103. Backchannel Message From the Ambassador to Chile (Korry) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1
PROGRESS REPORT 1
1. Minister of Finance and Minister of Economy neither spoke nor resigned so far (i.e., 18 September, 1300 hours). Possible explanation is that timing would be much more effective after holiday, perhaps Sunday night when public has begun sobering after wet weekend.
2. First rule of all successful coups has been broke, too many civilians are aware of the scenario. I must assume Allende and Tomic forces are in the know.
3. Te Deum attended by entire government, all top military, diplomats and hardly anyone else. Almost empty Cathedral guarded by largest concentration of police I’ve ever seen with one every five feet inside. Believe crowd kept outside because of fear of extreme rightist plotting against life of Frei.
4. Soviet Ambassador was in evidence for first time after two months vacation in USSR.
5. We transmitting today to Helms text of my message to General Valenzuela of September 6 that he read four times before reluctantly handing it back.2
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 777, Country Files, Latin America, Chile, 1970. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only.↩
- Reference is presumably to the message transmitted to Valenzuela by the Army Attaché; see Document 65.↩