Question

Why did the CIA seek to destabilize the government of Chile after 1970? A. The country had elected socialist Salvador Allende into office. B. The U.S. sought to prevent the coup of General Augusto Pinochet. C. The Chilean government had blocked U.S. access to Chilean copper mines. D. Chile had been hosting Che Guevara, a long-time public enemy to the United States. E. The government of Chile had provided North Vietnam with covert support.

Answer 1

Answer: A. The country had elected socialist Salvador Allende into office

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. The CIA sought to destabilize the government of Chile after 1970 because the country had elected socialist Salvador Allende into office.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first operations of the CIA in Chile essentially consisted of an extensive propaganda war against the Chilean left parties. US taxpayers' money has been used to finance and start up pro-American Chilean media companies. The CIA placed many of its articles in newspapers and tried to influence and instrumentalize various Chilean associations, including student and women's organizations. In order to stir up conflicts between the various left parties and organizations, false reports were launched.

After Richard Nixon's election as US President, intelligence operations expanded across Latin America. In Chile, the American response to Allende's election as president was a new covert operation, code-named Project FUBELT. This was intended to destabilize the Chilean economy, diplomatically isolate the government and thus create the conditions for a military coup against Allende. The operation, which began before Allende's inauguration and was headed by CIA chief Richard Helms, was also called Track II. According to Helms, Nixon asked his consultants to prepare plans for the purpose of causing a Chilean economic crisis.

Shortly before Allende's election, the constitutional chief of staff, Rene Schneider, was killed in an attempted kidnapping by a group of conspirators led by a far-right Chilean officer. The attackers had previously been equipped by the CIA with machine guns and tear gas grenades. In parallel with such activities, the propaganda campaigns continued. One focus was the support of the conservative newspaper El Mercurio, which the CIA provided with extensive financial transfers. A U.S. intelligence memorandum later said that El Mercurio and other Chilean newspapers sponsored by the CIA played an important role in creating the conditions for the future military coup. By 1973, the CIA had spent a total of over $ 13 million on its activities in Chile.