Marvin Resnikoff is an international consultant on radioactive waste issues. A nuclear physicist and a graduate of the University of Michigan, he has worked on radioactive issues since 1974.
KEENE, N.H.-There is an eerie similarity between the military coup in Chile in 1973 and what may occur under President-elect Trump. I was in Chile as a Fulbright scholar during that coup.
In 1970, much to the chagrin of the Nixon administration, Salvador Allende was elected and subsequently reaffirmed in a 1973 parliamentary election.
Advised by the CIA, a trucker's strike was not successful in overthrowing the Allende government. With the advice of the U.S. government, the military, under Augusto Pinochet, took over, and Allende was killed.
Just before the coup against the Allende government, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger declared "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves."
It would be a much longer piece to discuss the full U.S. involvement in Chile's political unrest.
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Immediately after the coup, the media, including radio and newspapers, were taken over by the military. Music by well-known musicians Victor Jara and Violeta Parra was replaced by military marches. Cabarets were closed. Vinyl recordings by leftist musicians were removed from record stores.
Activists were rounded up and placed in a stadium. Some were shot, including a friend of mine, Frank Teruggi.
Phone lines were crudely tapped. I recall attempting to place a phone call, but there was no dial tone. Instead, I was on a direct line to the U.S. embassy.
After the curfew was lifted, I took photos of the presidential palace and the Communist Party headquarters but was confronted by the carabineros, interrogated, and marched to police headquarters, where my film was confiscated.
At home, I was visited by the carabineros, who searched for incriminating literature. Fortunately, I put all suspect books in a box in the closet with several empty boxes piled on top as cover.
Had the incriminating box been found, I likely would have been placed in the stadium along with Frank and perhaps not be alive to tell the tale.
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Why have I taken you through this personal brief history? Because it is relevant to what I fear is next on the U.S. horizon, and I am concerned.
As in Chile in 1973, the newly elected administration has already begun taking action against the press, specifically the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. I see the Trump administration similarly confronting our news media.
Those who are critical of the administration will be considered enemies of the people, just as we've already seen demonstrated at Trump rallies.
I see The New York Times, MSNBC, and their ilk being pressured, legally or illegally, to toe the line. Opposing musicians, such as Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen, could be arrested.
The Trump administration has already floated the idea of mass concentration camps, similar to the Chilean stadium. Many large stadiums already exist near metropolitan areas.
The administration intends to use these facilities for so-called illegal immigrants, but why stop there? These stadiums can be used for interrogating activists or dissidents.
I can see the Trump FBI investigating activists of all stripes. Under future Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I see funding for crackpot science and against vaccines, such as Covid vaccines, that have saved the lives of millions of people around the world.
I see funding going to companies favorable to the Trump administration.
I see fake elections for Congress and the Senate in 2026, similar to those in Russia. By 2028, if I'm alive by then (I'm 86 now), elections may not be held at all.
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This is admittedly a dark view of the upcoming administration, but we shall see.
As Sinclair Lewis foresaw in his 1935 novel and subsequent play It Can't Happen Here, a resistance underground will form to overthrow the Trump administration.
But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.
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