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René Schneider Chereau ( ; December 31, 1913 – October 25, 1970) was a Chilean military official who served as commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army at the time of the
1970 Chilean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Chile on 4 September 1970. Salvador Allende of the Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity alliance won a narrow Plurality (voting), plurality in a race against independent Jorge Alessandri and Christian Democra ...
, when he was assassinated during a botched kidnapping attempt. He coined the doctrine of military-political mutual exclusivity that became known as the Schneider Doctrine.


Background

He was born in
Concepción, Chile Concepción (; originally: ''Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz'', "Conception of the Blessed Mother of Light") is a city and Communes of Chile, commune in south-central Chile, and the geographical and demographic core of the Greater Co ...
, as a descendant of
ethnic German Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...
and French immigrants, and joined the army in 1929. After a brilliant career, he was named Commander-in-Chief on October 27, 1969, by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chileans, Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party (Chile), Christia ...
, as a result of the Tacna agreement. Schneider had expressed firm opposition to the idea of preventing
Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...
's inauguration by means of a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
; as a
constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...
, he wished to continue the Chilean military's long apolitical history.


Assassination

After the 1970 Chilean presidential election, a plot to kidnap Schneider was developed. "Neutralizing" Schneider became a key prerequisite for a military coup because the general opposed any intervention by the armed forces to block Allende's constitutional election. The U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA), which considered Schneider "a major stumbling block for military officers seeking to carry out a coup," supplied a group of Chilean officers led by General Camilo Valenzuela with "sterile" weapons for the kidnapping which was to be blamed on Allende supporters.


First and second attempts

On October 16, 1970, based on an anonymous tip as to Schneider's whereabouts, the first group attempted to kidnap him from his home. The tip turned out to be a false one as Schneider had been on vacation for two days prior and didn't return until the next day. On the evening of October 19, 1970, a second group of coup-plotters loyal to General Roberto Viaux, equipped with
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
grenades attempted to grab Schneider as he left an official dinner. The attempt failed because Schneider left in a private car, not his official vehicle. The failure produced an extremely significant cable from CIA headquarters in Washington to the local station, asking for urgent action because "Headquarters must respond during morning 20 October to queries from high levels." Payments of $50,000 each to Viaux and his chief associate were then authorised on the condition that another kidnapping attempt be made.Lubna Z. Qureshi. ''Nixon, Kissinger, and Allende: U.S. Involvement in the 1973 Coup in Chile.''
Lexington Books Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...
, 2009
p. 64


Final attempt

On October 22, 1970, the coup-plotters again attempted to kidnap Schneider. His official car was ambushed at an intersection in the capital city of
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
. Schneider drew a gun to defend himself, and was shot point-blank several times. According to a report by the Chilean military police, "five individuals, one of whom, making use of a blunt instrument similar to a sledgehammer, broke the rear window and then fired at General Schneider, striking him in the region of the spleen, in the left shoulder, and in the left wrist." He was rushed to a military hospital, but the wounds proved fatal and he died three days later, on October 25. The kidnapping attempt was undertaken because Schneider was the army's Commander-in-Chief and considered a constitutionalist, which in practical terms meant that he would not support a coup. His assassination provoked national outrage and inspired the citizens and the military to rally around the just-elected Allende, who was ratified by the Chilean Congress on October 24. The assassination also helped to ensure an orderly transfer of power to Allende. Military courts in Chile found that Schneider's death was caused by two military groups, one led by Viaux and the other by General Camilo Valenzuela. Viaux and Valenzuela were eventually convicted of charges of conspiring to cause a coup, and Viaux also was convicted of kidnapping. The lawsuit asserted that the CIA had aided both groups, but the charges were deemed not-satisfactorily-proven (despite evidence of the CIA sponsoring the kidnap-turned-murder with tens of thousands of dollars and submachine guns). Peter Kornbluh, director of the National Security Archive's Chile Documentation Project, asserts that CIA documents show "Viaux was not acting independently or unilaterally, but clearly as a co-conspirator with Valenzuela..." On October 26, 1970, President
Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chileans, Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party (Chile), Christia ...
named General Carlos Prats as Commander-in-Chief to replace Schneider. This happened at the same time that $35,000 was given by the CIA to the kidnappers "to keep the prior contact secret, maintain the goodwill of the group, and for humanitarian reasons." John Dinges. ''The Condor Years: How Pinochet And His Allies Brought Terrorism To Three Continents.''
The New Press The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André SchiffrinReid, Calvin (December 2, 2013)"New Press Founder André Schiffrin Dead at 78" ''Publishers Weekly''. Accessed August 1, 2014. (Chev ...
, 2005
p. 20


Lawsuits

On September 10, 2001, Schneider's family filed a suit against
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
, accusing him of collaborating with Viaux in arranging for Schneider's murder. While declassified documents show the CIA, displeased with the
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
victory, had explored the idea of supporting Viaux in a coup attempt, they also show that the agency decided on tracking down other members of the Chilean military, deciding that a Viaux coup would fail. Nevertheless, Viaux, acting on the advice of the CIA, teamed up with other coup plotters. CIA documents show unwavering support for Viaux's co-conspirator, Camilo Valenzuela, and also show a $50,000 payment to the kidnap team Viaux had hired. Documents written at the time of the assault on Schneider describe it as part of the "Valenzuela group coup plan." Peter Kornbluh (September 11, 2013). '' The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability.'' The New Press
p. 33
.
On October 15, 1970 Kissinger allegedly told U.S. President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
that he had "turned off" plans to support Viaux, explaining that "Nothing could be worse than an abortive coup." The CIA claimed that no such "stand-down" order was ever received. The U.S. government claims it did not intend for Schneider to be murdered, only kidnapped. When
Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; 2 December 192420 February 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House chief of staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these cabine ...
, Kissinger's aide, was asked "is kidnapping not a crime?" he replied "that depends." Such an argument would carry no weight in any court of law.
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
noted that Chilean authorities treated the crime as a straightforward murder. He argued that, "under the law of every law-bound country (including the United States), a crime committed in the pursuit of a kidnapping is thereby aggravated, not mitigated. You may not say, with a corpse at your feet, 'I was only trying to kidnap him.'" The lawsuit against Kissinger was eventually dismissed in the federal district court; the dismissal was subsequently upheld by the D.C. Court of Appeals. A petition for a
writ of certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
to the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
was denied.


See also

* Family Jewels (Central Intelligence Agency) * Project FUBELT * CIA activities in Chile


Footnotes and references


External links


Official biography
*

*Christian C. Gustafson

*Online News Hou
Documents on ChileThe Case Against Kissinger Deepens, Continued
''
Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
''. July 6, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Rene 1913 births 1970 deaths People from Concepción, Chile Chilean people of German descent Presidency of Salvador Allende Chilean Army generals Deaths by firearm in Chile Dirty wars People murdered in Chile People murdered in 1970 Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy alumni Assassinated Chilean military personnel Central Intelligence Agency controversies