In 1970, Salvador Allende, a member of the Chilean Socialist Party, was elected president. Salvador Allende was considered a Marxist president in a time when the Cold War and the struggle between capitalism and communism were at their peak. After being elected president, Allende made many moves to nationalize Chilean industries such as the copper industry; this was seen as a threat to US geopolitical interests, which would prompt the US to stage a coup. Although Allende was part of the socialist party and actually had Marxist tendencies; he did not seek support from the Soviet Union until the United States cut all ties with his administration. This begs the question: If the United States had attempted a more diplomatic approach towards the Allende administration, would the coup have been avoided? However, Allende's political views were fundamentally different from those of the United States, which is why the CIA supported a military coup led by Augusto Pinochet. The coup itself was extremely violent and oppressive and led to the death of Salvador Allende and thousands of Chilean members of the socialist party and all citizens who openly opposed the new military dictatorship. It is also important to note that growing contempt for the United States spread throughout Latin America during this period. This led to many countries starting to nationalize their assets (most notably Chile). The US mantra of fighting for the freedom and democracy of all people could not have been more threatened and invalidated than after its support for Pinochet's dictatorship. In this specific case, the United States was involved in and helped overthrow a democratically elected president in order to maintain its control and interests in Chile. Before the presidency of Salvador Allende, Chile...... means of paper......not of a preventive nature; many of which were poorly justified. American intervention in Chile cannot be denied. The fact that the United States merely influenced the military coup against Allende or had a direct role in the attack does not justify the overthrow of a legitimate government. It is also important to note that Salvador Allende's presidency was at times overly ambitious, which only added fuel to the fire. By nationalizing and expropriating all American corporate properties, Allende may have been too ambitious in attempting to change the regime. That said, US involvement in a functioning democracy and its eventual overthrow contradict US ideals and values. Furthermore, while it could be argued that the initial overthrow of the Allende regime was necessary for geopolitical influence; continued support for a violent dictatorship cannot be justified.