The coup had been planned by the Greek monarchy, the Greek military, the American military stationed in Greece and the USA CIA.
During the first month of the new regime 8,000 people are imprisoned and tortured. Greece is expelled from the European Commission on Human Rights, but continues to receive aid from the USA in return for housing American military bases. The country continues to be part of NATO and trade with the West.
Amnesty International would later report that "American policy on the torture question as expressed in official statements and official testimony has been to deny it where possible and minimize it where denial was not possible. This policy flowed naturally from general support for the military regime".
The USA writer James Becket describes many victims being told by Basil Lambrou, one of the chief interrogators: "Behind me there is the government, behind the government is NATO, behind NATO is the USA. You can't fight us, we are Americans".
Greece would not return to democratic government until 1974.
