In 1975 it was revealed by the Church Committee that the United States had covertly intervened in Chile from as early as 1962, and that from 1963 to 1973, covert involvement was "extensive and continuous".[67] In 1970, at the request of President Richard Nixon, the CIA planned a "constitutional coup" to prevent the election of Marxist leader Salvador Allende in Chile, while secretly encouraging Chilean generals to act against him.[citation needed] The CIA changed its approach after the murder of Chilean general René Schneider,[68] offering aid to democratic protestors and other Chilean dissidents.[citation needed] Allende was accused of supporting armed groups, torturing detainees, conducting illegal arrests, and muzzling the press.[69] However, Peter Kornbluh asserts that the CIA destabilized Chile and helped create the conditions for the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, which led to years of dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet.[70]