Prats, Carlos

Carlos Prats González was born in the city of Talcauano on February 24, 1915 , as the eldest son of Carlos Prats Rizopatron and Hilda González Suárez. He joined the army in 1931 , becoming one of the best among cadets.

In 1935, he joined the artillery officer. Three years later, he became a junior lieutenant. Soon, Carlos Prats returned to the Military Academy, this time as a teacher. He taught there until 1954. In 1944, he married Sophia Cuthbert , who bore him 3 daughters.

In 1954, Carlos Prats was promoted to major and went on a military mission to the United States, where he served until 1958. In 1958, he received the rank of lieutenant colonel and returned again as a teacher at the Military Academy. In 1961 he became commander of the Artillery Regiment Nº3 “Chorrillos”, and in 1963 he became commander of the Artillery Regiment Nº3 “Tacna”.

In 1964, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and sent as a military attache to Argentina . Carlos Prats returns to Chile in 1967, becoming commander of the III Army Division. In 1968, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and the post of chief of the General Staff of the army. the next year he was promoted to the rank of division general.

Carlos Prats was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army on October 26, 1970, President Eduardo Frey Montalva , in place of General Rene Schneider , who was killed a few days earlier, on October 22. Prats's reputation as a general respected in army circles almost guaranteed the non-intervention of the army after the election of Salvador Allende , a socialist, as president of the country.

General Prats became the head of the "constitutionalists", consisting of the military, supporting the Schneider Doctrine . At the same time, he became the most influential supporter of President Allende in the army, entering several times in the cabinet of his ministers. Allende appointed Prats Vice President in 1972 (the Chilean Constitution does not provide for a permanent position as Vice President; however, as a rule, the current Minister of the Interior, as an important Minister in his cabinet, temporarily becomes a “Vice President” only during the President’s overseas trips) .

Prats' loyalty to the Schneider doctrine is believed to have weakened since his arrival in the cabinet of ministers under the Allende government.

The Alejandrina Cox Incident

The incident with Alejandrina Cox, which occurred on June 27, 1973, when several cars tried to block the path of Prats’ car, after which Prats opened fire on the wheels of one of these cars, the red Renault Chilean aristocrat Alejandrina Cox, which provoked him, inflicted huge damage on the general’s reputation. As a result, Prats lost credibility in the army officer corps , whose members, regardless of their political convictions, considered the loss of control over themselves a manifestation of extreme unprofessionalism, which could lead to fatal consequences in difficult situations.

Tanketaso

On June 29, 1973, Prats was a key figure in suppressing a coup attempt known as Tanquetazo . This coup was poorly organized, but the military and others were concerned about the relatively easy possibility of reaching the gates of the presidential palace. The coup Tanketaso failed and was suppressed, but this attempt showed from a tactical point of view the ease of the coup.

Resignation

On August 22, 1973, the wives of generals and officers under the command of Prats staged a rally at his home, accusing him of inability to restore civil peace in Chile. This event convinced Prats that he had lost support among his fellow officers. The next day, he resigned as Minister of the Interior and Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army. Only 2 more generals, in order to constitutionally resolve the political crisis, Mario Sepulveda Skela and Guillermo Pickering (both held key command posts), also resigned in support of Pratsu. General Augusto Pinochet , formerly second in command of Allende and, as expected, loyal to him, took over as army commander.

General Pinochet took office on August 23, 1973. The resignation of Prats was the last obstacle to overcome the military coup, carried out 3 weeks later, on September 11. Immediately after this coup, September 15, 1973, General Prats went into exile with his wife in Argentina .

On September 30, 1974, in Buenos Aires, Prats and his wife Sofia were killed in a radio-controlled bombing of a car bomb. Fragments of the blown up reached the balconies on the ninth floor of the building on the opposite side of the street. Later it became known that the murder was planned by employees of the Chilean Office of National Intelligence . It was carried out by an American expatriate and Chilean citizen Michael Townley , who also committed the assassination of Orlando Letelliere in Washington in 1976.

After the September 11, 1973 coup, Carlos Prats spoke both publicly and in private, criticizing the Chilean junta and Pinochet. He also declared his readiness to become the commander-in-chief of the armed forces in exile or the president of the shadow government or the government in exile.

Consequences and murder investigations

Former officers from the National Intelligence Agency, including the head of Manuel Contreras , the former head of operations, Raul Iturriago , his brother Roger Iturriago, and the ex-team leaders Pedro Espinosa and Jose Sarah, were charged with the murder of Prats.

• Official Biography (Spanish)
• Biography (Spanish)
• The Carlos Prats Assassination
• Human rights report on the case
• Non-official account of murder (Spanish)
• Chilean agent convicted over Prats' killing
• Trial watch
• Letter from Allende thanking him after his resignation (Spanish)