<Tr> <Td> 2011--2017 Syria, Timber Sycamore <Ul> <Li> view </Li> <Li> talk </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> view </Li> <Li> talk </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a watershed moment in both the history of Chile and the Cold War . Following an extended period of social unrest and political tension between the opposition - controlled Congress of Chile and the socialist President Salvador Allende, as well as economic warfare ordered by US President Richard Nixon, Allende was overthrown by the armed forces and national police . </P> <P> The military deposed Allende's Popular Unity government and later established a junta that suspended all political activity in Chile and repressed left - wing movements, especially the Communist and socialist parties and the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). Allende's appointed army chief, Augusto Pinochet, rose to supreme power within a year of the coup, formally assuming power in late - 1974 . The United States government, which had worked to create the conditions for the coup, promptly recognized the junta government and supported it in consolidating power . </P>

Who was the president of chile before the military coup was staged