•  
  •  
 

Carson Cambell

Keywords

Charles Horman, Chile, Pinochet, coup, disappearance

Abstract

It was hot outside in the late afternoon of the seventeenth of September when Charles Horman stepped out of his car. Horman was exhausted from a long day of many futile attempts to contact the United States ambassador in Santiago, Chile. Many hours were spent in the endeavor to secure emergency travels back to the U.S., but thus far there was no success to be found. Carrying such important information regarding the successful coup of the Chilean General, Augusto Pinochet, Horman knew he needed to reach the safety of his home country.11 The American journalist entered his house, and mere minutes later, a military truck pulled up outside. Scaling the fence, the men burst into the home, exiting minutes later with Horman and his possessions in tow. Later, Horman was seen being led to a light- green truck that was last seen heading towards the National Stadium in Santiago. Rumors were circulating that the stadium was serving as an impromptu prison camp for political opponents of the new government. Taken inside the camp, this was the last time that Horman was seen in public, disappearing as so many of the occupants of the National Stadium did. Horman’s disappearance was common in the lives of the Chilean people following the coup of 1973; however, as an American citizen, his disappearance would have lasting repercussions. Horman’s wife would spread his story amongst the press in America and alert the increasingly disillusioned public of what was happening in Chile.

Download

Share

COinS