Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

414 • MANUEL RODRÍGUEZ PATRIOTIC FRONToutside the U.S. embassy on 19 July 1985 that killed one passerbyand injured four others and two policemen. One of the 21 bombings,conducted on 29 April 1986, involved a 15-kilogram bomb detonatedoutside the U.S. ambassador’s residence, which caused no injuries.On 11 August 1986 Chilean security forces uncovered an armsstockpile at Corral Bay consisting in part of 338 M-16 rifles, 37Soviet hand grenades, 315 Katyusha rockets, detonators, fuses, and1,872 kilos of high-yield explosives, and 210,000 rounds of ammunition.A clandestine field clinic and an airstrip were also locatednear the arms stockpile. Twenty FPMR members were arrested inthis raid. Chilean authorities claimed the arms were off-loaded fromSoviet and Cuban fishing vessels and were intended for use in anoffensive to be launched against the government in September 1987.On 7 September 1986, 21 FPMR gunmen attempted to kill GeneralAugusto Pinochet with grenades and automatic-weapons fire as hismotorcade drove to his summer residence. Five guards were killedand another 11 were wounded, while Pinochet suffered only a cuton his hand. On 10 September 1986 Chilean security forces founda 25-meter-long tunnel packed with 200 kilograms of explosivesbeneath a road over which General Pinochet was due to travel thenext day. During late 1986 and 1987, the FPMR conducted numerousbombings of power pylons, once plunging much of Santiago andValparaíso into a blackout just as General Pinochet was due to makea national radio and television address. On 28 December 1989 theFPMR-D bombed the American-Chilean cultural center in Santiagoto protest the U.S. invasion of Panama. The membership of FPMRwas estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 at its height, but the currentFPMR-D, or “dissident” faction, now is believed to have only 50to 100 members. The FPMR showed a greater willingness to strike atlower-ranking police officers and ordinary soldiers than did its leadingrival, the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), and torisk indiscriminate killing of civilians and bystanders in its bombingcampaign since the FPMR used higher-yield explosives than did theMIR and made greater use of car bombs. The FPMR also engaged inkidnapping industrialists for ransom and apparently once prepared a“people’s prison” to house hostages. Unlike the MIR, the FPMR alsoseized radio stations several times to broadcast its own messages tothe public. During the period 1983–1988, the FPMR conducted 25attacks, six against diplomatic targets, 11 against business targets,