Editing Salvador Allende (section)

==Coup and Death==
On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, led by General [[Augusto Pinochet]], staged a CIA-backed coup. The presidential palace, La Moneda, was bombed by Hawker Hunter jets, and troops stormed the building.

	•	Allende’s Final Stand: Refusing to surrender, Allende delivered a final radio address, vowing to defend Chile’s democracy. He died during the assault, officially by suicide with an AK-47 gifted by Fidel Castro, though some allege assassination. A 2011 autopsy confirmed suicide, but debates persist.

	•	Aftermath: The coup installed Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973–1990), which killed or disappeared over 3,000 people, tortured tens of thousands, and exiled 200,000. Allende’s reforms were reversed, and Chile adopted neoliberal policies under U.S. influence.