Rene Schneider

Chilean army commander-in-chief shot during a CIA-backed kidnapping attempt in 1970, targeted for defending Chile's constitutional transfer of power to elected president Salvador Allende. His death is one of the most thoroughly documented CIA assassination operations, confirmed by the Church Committee and declassified records.

Field	Details
Full Name	Rene Schneider Chereau
Born	December 31, 1913, Concepcion, Chile
Died	October 25, 1970
Age at Death	56
Location of Death	Santiago, Chile
Cause of Death	Gunshot wounds sustained during kidnapping attempt
Official Ruling	Murdered during attempted kidnapping
Alleged Intelligence Connection	CIA (United States) — confirmed
Category	Military / Law Enforcement

Assessment: CONFIRMED

The Church Committee confirmed CIA involvement in the plot to kidnap Schneider in order to prevent Salvador Allende's inauguration. President Nixon directly ordered the operation on September 15, 1970, and Henry Kissinger oversaw it. The operation was codenamed FUBELT. The CIA provided weapons, money, and tear gas to Chilean military plotters. After Schneider was killed, the CIA paid $35,000 in "hush money" to the assassins to help them flee the country — a fact the CIA withheld from the Church Committee for years. Declassified documents reveal that Kissinger, CIA Director Richard Helms, and other senior officials presented false narratives to Congress about their knowledge of and responsibility for the attack. It took 25 years after the Church Committee report for the classified operational records to be released under President Clinton's order.

Circumstances of Death

On October 22, 1970, armed men intercepted General Schneider's car as he was being driven to work along his regular route in Santiago. Schneider drew his sidearm to defend himself and was shot point-blank several times. He was rushed to a military hospital but died three days later on October 25. The attack was carried out by a group of right-wing Chilean military officers who had been in direct contact with the CIA. Two groups of plotters were involved: one led by retired General Roberto Viaux and another led by active-duty General Camilo Valenzuela. The CIA had provided submachine guns and ammunition to the Valenzuela group. The kidnapping was supposed to trigger a military coup that would prevent Allende's congressional ratification, scheduled for October 24 — just two days after the attack.

Background

Schneider was born to a German immigrant father and French immigrant mother in Concepcion, Chile. He entered the Military Academy at age 15 in 1929 and rose through the ranks over four decades to become commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army — the highest military position in the country. He is best known for articulating the "Schneider Doctrine" — the principle that Chile's armed forces must remain apolitical, subordinate to civilian constitutional authority, and must not intervene in elections or the democratic process.

On May 8, 1970, Schneider gave an interview to Chile's leading newspaper, El Mercurio, providing what the US Defense Intelligence Agency described as an "outspoken" affirmation that the military would not interfere in the September 1970 presidential election. This position — a general defending democracy — made him the primary obstacle to the Nixon administration's plan to prevent Allende from taking office through a military coup.

When Allende won a plurality in the September 4, 1970 election, the Nixon administration activated two parallel tracks. Track I involved political and economic pressure — bribing Chilean congressmen, funding opposition media, and manipulating the economy — to prevent the Chilean Congress from ratifying Allende. Track II — the covert operation codenamed FUBELT — was far more aggressive: it aimed to instigate a military coup, beginning with the abduction of Schneider to remove the one military leader who would block it. Track II was tightly held: only Nixon, Kissinger, and CIA Director Helms were fully aware. The State Department, Defense Department, and even the US Ambassador to Chile were deliberately excluded.

Intelligence Connections

• President Nixon directly ordered CIA Director Richard Helms on September 15, 1970, to prevent Allende's inauguration — "Not concerned risks involved... $10,000,000 available, more if necessary," according to Helms's handwritten notes of the meeting
• Kissinger oversaw Track II / Operation FUBELT as a tightly held operation involving only the CIA, Kissinger, and his NSC staff — the State Department and Defense Department were deliberately excluded
• The CIA hired retired General Roberto Viaux, active General Camilo Valenzuela, and Admiral Hugo Tirado to kidnap Schneider
• The CIA provided three submachine guns, ammunition, tear gas, and $50,000 in cash to the plotters
• The original plan called for Schneider to be kidnapped on October 19 and secretly flown to Argentina; the military would then blame Allende supporters, raid leftist targets, exile President Eduardo Frei, close Congress, and install a junta
• After the assassination, the CIA paid $35,000 in hush money to the assassins to flee the country
• The CIA withheld the hush money records from the Church Committee, concealing the extent of its involvement
• Kissinger and Helms presented false testimony to the Church Committee about their knowledge of the operation

Why This Death Raises Questions

• The CIA organized, funded, and armed the kidnapping operation that directly led to Schneider's death
• Nixon and Kissinger ordered the operation specifically to subvert a democratic election and prevent a constitutionally elected leader from taking office
• Schneider was targeted not for any crime but for defending Chile's constitutional process — he was killed for being a democrat
• The CIA paid hush money to the killers and then concealed this from congressional investigators conducting oversight
• Senior officials lied under oath to the Church Committee about their involvement
• The assassination backfired spectacularly: it provoked national outrage and rallied Chileans behind Allende and the constitutional process, and Congress ratified Allende on October 24 — one day before Schneider died
• Allende was inaugurated on November 3, 1970, as the first freely elected socialist leader in the world
• The Schneider family filed a civil lawsuit in US courts against Kissinger and other officials, seeking accountability
• Though the Church Committee published its report in 1975, the classified CIA operational cables on FUBELT were not released until 2000, when President Clinton ordered declassification
• The murder of Schneider was a precursor to the full CIA-backed coup that overthrew Allende three years later on September 11, 1973

Key Quotes

"The armed forces are not a deliberating body.. The Army is the guarantor of a normal election." — General Rene Schneider, May 1970, articulating the Schneider Doctrine

"Make the economy scream." — President Richard Nixon, ordering the CIA to destabilize Chile, September 15, 1970

"Not concerned risks involved. No involvement of embassy. $10,000,000 available, more if necessary. Full-time job — best men we have... Make the economy scream." — Richard Helms, handwritten notes of meeting with Nixon, September 15, 1970

Aftermath

The assassination backfired spectacularly. Rather than triggering a coup, Schneider's murder provoked a wave of national outrage. Chileans rallied behind the constitutional process, and on October 24 — one day before Schneider died of his wounds — the Chilean Congress overwhelmingly ratified Allende as president. Allende was inaugurated on November 3, 1970, as the first freely elected socialist head of state in the world.

Schneider became a martyr for constitutionalism. His funeral drew massive crowds, and his death reinforced the very democratic principles he had championed. The Chilean military — shamed by the attack on their commander — initially rallied behind constitutional order.

However, the Nixon administration did not give up. Over the next three years, the CIA pursued economic destabilization, funded opposition groups and media, and cultivated military contacts. On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military — now under different leadership — overthrew Allende in a violent coup. Allende died in the presidential palace. The Schneider Doctrine died with him.

The Schneider family filed a civil lawsuit in US courts against Henry Kissinger and other officials. In 2001, the family's legal team obtained documents showing the CIA's involvement exceeded what had been disclosed to Congress. The case was ultimately dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, but it contributed to the broader historical record.

See Also

• Salvador Allende — Chilean president overthrown in CIA-backed coup three years later (1973)

• Orlando Letelier — Chilean diplomat assassinated by DINA in Washington, DC (1976)

• Carlos Prats — Schneider's successor as army commander, later assassinated by DINA in Buenos Aires (1974)

• Charles Horman — American journalist killed during the 1973 Chilean coup

• Frank Teruggi — American student executed during the Chilean coup

• Ngo Dinh Diem — Another leader targeted by CIA-backed forces (1963)

• Rafael Trujillo — Dominican dictator killed with CIA-supplied weapons (1961)

• CIA (Group Profile) — intelligence service connected to this case

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Sources

• The CIA and Chile: Anatomy of an Assassination — National Security Archive
• Rene Schneider — Wikipedia
• CIA Assassination Plots: Church Committee Report 50 Years Later — National Security Archive
• Covert Action in Chile: Church Committee Report Significance — National Security Archive
• Project FUBELT — Wikipedia
• Schneider, Rene (1913-1970) — Encyclopedia.com
• Chile Marks 50th Anniversary of Schneider Assassination — MLToday

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