1973 Military coup in Chile

45 years ago, on September 11, 1973, a military coup took place in Chile, led by the commander of the ground forces, General Augusto Pinochet. President Salvador Allende shot himself in the besieged palace of La Moneda.

The coup was supported by the United States, as Washington feared that Allende's left-wing socialist government had close ties with the USSR and Cuba. The organizers of the coup took advantage of popular discontent due to high inflation and shortages of goods due to Allende's populist economic policies.