On this day in 1986, Chilean US-backed Dictator Augusto Pinochet was almost killed in a heroic assassination attempt by communist guerrillas of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), in what was the only attempt to assassinate Pinochet.
After months of planning, the guerrillas launched Operation '20th Century',
ambushing Pinochet's motorcade as he returned from a weekend trip to Cajón del Maipo. They carefully selected a narrow road along the mountainous terrain near Santiago.
The revolutionaries were heavily armed with rifles, machine guns, grenades and rocket-propelled grenades. At 6:35 pm, they struck. They blocked the road with a heavy vehicle and opened fire. Pinochet's security fired back and the ensuing battle lasted for several minutes. Eventually, the FPMR fighters thought they had killed the dictator and retreated. However, Pinochet survived, only suffering minor injuries from a grenade that failed to explode.
He used the attack as an excuse to unleash a new wave of terror against leftists, re-imposing a state of emergency he had lifted a year earlier.
Numerous FPMR members and sympathizers were arrested, tortured, and killed, despite having nothing to do with the attack. Despite the onslaught, the FPMR continued its armed struggle until the 90s, until then they were listed as a terrorist organization by the CIA.
The FPMR are considered heroes of the democratic resistance by the Chilean left, however, current centrist President Gabriel Boric said that he regrets old comments he made in support of the FPMR's legacy.
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