So far as fiery President Gabriel González Videla was concerned, the Communists had asked for it. They had struck Chile's coal mines; he had expelled a Yugoslav diplomat on charges of pulling the strings (TIME, Oct. 20). And last week, when his troops were restoring order in the Lota coal fields, 2,000 Communist-dominated last-ditchers barricaded themselves in a mine tunnel and set off dynamite charges in front of advancing Chilean soldiers.
Nobody was hurt, and tear gas soon routed the miners. But it was the perfect cue for González to strike still harder at his late allies and their international...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
