-Caveat Lector- > >Chile: Declassified U.S. documents may bring some Chileans to court > >November 14, 2000 > >SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- The government said Tuesday it was >analyzing thousands of documents on Chile declassified by >the United States and that the contents could lead to >charges against some Chileans. > >The 16,000 documents released by the U.S. State Department >Monday come from various agencies, including the CIA, the >FBI and the State and Justice Departments. > >They deal, among other things, with CIA covert operations in >Chile during the government of Marxist President Salvador >Allende, toppled in the bloody 1973 coup led by Gen. Augusto >Pinochet. > >Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza said the government >does not plan to protest the U.S. intervention in Chilean >affairs disclosed in the documents, because they occurred >under previous U.S. administrations. > >Others reacted differently. > >"I think the United States owes an explanation to Chile," >said Sen. Ricardo Nunez, president of the pro-government >Socialist Party. > >Congressman Eugenio Tumna, also a socialist, urged the >government to file a formal protest with Washington. > >The government described the documents as "thousands of >pages, a number of books the size of telephone books." > >Noting that the documents include information on Chilean >intelligence service involvement in human rights violations >under Pinochet, the Foreign Ministry said some cases cited >could be taken to court. > >"The responsibility of the Chilean government is to make an >analysis of the information and make decisions, especially >to relay to the courts of justice some documents in the >cases deemed necessary," a ministry statement said. > >It did not elaborate and said the review will take several >weeks. > >The documents include information already known here, >including the CIA's covert efforts against Allende. > >But some disclosures were surprising, including a memorandum >indicating that a notorious member of Pinochet's secret >police at one point considered killing Patricio Aylwin, the >first civilian elected president after the end of the >Pinochet regime en 1990. Aylwin ruled until 1994. > >Aylwin said he was not aware of such a plot, which he >described as "madness." > >He said that if the plan existed, it was likely a personal >initiative of the former agent mentioned in the memorandum, >retired army Maj. Alvaro Corbalan, who is serving a life >sentence for another political assassination. > >Documents reveal U.S. funding for Chile coup > >November 13, 2000 > > >From staff and wire reports > >WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials released documents on Monday >acknowledging the CIA had provided covert aid 30 years ago >to undermine Chile's government, but analysts say some of >the most important documents have not yet been made public. > >"The documents that would be revealing ... are still missing >and still need to be declassified," Peter Kornbluh, Chile >Documentation Project director at the National Security >Archive, told CNN. The National Security Archive is a >nonprofit organization that has campaigned for release of >the documents. > >One document, Kornbluh said, indicates that in 1991 the CIA >destroyed a file on Manuel Contreras, the former head of >Chile's secret police now serving a sentence for the 1976 >car bombing in Washington that killed Orlando Letelier, a >prominent Chilean opposition leader. Letelier's American >assistant Ronni Moffitt also died in the blast. > >CIA officials have said the file would not have information >useful to U.S. Justice Department investigators, who are >trying to determine whether Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who >toppled Chile's president and then ruled the country for 17 >years, also should be indicted for Letelier's murder. > >"One of the key questions raised by this document is why >that file was destroyed ... and what was in it that was >destroyed," Kornbluh said. > >"We cannot have a full record until all the documents are >released," Kornbluh said. CIA officials, meanwhile, said >only a few documents were not released. > >Covert aid > >U.S. officials released 16,000 government documents on >Monday, including a CIA memorandum indicating $1 million in >covert aid had been given to Chilean opposition parties in >an effort to undermine then-Chilean President Salvador >Allende socialist government. > >The United States previously released 7,000 records >regarding its involvement leading up to the September 11, >1973, coup led by Pinochet that toppled Allende. > >Many of the documents, however, have been blacked out to >protect sensitive information. U.S. President Bill Clinton >had ordered in February 1999 that the documents be made >public. > >"Today, we are closer than we've ever been to the absolute >truth of this incident," Tom Blanton, National Security >Archive executive director, told CNN. > >White House officials said the documents were released to >allow the public to determine for itself whether U.S. >actions had undermined democracy and human rights in Chile. > >"Actions approved by the U.S. government during this period >aggravated political polarization and affected Chile's long >tradition of democratic elections and respect for the >constitutional order and the rule of law," the White House >said in a statement. > >Among the information contained in the documents released >Monday: > >� The CIA provided secret funding to Chilean opposition >parties in the early 1970s to try to undermine Allende's >government. > >� The funding had been approved by U.S. officials just three >weeks before Allende was toppled by Pinochet. > >� The Christian Democratic Party -- now Chile's largest >party -- and the Radical Party of the Left had received the >money from the CIA. U.S. officials blacked out the names of >other recipients. > >� The CIA had given Christian Democratic candidates funding >as early as 1964. > >Senate committee findings > >Kornbluh told CNN that the CIA -- which provided $350,000 to >help fund the coup -- had not played a direct role in the >coup. > >CIA officials had previously said the agency had not >instigated the coup, but had been aware of military plotting >to overthrow Allende. > >However, a Senate committee chaired by Sen. Frank Church, >D-Idaho, had confirmed that the CIA had participated in >covert operations in Chile, and that the agency had >attempted to foment a military coup in 1970 after Allende >had been elected president. > >"It is important to view these events in their proper >historical context," CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said. > >"CIA activities were conducted within the framework of what >was U.S. policy at the time, and covert actions were >undertaken at the direction of the White House and >interagency policy coordination committees," Mansfield said. > >CIA election operation > >Researchers hoped the documents would provide details of a >possible U.S. government role in toppling Allende's >democratically elected government, and in support of >Pinochet. > >"It may be of interest that in 1964, CIA conducted a >(deleted) election operation in Chile (deleted) which >contributed to the election of Eduardo Frei to the >presidency," said a memo, written before March 1969 >elections. > >Allende was Frei's main opponent in that election. Frei died >in 1982; His son, also named Eduardo Frei, is Chile's >immediate past president. > >Last year, Clinton ordered U.S. government departments and >agencies to find documents to highlight human rights abuses, >terrorism and political violence in Chile before and after >the coup. > >The order was given after Pinochet was arrested in London >pending an extradition request by a Spanish judge, who >sought to put the former Chilean leader on trial for rights >violations. > >Pinochet was released due to poor health nearly 500 days >later. He was returned to Chile, where he faces trial for >abuses that prosecutors allege he committed during his years >in power. > >Prosecutors have said 3,000 people either were killed or >disappeared under Pinochet's administration. > >"With these documents, the history of U.S. intervention in >Chile and our support for the Pinochet regime can begin to >be rewritten," Kornbluh said. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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