Lessons in diplomacy à la Kissinger (1): Don’t be afraid to bend the truth….

US-Chilean relations during the Allende presidency Memorandum of Conversation, Henry Kissinger, Chilean Foreign Minister, Cloromiro Almeyda, and the Chilean Ambassador in Washington, Orlando Letelier, c.7 October 1971, Fondo Orlando Letelier, National Archive, Santiago, Chile

The view from Havana: Chilean exiles in Cuba and early resistance to Chile’s dictatorship, 1973-1977

This article explores the history of Chilean exiles in Cuba and their role in early resistance to the Chilean dictatorship between 1973 and 1977. From the perspective of the Chilean exile–led Comite´ Chileno de Solidaridad con la Resistencia Antifascista in Havana, the essay also examines Cuba’s support for resistance efforts. This involved not immediate training for armed insurgency in Chile but rather broader support for solidarity work. Indeed, the Cuban government and the Chilean exiles whom it supported were essential conduits for translating global activism into concrete resistance. They did this via the clandestine distribution of funds to Chile, human rights campaigns at the United Nations to isolate the Chilean dictatorship, and efforts to undermine US-Chilean bilateral relations. Simultaneously, Chilean left-wing parties had to come to terms with defeat and devise strategies for the future. These were bleak years, but they were essential precursors for later opposition to the dictatorship

As the US-Cuba relationship thaws, the next steps depend on the domestic political will in both countries towards greater openness

Last week President Obama announced that the U.S. and Cuba would be taking steps towards normalizing relations between the two countries. Tanya Harmer writes that the move to end the Cold War in Latin America is a triumph for the principle of non-intervention, and for President Obama’s reputation in the region. She also warns that questions remain over Obama’s ability to negotiate an end to the 53-year embargo with Congress, the role of new sanctions against Venezuela and the desire of Cuban leaders to open up the country further

‘The Cuban question’ and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964

This article explains how Latin American governments responded to the Cuban revolution and how the “Cuban question” played out in the inter-American system in the first five years of Fidel Castro's regime, from 1959 to 1964, when the Organization of American States imposed sanctions against the island. Drawing on recently declassified sources from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, and the United States, the article complicates U.S.-centric accounts of the inter-American system. It also adds to our understanding of how the Cold War was perceived within the region. The article makes clear that U.S. policymakers were not the only ones who feared Castro's triumph, the prospect of greater Soviet intervention, and the Cuban missile crisis. By seeking to understand why local states opposed Castro's ascendance and what they wanted to do to counter his regime, the account here offers new insight into the Cuban revolution's international impact and allows us to evaluate U.S. influence in the region during key years of the Cold War

“Serémos como el Che”: Chilean elenos, Bolivia and the cause of Latinoamericanismo, 1967-1970

Este artículo analiza la participación de voluntarios chilenos en las actividades llevadas a cabo por el Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) en Bolivia entre 1967 y 1970. Su propósito es explicar las razones que los inspiraron a tomar parte en esta iniciativa insurgente internacionalista, adelantando algunas hipótesis sobre el poder del latinoamericanismo como referencia para la acción revolucionaria a finales de la década de los sesenta. El artículo pone especial énfasis en la influencia decisiva que ejerció entre los voluntarios el ejemplo de Ernesto "Che" Guevara. También analiza el papel jugado por los líderes revolucionarios cubanos en la organización de la insurrección del ELN en Bolivia después de la muerte del Che y explica las razones que los condujeron a abandonar la operación a mediados de 1969. El artículo plantea que tal iniciativa revolucionaria fue una de las manifestaciones más concretas de una poderosa forma de latinoamericanismo inspirada por Cuba. También analiza los límites que, en última instancia, caracterizaban en este proyecto latinoamericanista y lo hacían inadecuado para las condiciones que enfrentaban los elenos

The rules of the game: Allende's Chile, the United States and Cuba, 1970-1973

This thesis is an international history of Chile and inter-American relations during the presidency of Salvador Allende. On the one hand, it investigates the impact external actors and international affairs had on Chilean politics up to and immediately following the brutal coup d'etat that overthrew Allende on 11 September 1973. On the other hand, it explores how the rise and fall of Allende's peaceful democratic road to socialism affected the Cold War in Latin America and international affairs beyond. Based on multi-archival research, online resources and interviews conducted in Havana and Santiago, it places Chile - and the regional and international context in which Allende existed - at the heart of a story that has too often been told from Washington's perspective and in isolation from the history of Latin American and Third World politics. It argues that the direct significance Allende's Chile had for Latin America - and more specifically, the Southern Cone - between 1970 and 1973 was to reinvigorate a battle for control of the continent between those who sought socialist revolution and those who wanted to destroy it

«Seremos como el Che»: Chilean elenos, Bolivia and the cause of latinoamericanismo, 1967-1970

Este artículo analiza la participación de vo-luntarios chilenos en las actividades llevadasa cabo por el Ejército de Liberación Nacional(eln) en Bolivia entre 1967 y 1970. Su propó-sito es explicar las razones que los inspirarona tomar parte en esta iniciativa insurgente in-ternacionalista, adelantando algunas hipótesissobre el poder del latinoamericanismo comoreferencia para la acción revolucionaria a fi-nales de la década de los sesenta. El artículopone especial énfasis en la influencia decisivaque ejerció entre los voluntarios el ejemplode Ernesto «Che» Guevara. También analizael papel jugado por los líderes revolucionarioscubanos en la organización de la insurreccióndel eln en Bolivia después de la muerte delChe y explica las razones que los condujerona abandonar la operación a mediados de 1969.El artículo plantea que tal iniciativa revolu-cionaria fue una de las manifestaciones másconcretas de una poderosa forma de latino-americanismo inspirada por Cuba. Tambiénanaliza los límites que, en última instancia, ca-racterizaban a este proyecto latinoamericanistay lo hacían inadecuado para las condicionesque enfrentaban los elenos