LOOK: 50 years ago, Chile s army ousted a president and everything changed inquirer.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fifty years ago, Chile began the darkest period in its modern history. On Sept. 11, 1973, Gen. Augusto Pinochet led a military coup that included the bombing of La Moneda, the presidential palace in the capital of Santiago, where President Salvador Allende had taken refuge. Allende, a socialist who had won the presidency in 1970, died by suicide during the assault that ended his three-year administration, which was marked by economic turmoil and conflict with Washington over fears he would install a communist government.