50 anos do golpe militar no Chile : a operação condor como instrumento de conexão transnacional do terrorismo de estado no cone sul

Abstract

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the bloody military coup in Chile (1973-2023), led by General Augusto Pinochet, which overthrew the first socialist project on a global scale of a democratically elected government, represented by President Salvador Allende Gossens, this work aims to investigate the murders of General Carlos Prats Gonzalez and former Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier, within the framework of Operation Condor, which was consolidated as a mechanism for transnational connection of State terrorism during the military dictatorships in the Southern Cone. These episodes, which occurred during the period of strengthening of these authoritarian governments, mark a paradigm of what would be the systematic and complex operation of this terror corporation. Therefore, through a multidisciplinary perspective stemming from the methodological principles of Latin American Studies, this work aims to analyze, from a comparative perspective, the assassinations of these two important Chilean leaders within the context of the aforementioned operation, and consequently, to determine whether General Prats and former Foreign Minister Letelier actually posed any political risk to the Pinochet regime. Furthermore, the military coup against President Allende and the immediate establishment of the Augusto Pinochet regime constitute primary elements within Latin American historiography, directly linked to the actions resulting from Operation Condor. Finally, the need to revisit these historical events, the warning to avoid democratic setbacks and the preservation of the rule of law and reparations to victims of human rights violations, underpin the intention of this work, in the expectation not only of building knowledge as an academic contribution, but also in the hope of transforming our political and social reality, hoping to assist in the construction of new epistemologies in line with the new times and new Latin American circumstances.