Part 1

On [September 11, 1973], the long-planned [CIA]-[military coup] against the elected president of [Chile], [Salvador Allende], was put into action. Connecting the [general]s was a somewhat [makeshift] radio network. The [liaison] post, Post Three, was located at the Military Academy, where it was staffed by young, inexperienced [officer]s. This post acted as a [switchboard] between generals Pinochet, [Gustavo Leigh|Leigh], [Nicanor Díaz|Díaz], and Vice Admiral [Patricio Carvajal|Carvajal], the officers of the Chilean military who would soon become the members of the ruling [junta].

Of course, [secrecy] was essential for their plan. What they did not know, however, was that a civilian in the area would stumble upon their [frequency], realise who was talking, and get the whole thing on tape. This tape, containing all of the communications between the high command on the day of the coup, was kept hidden in a basement for 25 years, until it was brought, in 1998, to a Chilean news magazine, and eventually published in audio and book form (Interferencia Secreta, by [Patricia Verdugo], Editorial Sudamericana, 1998). The authenticity of the recordings has been confirmed by more than one of the generals involved.

Below is an English [the translator's task|translation] of the content of the tapes, prepared by [eliserh|me].

Post Five ([Ministry of Defence]): Attention, Post One, Post One, from Post Five. Go ahead, over.

Post Three ([Military Academy]): Fuck, One...fucking [hysterical] with the [QRT]...sure...the generals are talking (whistling).

Post One: ...over.

Post Five: [Patricio Carvajal|Patricio] needs to speak with [Augusto Pinochet|Augusto].

Pinochet: Augusto here, Augusto here.

Carvajal: I think the [suicide] thing was wrong. I just got done talking with the naval [aide-de-camp], Commander Grez, who says that the three aides-de-camp are coming out of [La Moneda] and going to the [Ministry] of Defence. I told him to urge the head of the [National Police] to give up his troops because we're going to bomb them. So the police have to leave La Moneda at this time. General Brady has been informed so that he won't shoot at the soldiers who are evacuating La Moneda.

Pinochet: Very well. Just now, I got a call from Domínguez, the [subsecretary] of the [Navy]. He said that the three commanders in chief should go to ask for the President's [surrender]. You know how slick that bastard is. It's the other way around. You know what he's got to do: if he wants, he can go to the Ministry of Defence and give himself up to the three Commanders in Chief.

Carvajal: I spoke to him personally. I urged him to surrender to the Commanders in Chief and he responded by swearing at me.

Pinochet: So, at 11, when the first guys get there, you'l see what happens. We're bombing at 11 sharp!.

Carvajal: It will be easier to attack La Moneda once it's been evacuated.

Pinochet: Once we've we've bombed it, we'll hit with the Buin [[Regiment]] and the [Infantry] School. We have to tell Brady.

Carvajal: We'll just wait until the aides-de-camp and the MPs have been evacuated.

Pinochet: Very well.

Carvajal: OK, over.

Pinochet: So the police we're in contact with are [loyal]?

Carvajal: The police who are surrounding La Moneda are loyal...

Pinochet: ...to us??

Carvajal: Some of them pulled back, but we still don't know where to and whether they might have given themselves up to Mendoza or just ran off.

Pinochet: So La Moneda's all alone? La Moneda's alone, I mean, there are no police there, or are there still some inside?

Carvajal: ([interference])...army troops now. I'll check to see what forces are around La Moneda, both police and [Armed Forces], and I'll let you know.

Pinochet: Correct. There can't be anybody there when we bomb it.

Carvajal: Correct. I'll give my [approval] before the bombing starts.

Pinochet: It seems to me that [His Excellency] might have run off in a tank.

Post Two ([Air Force]): Five, five, from Two. Over.

Pinochet: ...we've got to find the tanks. And what about Mendoza, aren't you in contact with him?

Carvajal: No, but not the tanks, he didn't flee in the tanks. The tanks left beforehand and I spoke personally with him on the phone afterwards.

Pinochet: Very well, very well. So we've got to stop him leaving. If he leaves, we've got to take him prisoner.

Carvajal: I also talked later with the Naval Aide-de-camp, and he confirmed that Allende is in La Moneda.

Pinochet: So we've got to be ready to act against him. Kill the [bitch] and you take care of the litter.

Carvajal: Exactly. The only thing we're waiting for is for the aides-de-camp and the police to leave .

[The Pinochet Tapes: September 11, 1973, Part 2]