PDBs have huge historical significance pertaining to Nixon and Kissinger planning the military takeover for three years prior to the event.

“The U.S. Government completed this declassification review in response to a request from the Government of Chile and to allow for a deeper understanding of our shared history,” the State Department stated in a press release.

The State Department also said the release of the PDBs was “in accordance with our commitment to increased transparency.”

The Archive’s Chile specialist, Peter Kornbluh, was the one who filed a FOIA petition for the two Chile PDBs earlier in 2023. He lauded the release but questioned why these two documents, which he said “contain not a single sentence that could compromise U.S. national security,” were withheld for decades.

“I’m happy that the Freedom of Information Act, together with some positive diplomacy by the Chilean government, broke a secrecy barrier that has kept us from knowing this history for 50 years,” Kornbluh stated.

According to Kornbluh, the Chilean government has asked the Biden administration to release other documents that are still being kept secret concerning Chile that are connected to the coup and its aftermath.

These two documents “contain not a single sentence that could compromise U.S. national security.” So why have they been kept secret so long? Why was one still partially redacted? And where is the rest? @Adriana22974030 @rodrigoac7

— Jaraparilla (@jaraparilla) August 26, 2023

“I hope the administration will reinforce its commitment to transparency by releasing all the documents that, inexplicably, remain secret after all this time,” he remarked.

Here are the released documents for context:

Document 01
CIA, “The President’s Daily Brief,” Top Secret, Briefing Paper, September 11, 1973
Sep 11, 1973
Source: CIA release

Document 02
CIA, “The President’s Daily Brief,” Top Secret, Briefing Paper, September 8, 1973
Sep 8, 1973
Source: CIA release

Document 03
CIA, “The President’s Daily Brief,” Top Secret, Briefing Paper, September 12, 1973
Sep 12, 1973
Source: CIA release

According to the National Security Archive, “The day after the coup in Chile, the CIA informs President Nixon that the ‘armed forces, with the help of the national police, have assumed control of Chile.’ The PDB on Chile—it is the first item in the briefing paper—reports that the members of the new military junta ‘are all respected and experienced leaders’ and that ‘the new rulers have declared [the Chilean] Congress to be in recess.'”

Pinochet’s dictatorship lasted 17 years. During his bloody rule, 40,175 people were recorded as victims of executions, torture, or political imprisonment. Many just “disappeared.”

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