Office of the Historian

134. Memorandum From the Deputy Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division, Directorate of Plans, Central Intelligence Agency [name not declassified] to Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Crimmins)1

Washington, May 24, 1973.

SUBJECT

  • Tactical Information on a Plot by Chilean Military Officers to Overthrow the Allende Government

1. [1 paragraph (5 lines) not declassified]

SUMMARY: Elements of the Chilean Air Force have prepared the rudiments of a tactical plan to overthrow the present Chilean government. The plan envisions the seizure of the presidential palace by Air Force troops, supported by helicopters and an Army armored battalion. A number of Chilean Army generals, primarily without troop commands or distant from Santiago, purportedly support a plotting cabal. One of the Army generals, the Commander of the Army Troops Command, has gained the support of three key Army commanders in the Santiago area for the plot, but the commanders of three other important regimental-sized units remain at best uncommitted. The Navy in Valparaiso and several Air Force unit commanders also support the effort. The cabal has also prepared a list of military officers who pose potential threats to the implementation of its plans. END SUMMARY.

[Omitted here is the body of the memorandum]

  1. Summary: In this memorandum the CIA passed on intelligence on a Chilean Air Force plot to oust Allende with the support of some but not necessarily key Army and Navy officers.

    Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 777, Country Files, Latin America, Chile, Vol. VIII. Secret; No Foreign Dissem; Controlled Dissem; No Dissem Abroad. The memorandum was also sent to Cline, Jorden, and Vice Admiral Vincent de Poiz, Director of DIA. In a May 24 covering memorandum to Kissinger, Jorden concluded, “This [possible coup attempt] bears watching carefully, and we will be doing that. But in the meantime, I do not think we should get too excited. Above all, there should be no effort to involve the U.S. in these developments in any way.”

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