Turns out it’s the 50th anniversary of Allende’s election win in Chile.
Guess what?
The U.K. had a bash at covert action to undermine him too.
[short thread on how and why] 1/5
Guess what?
The U.K. had a bash at covert action to undermine him too.
[short thread on how and why] 1/5
U.K. admission (incredibly rare to see):
“Because there is a v real danger that the communists might gain control of this country by constitutional means, we are concentrating on covert operations which we think could influence the result of the next election”
2/5
“Because there is a v real danger that the communists might gain control of this country by constitutional means, we are concentrating on covert operations which we think could influence the result of the next election”
2/5
What did U.K. do?
- bribed radio producers to buy airtime
- meddled in trade union politics
- influenced universities
- built up contacts in Christian Dems + “the left wing” parties
But all this was dwarfed by CIA activity. So why bother to take risk???
3/5
- bribed radio producers to buy airtime
- meddled in trade union politics
- influenced universities
- built up contacts in Christian Dems + “the left wing” parties
But all this was dwarfed by CIA activity. So why bother to take risk???
3/5
To signal partnership to US
To signal friendship to amenable factions in the hope that UK could increase trade relationship once they were victorious.
3. To make “the Latin Americans feel that they are being taken seriously”.
4. To exploit US weakness post-Bay of Pigs
4/5
To signal friendship to amenable factions in the hope that UK could increase trade relationship once they were victorious.
3. To make “the Latin Americans feel that they are being taken seriously”.
4. To exploit US weakness post-Bay of Pigs
4/5
Lesson: covert action is about more than deniably achieving a short-term outcome on the ground
5/5
5/5
Might be of interest to @NSArchive and @FCDOHistorians . V little is written on UK covert action in Latin America. These files didn’t come out in time for my book. Still, there’s always a potential 2nd edition
