2009-08-12
2009-08-11
2009-08-10
The coup occurred two months after a first failed attempt, the Tanquetazo — Tank putsch — and a month after the Chamber of Deputies (with an Opposition majority) condemned President Allende’s alleged breaches of the Constitution. President Allende died during the coup; the cause of his death remains disputed.
A military junta took control of the government, with the original plan of power being rotated between the heads of the Air Force, Navy, Carabineros (Chilean police force) and the Army lead by General Augusto Pinochet. However the head of the Chilean Army being the oldest branch of the military, originally founded in 1810 was determined to be the first of the co-rulers, a role that was never surrendered to the other military leaders of the country as it should have been. Thus General Augusto Pinochet assumed power after deposing President Salvador Allende, establishing a military government that ruled until 1990."