Santiago de Chile, August 26 (RHC)-- Declassified documents recently released in Santiago de Chile confirm that former U.S. President Richard Nixon knew about the plans for the September 11, 1973 coup d'état in Chile against the government of Salvador Allende.

The declassified documents were two reports prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and sent to the White House on the events of September 8 and 11, 1973.

The first document deals with the possibility of a coup, in which members of the Chilean Navy were  conspiring against the Popular Unity government.  The text points out that there are indications that naval officers could be planning joint anti-government actions with civilian opponents.

It adds that the extreme right-wing Patria y Libertad movement had been blocking highways and provoking confrontations with the national police, increasing the tension caused by the ongoing strikes and opposition political movements.

The second document of September 11 reported that several key military units supported the cuartelazo.

According to these files, Allende considered that his followers did not have enough weapons to confront the Army and that the only viable solution was political.

The documents are revealed on the 50th anniversary of the coup d'état led by Augusto Pinochet against the Popular Unity government, which gave rise to one of the darkest episodes in the history of that South American country.

It is estimated that there were more than 40,000 victims of that regime, including the murdered, disappeared and tortured detainees, not counting more than 200,000 exiles.