The U.S. set the stage for a coup in Chile. It had unintended consequences at home

The U.S. set the stage for a coup in Chile. The campaign against Salvador Allende Enlarge this image toggle caption AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images The U.S. had been meddling in Chile's politics for years by the time 1973 rolled around. The U.S. was not the only reason for the coup Enlarge this image toggle caption AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images It's important to note that Chile was politically polarized. Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP "This sense of fear, the sense of everybody being in danger, was palpable," says the writer Ariel Dorfman, who was a cultural adviser to Allende's chief of staff. He was released under international pressure and came to work at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. Enlarge this image toggle caption Moffitt family/Institute for Policy Studies via Wikimedia Commons, AP Moffitt family/Institute for Policy Studies via Wikimedia Commons, AP Agents working under the orders of Pinochet planted a car bomb that exploded on Sept. 21, 1976, at Washington's Sheridan Circle — an act of state- The Carter and Reagan years Enlarge this image toggle caption Peter Bregg/AP Peter Bregg/AP Letelier's assassination loomed large over the Chile policy of Jimmy Carter, who came into office in 1977 emphasizing human rights in foreign policy.