On 9-11, 1973, the Chilean army assisted by the CIA, staged a military coup against the democratically elected Chilean president, Salvador Allende, which ended up turning Chile from a democartic country into a brutal dictatorship headed by a US backed dictator, Augusto Pinochet. On 9/11/1973, during the air raids and ground attacks that preceded the coup, Allende gave his last speech, in which he vowed to stay in the presidential palace, denouncing offers for safe passage should he choose exile over confrontation. President Allende died during the coup. The junta officially declared that he committed suicide with a rifle given to him by Fidel Castro, however recently discovered documents suggest that he was murdered.
Chile had for decades been hailed as a beacon of democracy and political stability while the rest of South America had been plagued by military juntas and dictators. The collapse of Chilean democracy ended a streak of democratic governments in Chile, which had held democratic elections since 1932. Over 3,000 Chileans were murdered by Pinochet after he became dictator and over 40,000 were were imprisoned and tortured. The systematic human rights violations that were committed by the military government of Chile, under General Augusto Pinochet, included gruesome acts of physical and sexual abuse, as well as psychological damage.
Hellbound and Down 
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