FPMR Ambushes Pinochet's Motorcade — He Narrowly Escapes

The Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), the armed wing of the Communist Party, ambushes Pinochet's motorcade in the Maipo Canyon with RPG rockets and automatic weapons. Five bodyguards are killed; Pinochet escapes with a minor hand wound. The assassination attempt backfires: Pinochet declares a state of siege, and the failed attack allows him to portray opposition as Communist terrorists. The international community rallies around the plebiscite path rather than armed resistance.