By Night in Chile

In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected Socialist President of Chile, Salvador Allende, in a violent coup. The coup was the culmination of a covert, three-year campaign by the CIA and the executive branch of the United States government to destabilize Allende. The campaign was driven by Cold War fears of Chile becoming a communist country and a desire to protect American business interests in Chile (Allende had nationalized a number of industries). While no evidence has shown that either the executive branch, then headed by President Richard Nixon, or the CIA played a direct role in the coup itself, the CIA played a documented role in helping Pinochet to consolidate power after his coup. Pinochet reigned as dictator of Chile until 1990, even though, starting in 1983, political pressure forced Pinochet to concede some democratic freedoms.

Pinochet’s rule was defined by human rights abuses, including the documented murder of more than 3,000 dissidents and the torture and imprisonment of more than 40,000 (“Augusto Pinochet’s Chile: Facts and Figures,” Amnesty International, 10 Sept 2023). The Chilean secret police (DINA) perpetrated many of these abuses. Two notorious members of DINA were the American Michael Townley and his Chilean wife, Mariana Callejas—the historical referents for Bolaño’s characters James Thompson and Maria Canales.