Welcome to the Empire Files podcast. This is your host, Abby Martin. This is the audio of our show.

You can watch the episodes on our YouTube channel or at the Empirefiles.TV.

This is Abby Martin with your Empire update, wrapping up the last week in U.S. imperialism.

The Biden administration has approved its first armed sale to a foreign government, the right-wing regime of Chile.

On February 5th, the State Department gave the green light to the sale of 16 advanced missiles to the Chilean military, as well as supporting equipment, spares, and training for $85 million.

This is yet another indication that Biden intends to continue the Trump administration's policy

of supporting the far right in Latin America, to prevent the return of the progressive and socialist pink-tide governments that swept the region

during the early 2000s.

The president of Chile, Sebastian Piniera, has an approval rating in the single digits

after using deadly force in a failed attempt to suppress an uprising against

rampant inequality that broke out in October 2019. The Pinieira government deployed the army

to crush the protests, alleged to have killed or disappeared dozens of protesters, as well as

severely injuring hundreds more. Pinera's family is one of the richest in the country.

They were key political and economic players during the fascist military regime of Augusto Pinochet,

installed by the CIA in 1973.

This arms sale comes during a crucial moment for Chile,

a constituent assembly to rewrite the dictatorship-era constitution, a key victory of the uprising,

will take place in April.

A presidential election to replace pinata will happen later this year, and the Communist Party's candidate is currently in first place in opinion polls.

Biden's arming to the teeth of this relic of fascism,

today employing similar repression, is truly disturbing.

In another new arms deal approved by Biden, on February 16th,

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