Copyright by Gregory Krauss 2007 - The University of Texas at Austin

Lister wrote to Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Jack B.
Kubisch on September 17, 1973. 77
The following year, Lister was still trying to shape U.S. relations with the
Chilean government. In a memo to David H. Popper, U.S. Ambassador to Chile,
Lister suggested that the U.S. maintain “cordial, diplomatic relations with Chile,”
while making it clear to non-government representatives that the U.S. was not taking
sides in favor of the Junta. 78 As described in Chapter 3, during the 1960s Lister had
advocated for increased contact with the Socialists, but he had been able to have little
contact himself from his location in Washington, D.C. Now, in his capacity as a
human rights officer, rather than leaving relations with the democratic opposition to
the U.S. Embassy in Santiago or to other top policymakers, Lister was able to work
directly with the democratic opposition, some of which had fled Chile and was
residing in Washington, D.C. The relationships Lister built with the opposition—
which included a wide spectrum of former politicians as well as representatives of the
Catholic Church—gave them a more favorable impression of U.S. aims. And, as with
so many other countries, Lister became a conduit through which the opposition could
seek to change U.S. policies.
As early as 1975, Lister was helping the opposition against Pinochet. That
year, Renato Poblete, a Chilean priest, came to Washington to represent Chilean
Church leaders in their bid for a strong U.S. human rights policy towards Chile and
specifically an asylum program for Chilean refugees. 79 Lister arranged meetings with
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