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Augusto Pinochet
President of Government Junta of Chile
In office September 11, 1973 – March 11, 1981
Succeeded by	José Toribio Merino
30th President of Chile
In office June 27, 1974 – March 11, 1990
Preceded by	Salvador Allende
Succeeded by	Patricio Aylwin
Personal details
Born	(1915-11-25)November 25, 1915 Valparaíso
Died	December 10, 2006(2006-12-10) (aged 91) Santiago, Chile in the Military Hospital
Nationality	Chilean
Political party	None, military
Spouse	Lucía Hiriart

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (November 25, 1915 – December 10, 2006) was President of Chile from 1974 to 1990, and head of the military junta from 1973 to 1981. His rule instituted broad economic reforms while repressing the Communist and Socialist parties.

On September 11, 1973, Pinochet, recently appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army, headed a coup d'état against Socialist President Salvador Allende and established a military government. In the ensuing quasi civil war, 2,279 people died according to the 1993 Rettig Report.

In 1974, the junta appointed Pinochet president by a joint decree, later confirmed by a plebiscite in 1980. He was defeated in the 1988 plebiscite and, according to the 1980 Constitution, he handed power to his elected civilian successor on March 11, 1990. He remained a life-senator and Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until March 10, 1998.

Pinochet remains a controversial figure in many parts of the world, dividing people who condemn him for his government's human rights abuses from those who credit him with saving Chile from communism and bringing order and economic stability to Chile.

Early career

Pinochet was born in Valparaíso on November 25 1915, the son of Augusto Pinochet Vera (descendant of Breton immigrants who arrived in Chile during the 18th century) and Avelina Ugarte Martínez. He went to primary and secondary school at the San Rafael Seminary of Valparaíso, the Rafael Ariztía Institute (Marist Brothers) in Quillota, the French Fathers' School of Valparaíso, and to the Military School, which he entered in 1933. After four years of study, in 1937 he graduated with the rank of alférez (Second Lieutenant) in the infantry.

In September 1937, he was assigned to the "Chacabuco" Regiment, in Concepción. Two years later, in 1939, then with the rank of sub-lieutenant, he moved to the "Maipo" Regiment, garrisoned in Valparaíso. He returned to Infantry School in 1940. On January 30 1943 , he married Lucía Hiriart Rodríguez, with whom he had five children: three daughters (Inés Lucía, María Verónica, Jacqueline Marie) and two sons (Augusto Osvaldo and Marco Antonio) .

At the end of 1945, he was assigned to the "Carampangue" Regiment in the northern city of Iquique. In 1948, he entered the War Academy, but he had to postpone his studies, because, being the youngest officer, he had to carry out a service mission in the coal zone of Lota. The following year, he returned to his studies in the Academy. After obtaining the title of Officer Chief of Staff, in 1951, he returned to teach at the Military School. At the same time, he worked as a teachers' aide at the War Academy, giving military geography and geopolitics classes. In addition to this, he was active as editor of the institutional magazine Cien Águilas ("One Hundred Eagles"). At the beginning of 1953, with the rank of major, he was sent for two years to the "Rancagua" Regiment in Arica. While there, he was appointed professor of the War Academy, and he returned to Santiago to take up his new position.

In 1956, Pinochet was chosen, together with a group of other young officers, to form a military mission that would collaborate in the organization of the War Academy of Ecuador in Quito, which forced him to suspend his law studies. He remained with the Quito mission for three-and-a-half years, during which time he dedicated himself to the study of geopolitics, military geography and intelligence. During his time there, he was known in diplomatic circles as an exceptional poker player.

At the end of 1959, he returned to Chile and was sent to General Headquarters of the I Army Division, based in Antofagasta. The following year, he was appointed Commander of the "Esmeralda" Regiment. Due to his success in this position, he was appointed Sub-director of the War Academy in 1963. In 1968, he was named Chief of Staff of the II Army Division, based in Santiago, and at the end of that year, he was promoted to Brigadier General and Commander in Chief of the VI Division, garrisoned in Iquique. In his new function, he was also appointed Intendant of the Tarapacá Province.

In January 1971, Pinochet rose to Division General, and was named General Commander of the Santiago Army Garrison. At the beginning of 1972, he was appointed General Chief of Staff of the Army. With rising domestic strife in Chile, Pinochet was appointed Army Commander in Chief on August 23 1973 by President Salvador Allende just the day after the Chamber of Deputies of Chile approved the August 22, 1973 Resolution asserting that Allende was not respecting the Constitution. Less than a month later, the Chilean military deposed Allende.

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Military coup of 1973

On September 11 1973; the Armed Forces, with US support, overthrew Allende's government in a coup, during which the presidential palace, La Moneda, was shelled, while Allende committed suicide. The coup put an end to the Presidential Republic period of Chile (1924-1973).

In his memoirs, Pinochet affirmed that he was the leading plotter of the coup, and used his position as Commander-in-chief of the Army to coordinate a far-reaching scheme with the other two branches of the military and the national police . In recent years, however, high military officials from the time have said that Pinochet reluctantly got involved only a few days before it was scheduled to occur and followed the lead of other branches (especially the Navy) as they triggered the coup. There is some doubt as to whether Pinochet's declarations are true, because they give rise to the question as to why Pinochet was at first reluctant to become supreme head of the junta if, as he claimed, he was one of the main characters who planned it.

In the months that followed the coup, the junta published a book titled El Libro Blanco del cambio de gobierno en Chile (commonly known as El Libro Blanco", The White Book of Change of Government in Chile), where they attempted to justify the coup by claiming that they were in fact anticipating a self-coup (the alleged Plan Zeta, or Plan Z) that Allende's government and/or its associates were purportedly preparing. United States intelligence agencies believed the plan to be simple propaganda. Some Chilean historians, however, point to the similarities between Plan Z and other existing paramilitary plans of the Popular Unity parties in support of its legitimacy. .

Military junta

A military junta was established immediately following the coup, made up of General Pinochet representing the Army, Admiral José Toribio Merino representing the Navy, General Gustavo Leigh representing the Air Force, and General César Mendoza representing the Carabineros (national police). Asestablished the junta as executive and legislative branch of the government, suspended the Constitution and the Congress, imposed strict censorship and curfew, proscribed the left-wing parties and halted all political activities. This military junta governed until December 17, 1974, after which it functioned strictly as a legislative body.

Regime

The junta members originally planned for the presidency to rotate among the commanders-in-chief of the four military branches. However, Pinochet soon consolidated his control, first retaining sole chairmanship of the military junta, and then proclaiming himself "Supreme Chief of the Nation" (de facto provisional president) on June 27, 1974. He officially changed his title to "President" on December 17, 1974. General Leigh, head of the Air Force, became increasingly opposed to Pinochet's policies and was forced into retirement on July 24 1978. He was replaced by General Fernando Matthei.

Pinochet organized a plebiscite on September 11, 1980. The Chilean people was asked to ratify a new Constitution, replacing the 1925 Constitution drafted by President Arturo Alessandri. The new Constitution, partly drafted by Jaime Guzmán, a close adviser to Pinochet and future founder of the right-wing Independent Democrat Union (UDI), gave the position of President of the Republic, held by Pinochet, a large amount of power. It created some new institutions, such as the Constitutional Tribunal and the controversial National Security Council (COSENA). It also prescribed a single-candidate presidential referendum in 1988, and a return to civilian rule in 1990. The referendum was approved by 67.04% against 30.19% , although the Opposition denounced various irregularities. Headed by the ex-senator Patricio Aylwin and more than 46 others, they argued that this result did not tally with electoral records. One objection was that voters were only marked by ink on the thumb, which came off rapidly, making electoral fraud easy. These criticisms were rejected by the Scrutiny Association, and the Constitution was promulgated on October 21, 1980, taking effect on March 11, 1981.

This same year, Pinochet was promoted to the rank of Captain General previously borne by colonial governors and by Bernardo O'Higgins, a hero of Chile's war of independence. The rank has been subsequently reserved only for those who were simultaneously heads of Government and of the Army.

In May 1983, the opposition and labor movements began to organize demonstrations and strikes against the regime, provoking violent responses from government officials. The beheading of professor José Manuel Parada, journalist Manuel Guerrero, and Santiago Nattino by the uniformed police (carabineros) led to the resignation of junta member General César Mendoza in 1985 (Caso Degollados, or Slit Throat Case). In a 1985 report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that it hoped that “the case now under way will lead to the identification and punishment of the persons responsible for the execution of so culpable an act.” Eventually six members of the police secret service were given life sentence.

In 1986, security forces discovered 80 tons of weapons smuggled into the country by the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), the armed branch of the outlawed Communist Party, created in 1983. The shipment of Carrizal Bajo included C-4 plastic explosives, RPG-7 and M72 LAW rocket launchers as well as more than three thousand M-16 rifles. The operation was overseen by Cuban intelligence, and also involved East Germany and the Soviet Union.

In September, weapons from the same source were used in an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Pinochet by the FPMR. Taken by surprise, five of his military bodyguards were killed. Although Pinochet's armored car was struck by a rocket, it did not explode, and Pinochet suffered only minor injuries, managing to escape

Suppression of opposition

Almost immediately after the military's seizure of power, the junta banned all the leftist parties that had constituted Allende's UP coalition. All other parties were placed in "indefinite recess," and were later banned outright. The dictatorship's violence was directed not only against dissidents, but also against their families and other civilians.

The Rettig Report concluded that 2,279 persons who disappeared during the military government were killed for political reasons, and approximately 30,000 tortured according to the later Valech Report, while several thousand were exiled. The latter were chased all over the world in the frame of Operation Condor, a cooperation plan between the various intelligence agencies of South American countries, assisted by a US communication base in Panama. Pinochet believed these operations were necessary in order to "save the country from communism".

Some political scientists have ascribed the relative bloodiness of the coup to the stability of the existing democratic system, which required extreme action to overturn. Some of the most famous cases of human rights violation occurred during the early period: in October 1973, at least 70 people were killed by the Caravan of Death, to which Manuel Contreras, later head of the DINA intelligence service, participated. Charles Horman, a US journalist, "disappeared", as did Víctor Olea Alegría, a member of the Socialist Party, and many others, in 1973.

Furthermore, many other important officials of Allende's government were tracked down by the DINA in the frame of Operation Condor. Thus, General Carlos Prats, Pinochet's predecessor and army commander under Allende, who had resigned rather than support the moves against Allende's government, was assassinated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1974. A year later, the murder of 119 opponents abroad was disguised as an internal conflict, the DINA setting up a propaganda campaign to accredit this thesis (Operation Colombo).

Other victims of Condor included, among hundreds of less famous persons, Juan José Torres, the former President of Bolivia, assassinated in Buenos Aires on 2 June, 1976; Carmelo Soria, a UN diplomat working for the CEPAL, assassinated in July 1976; Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean ambassador to the United States and minister in Allende's cabinet, assassinated after his release from internment and exile in Washington, D.C. by a car bomb on September 21, 1976. This led to strained relations with the US and to the extradition of Michael Townley, a US citizen who worked for the DINA and had organized Letelier's assassination. Other targeted victims, who escaped assassination, included Christian-Democrat Bernardo Leighton, who escaped an assassination attempt in Rome in 1975 by the Italian terrorist Stefano delle Chiaie; Carlos Altamirano, the leader of the Chilean Socialist Party, targeted for murder in 1975 by Pinochet, along with Volodia Teitelboim, member of the Communist Party; Pascal Allende, the nephew of Salvador Allende and president of the MIR, who escaped an assassination attempt in Costa Rica in March 1976; US Congressman Edward Koch, who became aware in 2001 of relations between death threats and his denounciation of Operation Condor, etc. Furthermore, according to current investigations, Eduardo Frei Montalva, the Christian Democrat President of Chile from 1964 to 1970, may have been poisoned in 1982 by toxin produced by DINA biochemist Eugenio Berrios .

Protests continued, however, during the 1980s, leading to several scandals. In March 1985, the savage murder of three Communist Party members led to the resignation of César Mendoza, head of the Carabineros and member of the junta since its formation. During a 1986 protest against Pinochet, 18 years-old student Carmen Gloria Quintana was burnt alive.

In August 1989, Marcelo Barrios Andres, a 21 years-old member of the FPMR (the armed wing of the PCC, created in 1983, which had attempted to assassinate Pinochet on September 7, 1986), was assassinated by a group of militaries, supposed to arrest him on orders of Valparaíso's public prosecutor. However, they simply executed him — this case was included in the Rettig Report .

Further scandals emerged after the return to democracy, such as the allegations that an ex-Nazi, Paul Schäfer, who had set up in Pinochet's Chile an enclave, Colonia Dignidad, had worked with the DINA.

Economic policy

By mid 1975, Pinochet set forth an economic policy of neo-liberal, free-market reform. He declared that he wanted "to make Chile not a nation of proletarians, but a nation of proprietors." To formulate his economic policy, Pinochet relied on the so-called Chicago Boys, who were economists trained at the University of Chicago and heavily influenced by the monetarist ideas of Milton Friedman and Arnold Harberger.

Pinochet launched an era of deregulation of business and privatization. To accomplish these objectives, his government abolished the minimum wage, rescinded trade union rights, privatized the pension system, and reprivatized state-owned industries, and banks, and lowered taxes on income and profits. However, the large copper industry, nationalized by Allende, remained under control of the government owned Codelco. Parts of its benefits were attributed to the Chilean Armed Forces' budget.

Supporters of these policies (most notably the late nobel laureate from the University of Chicago School of Economics, Milton Friedman himself), have dubbed them "The Miracle of Chile," due to the country's sustained economic growth since the late 1980s.

Pinochet's neoliberal economic policies' benefits have been sharply contested. In 1973, unemployment was only 4.3%. Following ten years of junta rule in 1983, unemployment skyrocketed to 22%. Real wages declined by more than 40%. In 1970, 20% of Chile's population lived in poverty, but by 1990, the last year of Pinochet's dictatorship, poverty had doubled to 40%. Between 1982 and 1983, the GDP dropped 19%. In 1970, the daily diet of the poorest 40 percent of the population contained 2,019 calories. By 1980 this had fallen to 1,751, and by 1990 it was down to 1,629. Furthermore, the percentage of Chileans without adequate housing increased from 27 to 40 percent between 1972 and 1988, despite the government's boast that the new economy would solve homelessness. Meanwhile, the wealthy were raking it in. In 1970, the richest one-fifth of the population controlled 45% of the wealth compared to 7.6% for the poorest one-fifth. In 1989, the richest one-fifth controlled 55% of the wealth while the poorest one-fifth controlled only 4.4%.

1988 referendum and transition to democracy

According to the transitional provisions of the 1980 Constitution, a referendum was scheduled for October 5 1988, to vote on a new eight-year presidential term for Pinochet. Confronted to increasing opposition, notably at the international level, Pinochet legalized political parties in 1987 and called for a plebiscite to determine whether or not he would remain in power until 1997. If the "YES" won, Pinochet would have to implement the dispositions of the 1980 Constitution, mainly the call for general elections, while he would himself remain in power as President. If the "NO" won, Pinochet would remain President for another year, and a joint Presidential and Parliamentary election then be scheduled.

Beside the softening of the Cold War and the initiating of reforms by Gorbachev, which tended to make Pinochet's anti-Communism discourse less audible among the international community, Pinochet appeared at the time as one of the last dictators of South America. Successively, Latin American dictatorships were toppled, opening the way for long period of uneven democratic transitions. Thus, Argentina had returned to civilian rule in 1983 as well as Bolivia, Uruguay in 1984, Brazil in 1985, etc.

Another alleged reason of Pinochet's decision to call for elections was the April 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II to Chile. According to the US Catholic author George Weigel, he held a meeting with Pinochet during which they treated of the theme of the return to democracy. John Paul II would have allegedly pushed Pinochet to accept a democratic opening of the regime, and would even have called for his resignation. This has been contested however by critics, who claimed John Paul II never said a word concerning human right violations in Chile during his visit. The Polish Pope was known as a supporter of anti-Communists, and during his reign the Vatican had harshly condemned the Liberation theology, by the voice of Cardinal Ratzinger (current Pope Benedict XVI), then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Whatever the case, political advertisement was legalized on September 5, 1987, and became a key element of the campaign for the "NO" to the referendum, which countered the official campaign which presaged a return to a Popular Unity government in case of a defeat of Pinochet. The Opposition, gathered into the Concertación de Partidos por el NO ("Coalition of Parties for NO") organized a colorful and cheerful campaign under the slogan La alegría ya viene ("Joy is coming"). On October 5, 1988, the "NO" vote won with a 55.00% majority . It was formed by the Christian Democracy, the Socialist Party and the Radical Party, gathered in the Alianza Democrática (Democratic Alliance). In 1988, several more parties, including the Humanist Party, the Ecologist Party, the Social Democrats, and several Socialist Party splinter groups added their support, despite fears of election fraud by Pinochet.

Finally, the "NO" to Pinochet won with 55.99% of the votes, against 44.1% of the votes. According to several sources, Pinochet thought of not recognizing the results, but finally decided to adhere to them and continue with the Constitutional process. Presidential and legislative elections were called for the next year.

The Coalition changed their name to Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia (Coalition of Parties for Democracy) and put forward Patricio Aylwin, the Christian Democrat leader, as a presidential candidate, as well as launching a common list for the parliamentary elections. The opposition and the Pinochet government made several negotiations to amend the Constitution and they both agreed to 54 modifications, changing the way the Constitution would be modified in the future, restriction of state of emergency dispositions, the affirmation of political pluralism, the strengthening of constitutional rights as well as of the democratic principle and participation to the political life. In July 1989, a referendum on these proposed changes took place, supported by all the parties in the political spectrum except the right-wing Avanzada Nacional. The Constitutional changes were approved by 91.25% of the voters.

Thereafter, Aylwin won the December 1989 presidential election with 55.17% of the votes , against less than 30% for the right-wing candidate, Hernan Buchi, who had been Pinochet's Minister of Finances since 1985 (there was also a third-party candidate, Francisco Javier Errázuriz, who garnered the remaining 15%. Pinochet thus left the presidency on March 11, 1990 and transferred power to the new democratically elected president.

The Concertación also gained the majority of votes for the Parliament. However, due to the binomial system, the appointed senators, and the necessary quorums to pass certain laws, they had no complete majority in Parliament, a situation they found themselves in constantly for over 15 years. This forced them to negotiate all law projects with the Alliance for Chile (originally called "Democracy and Progress" and then "Union for Chile"), a center-right coalition involving the Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI) and Renovación Nacional (RN), parties composed of many of Pinochet's supporters.

Due to the transitional provisions of the constitution, Pinochet remained as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, until March 1998. He was then sworn in as a senator-for-life, a privilege first granted to former presidents with at least six years in office by the constitution. His senatorship and consequent immunity from prosecution protected him from deposed complaints against him, and legal challenges began only after Pinochet had been arrested in 1998 in the United Kingdom, on order of an arrest warrant issued by the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón —allegations of abuses had been made numerous times before his arrest, but never acted upon .

Arrest and trial

Pinochet's regime has been accused of systematic and widespread human rights violations both in Chile and abroad, including mass-murder, torture, kidnapping, illegal detention, and press censorship. At the end of his life, he was also criticized for using his position to enrich himself and his family — a fact which wasn't known of the general public, as he had always tried to present a rather modest style of life.

On October 17 1998, while visiting the United Kingdom for medical treatment, Pinochet was arrested on a Spanish provisional warrant for the murder in Chile of Spanish citizens while he was president. Five days later, Pinochet was served with a second provisional arrest warrant from the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, charging him with systematic torture, murder, illegal detention, and forced disappearances. The case was a watershed event in judicial history, as it was the first time that a dictator was arrested on the principle of universal jurisdiction (See Augusto Pinochet's arrest and trial:The principle of universal jurisdiction for further details.)

After having been placed under house arrest in Britain and initiating a judicial battle, he was eventually released in March 2000 on medical grounds by the then Home Secretary Jack Straw without facing trial .

Henceforth, on 3 March 2000, Pinochet returned to Chile. His first act when landing in Santiago de Chile's airport was to triumphally sit up from his chair to acclaim his supporters . He was first greeted by his successor as head of the Chilean armed forces, General Ricardo Izurieta . President Ricardo Lagos, who had just sworn in on March 11, said the retired general's televised arrival had damaged the image of Chile, while thousands demonstrated against him.

In March 2000, the Congress approved a constitutional amendment creating the status of "ex-president," which granted its owner immunity from prosecution and guaranteed him a financial allowance. In exchange, it required him to resign his seat of senator-for-life. 111 legislators voted for, and 29 (mostly, if not all, from the Left) against .

In Chile, judge Juan Guzmán Tapia (who had been during the dictatorship a supporter of Pinochet) initiated a procedure against him, requesting three days after his return to Chile the suspension of his parliamentary immunity. Pinochet's legal team was headed by Pablo Rodríguez, the former leader of the far-right paramilitary group Fatherland and Liberty (Patria y Libertad).

The Supreme Court acceeded to Juan Guzmán's request in August 2000, and Pinochet was indicted on December 1, 2000 for the "kidnapping" of 75 opponents in the Caravan of Death case — Guzmán advanced the charge of "kidnapping" as they were officially "disappeared:" even though they were all most likely dead, the absence of their corpses made any charge of "homicide" difficult .

However, in July 2002, the Supreme Court dismissed Pinochet's indictment in the various human rights abuse cases, for medical reasons (an alleged "vascular dementia"). The debate concerned Pinochet's mental faculties, his legal team claiming that he was senile and could not remember, while others (including several physicians) claimed that he was only physically affected but retained all control of his faculties. The same year, the prosecuting attorney Hugo Guttierez, in charge of the Caravan of Death case, declared that "Our country has the degree of justice that the political transition permits us to have."

Pinochet resigned his senatorial seat shortly after the Supreme Court's July 2002 ruling. In May 2004, the Supreme Court overturned its precedent decision, and ruled that he was capable of standing trial. In arguing their case, the prosecution presented a recent television interview Pinochet had given for a Miami-based television network, which raised doubts about the mental incapacity of Pinochet. He was charged with several crimes in December of that year (including the 1974 assassination of General Prats, the Operation Colombo case (119 dead), etc., and again placed under house arrest, on the eve of his 90th birthday. Questioned by his judges in order to know if, as President, he was the direct head of DINA, he answered: "I don't remember, but it's not true. And if it were true, I don't remember."

In January 2005, the Chilean Army accepted institutional responsibility for past human rights abuses. Other institutions also accept that abuses took place, but blame them on individuals, rather than official policy. Lucía Pinochet Hiriart, Augusto Pinochet's eldest daughter, said the use of torture during his 1973–90 regime was "barbaric and without justification", after seeing the Valech Report . Much of the torture was carried out at secret prison facilities like Villa Grimaldi, Chacabuco, and Pisagua.

The same year, the US revealed that Pinochet had a large network of secret bank accounts abroad (See below). On November 22 2005, he was indicted on tax evasion charges and placed again under house arrest for an alleged $27 million hidden in secret accounts under false names. That figure was later reduced to $11 million.

Furthermore, Pinochet was indicted in 2006 for kidnappings and tortures at Villa Grimaldi detention center by the judge Alejandro Madrid (Guzmán's successor) , as well as for the 1995 assassination of the DINA biochemist Eugenio Berrios (himself involved in the Letelier case) . Berrios, who had worked with Michael Townley, had produced sarin gas, anthrax and botulism in the Bacteriological War Army Laboratory for Pinochet (used against political opponents). The DINA biochemist was also alleged of having created black cocaine, which Pinochet then sold in Europe and the United States . The money for the drug trade was allegedly put directly into Pinochet's bank accounts . Pinochet's son Marco Antonio, who had been accused of participating in the drug tradem, has denied claims of drug trafficking in his father's administration and announced a lawsuit for libel against Manuel Contreras, who had also claimed Pinochet sold cocaine.

On October 30, 2006, Pinochet was charged with 36 counts of kidnapping, 23 counts of torture, and one of murder for the torture and disappearance of opponents of his regime at Villa Grimaldi.

On November 25 2006, Pinochet marked his 91st birthday by having his wife pronounced a statement written by him, and read to his admirers present for his birthday: "I assume the political responsibility of all what has been done." " Two days later, he was again ordered to house arrest for the kidnapping and murder of two bodyguards of Salvador Allende who were arrested the day of the 1973 coup and executed by a firing squad during the Caravan of Death episode.

However, Pinochet died a few days later, on 10 December, 2006, without having been convicted of any crimes committed during his dictatorship.

Secret bank accounts, tax evasion and arms deal

In 2004, a United States Senate money laundering investigation led by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) — ordered in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks — uncovered a network of over 125 securities and bank accounts at Riggs Bank and other U.S. financial institutions used by Pinochet and his associates for twenty-five years to secretly move millions of dollars. Though the subcommittee was charged only with investigating compliance of financial institutions under the USA PATRIOT Act, and not the Pinochet regime, Sen. Coleman noted:

This is a sad, sordid tale of money laundering involving Pinochet accounts at multiple financial institutions using alias names, offshore accounts, and close associates. As a former General and President of Chile, Pinochet was a well-known human rights violator and violent dictator.

Over several months in 2005, Chilean judge Sergio Muñoz indicted Augusto Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart; four of his children --Marco Antonio, Jacqueline, Veronica and Lucia Pinochet; secretary Monica Ananias; and former aide Oscar Aitken on tax evasion and falsification charges stemming from the Riggs Bank investigation. In January 2006, daughter Lucia Pinochet was detained at Washington DC-Dulles airport and subsequently deported while attempting to evade the tax charges in Chile. In January 2007, the Santiago Court of Appeals revoked most of the indictement from Judge Carlos Cerda against the Pinochet family . But Pinochet's five children, his wife Lucia Hiriart, and 17 other persons (including two generals, one of his ex-lawyer and his ex-secretary) were arrested in October 2007 on charges of embezzlement and use of false passports. They are accused of having illegally transferred $27m (£13.2m) to foreign bank accounts during Pinochet's rule .

In September 2005, a joint-investigation by The Guardian and La Tercera revealed that the British arms firms BAE Systems had been identified as paying more than £1m to Pinochet, through a front company in the British Virgin Islands, which BAE has used to channel commission on arms deals . The payments began in 1997 and lasted until 2004 .

Furthermore, in 2007, fifteen years of investigation led to the conclusion that the 1992 assassination of DINA Colonel Gerardo Huber was most probably related to various illegal arms traffic carried out, after Pinochet's resignation from power, by military circles very close to himself. . Huber had been assassinated a short time before he was due to testify in the case concerning the 1991 illegal export of weapons to Croatian paramilitaries. The deal involved 370 tons of weapons, sold to Croatia by Chile on 7 December 1991, when the former country was under a United Nations' embargo because of the war against Serbia.. In January 1992, the judge Hernán Correa de la Cerda wanted to hear Gerardo Huber in this case, but the latter may have been silenced to avoid implicating Pinochet in this new case — although the latter was not anymore President, he remained at the time Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Pinochet was at the center of this illegal arms trade, receiving money through various offshores and front companies, including the Banco Coutts International in Miami .

Death and funeral

Pinochet suffered a heart attack on the morning of December 3 2006, and subsequently the same day he was given the last rites. On December 4 2006, the Chilean Court of Appeals ordered the release of his house arrest. On December 10 2006 at 13:30 local time (16:30 UTC) he was taken to the ICU . He died of congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema, surrounded by family members, at the Military Hospital at 14:15 local time (17:15 UTC). His last word was Lucy, the name of his wife (Lucia Hiriart).

Massive spontaneous street demonstrations broke out throughout the country upon the learning of his death. In Santiago, opponents celebrated at the Alameda avenue, while supporters grieved outside the Military Hospital. Pinochet's corpse was publicly exhibited on December 11, 2006 at the Military School in Las Condes, and viewed by hundred of thousands. During this ceremony, the grandson of murdered general Carlos Prats spat on the coffin, in a moment he was surrounded by thousands of followers of the dead dictator. His funeral took place the following day on the same venue.

In a government decision, he was not granted a state funeral, as is normally given to former presidents, but a military funeral, as former commander-in-chief of the Army. The government also refused to declare an official national day of mourning, but it did authorize flags at military barracks to fly at half staff. Socialist President Michelle Bachelet, whose father Alberto Bachelet was temporarily imprisoned and tortured after the 1973 coup, dying shortly after heart complications, said it would be "a violation of conscience" to attend a state funeral for Pinochet. The only government authority present at the funeral was the Defense Minister, Vivianne Blanlot.

Pinochet's body was cremated in "Parque del Mar" cemetery, Concón on December 12 2006, on his request to "avoid vandalism of his tomb", according to his son Marco Antonio. His remains were delivered to his family later that day.

See also

• History of Chile
• 1970 Chilean presidential election
• Government Junta of Chile (1973)
• Chile under Pinochet
• Operation Condor
• Augusto Pinochet's arrest and trial
• U.S. intervention in Chile
• Missing, film based on the life of U.S. journalist Charles Horman, who disappeared in the aftermath of the Pinochet coup

Footnotes and references

1. Pinochet pronounced his own name with a silent t (although it is not uncommon for the t to be pronounced by local Spanish speakers.) In this video clip, Pinochet can be heard pronouncing his name: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QksQSKboTL0
2. El fin de un mito en Chile: el Plan Zeta, Clarin, 5 July 1999 Template:Es icon
3. Vial Correa, Gonzalo (September 23, 2003). "Carlos Altamirano, el Plan Z y la "Operación Blanqueo"". La Segunda. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
4. Hudson, Rex A., ed. "Chile: A Country Study". GPO for the Library of Congress. 1995. March 20, 2005 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cltoc.html
5. Inter-American Commission on human rights Report 1986
6. Flash presentation depicting the September 1986 assassination attempt Template:Es icon
7. Eduardo Gallardo, Pinochet Was Unrepentant to the End, ABC News (Associated Press), December 11, 2006 Template:En icon
8. Ex-Chilean leader 'was murdered', BBC, 23 January 2007
9. Capítulos desconocidos de los mercenarios chilenos en Honduras camino de Iraq, La Nación, September 25, 2005 - URL accessed on February 14, 2007 Template:Es icon
10. ^ James Petras and Fernando Ignacio Leiva, Democracy and Poverty in Chile: The Limits to Electoral Politics,
11. http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-chichile.htm
12. George Weigel, Biografía de Juan Pablo II - Testigo de Esperanza, Editorial Plaza & Janés (2003), ISBN 8401013046
13. ^ Tribunal Calificador, Chilean governmental website Template:Es icon
14. See Juan Guzmán Tapia's autobiography
15. Amnesty International: "Universal Jurisdiction and Absence of Immunity for Crimes Against Humanity," Report, 1 January 1999
16. Pinochet set free, BBC, 2 March 2000 Template:En icon
17. Alex Bellos and Jonathan Franklin, Pinochet receives a hero's welcome on his return, The Guardian, 4 March, 2000 Template:En icon
18. ^ Pinochet arrives in Chile, BBC, 3 March 2000 Template:En icon
19. Thousands march against Pinochet, BBC, March 4, 2000
20. Chile offers Pinochet new immunity, BBC, 25 March 2000 Template:En icon
21. Pinochet charged with kidnapping, BBC, 1st December 2000 Template:En icon
22. "The Appeals Court Ruling Is Negotiated Out for Pinochet", Interview with Attorney Hugo Gutierrez, by Memoria y Justicia, February 21, 2002 Template:En icon
23. 16 November 2005. Spanish: “No me acuerdo, pero no es cierto. Y si es cierto, no me acuerdo”. Quoted in Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet, La Nacion, 11 December 2006 Template:Es icon
24. Court 'lifts Pinochet immunity', BBC, September 8, 2006.
25. Levée de l'immunité de Pinochet pour le meurtre d'un chimiste, news agency cable, 12 October 2006 Template:Fr icon
26. Jonathan Franklin, Pinochet 'sold cocaine to Europe and US', The Guardian, July 11, 2006 Template:En icon
27. General (r) Manuel Contreras: Eugenio Berríos está vivo, Radio Cooperativa, 10 July 2006 Template:Es icon
28. Hijo de Pinochet acusa de "mentiroso y canalla" a ex jefe DINA, Los Tiempos, 10 July 2006 Template:Es icon
29. Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet, La Nacion, 11 December 2006 Template:Es icon
30. Eduardo Gallardo: "Pinochet indicted for 1973 executions," Associated Press, 27 November 2006.
31. Procesan a Pinochet y ordenan su arresto por los secuestros y homicidios de la "Caravana de la Muerte", 20minutos, 28 November 2006.
32. United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs: "Levin-Coleman Staff Report Discloses Web of Secret Accounts Used by Pinochet", Press Release. US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, http://www.senate.gov/~levin/newsroom/release.cfm?id=233631 March 16 2005
33. United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs: "Levin-Coleman Staff Report Discloses Web of Secret Accounts Used by Pinochet", Press Release. US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, http://www.senate.gov/~levin/newsroom/release.cfm?id=233631 March 16 2005
34. "U.S. Sends Back Pinochet Daughter," CNN, 28 January 2006
35. Corte revoca mayoría de procesamientos en caso Riggs, El Mercurio, 3 January 2007 Template:Es icon
36. Pinochet family arrested in Chile, BBC, 4 October 2007 Template:En icon
37. Cobertura Especial: Detienen a familia y principales colaboradores de Pinochet, La Tercera, 4 October 2007 Template:Es icon
38. ^ David Leigh and Rob Evans, Revealed: BAE's secret £1m to Pinochet, The Guardian, 15 September 2005 Template:En icon
39. David Leigh, Jonathan Franklin and Rob Evans, Detective story that linked £1m Pinochet cash to BAE, The Guardian, 15 September 2005 Template:En icon
40. ^ Larry Rohter, Colonel's Death Gives Clues to Pinochet Arms Deals, The New York Times, 19 June 2006 Template:En icon
41. Biographical notice on Memoria viva NGO website Template:Es icon
42. Jorge Molina Sanhueza, Gerardo Huber sabía demasiado, pero no alcanzó a contarlo. El coronel que le pena al ejército, La Nación, 25 September 2005 Template:Es icon
43. Andrea Chaparro, CDE insiste en unir caso Huber con tráfico de armas a Croacia, La Nación, 15 August 2005 Template:Es icon
44. Andrea Chaparro Solís, Generales (R) y civiles de Famae procesados en caso armas a Croacia, La Nación, 13 June 2006 Template:Es icon
45. Muere el ex dictador Chileno Augusto Pinochet EFE
46. Augusto Pinochet falleció en el Hospital Militar tras sufrir recaída ";El Mercurio"
47. Chile's General Pinochet 'dead' BBC News
48. Con alusiones al golpe de Estado, despiden a Pinochet con honores La Nación
49. "Clashes Break out after Pinochet's death", Yahoo!News, 11 December 2006
50. Family Wants Pinochet Cremation

External links

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• France 24 coverage – Augusto Pinochet's Necrology on France 24
• BBC coverage (special report)
• Chile before and during Pinochet's presidency
• Documentary Film on Chilean Concentration Camp from Pinochet's Regime: Chacabuco
• Chile under Allende and Pinochet
• Human rights violation under Pinochet
• The Times obituary
• Analysis of economic policy under Pinochet by economist Jim Cypher in Dollars & Sense magazine
• Policzer, Pablo (2007). "Chile: The Price of Democracy". New English Review. Retrieved 2007-01-09. ... if Pinochet had had his way in the mid-1970s, his dictatorship would have ended only on December 10, when he died. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

History of Chile

v t e Augusto Pinochet Life and politics 1973 Chilean coup d'état Government Junta of Chile Rule over Chile Acto de Chacarillas Attempted assassination in 1986 Indictment and arrest Policies Charaña agreement Miracle of Chile Economic policy 1980 Constitution DINA Operation Condor Operation Colombo Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina Perceptions Chicago Boys Rettig Report Valech Report Caravan of Death Family Lucía Hiriart (spouse) Lucía Pinochet (daughter) Julio Ponce Lerou (former son-in-law) Opposition Families of the Detained-Disappeared Christian Democratic Party Christian Left Party Committee of Cooperation for Peace Communist Party Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front Party for Democracy Popular Unitary Action Movement Radical Party Revolutionary Left Movement Socialist Party University of Chile Student Federation Vicariate of Solidarity Workers' United Center v t e 1973 Chilean coup d'état Background United States intervention in Chile Schneider Doctrine 1970 election Project FUBELT Presidency of Salvador Allende Carlos Prats Alejandrina Cox incident Carlos Altamirano Tanquetazo Participants Salvador Allende Augusto Pinochet José Toribio Merino Gustavo Leigh César Mendoza Aftermath Government Junta of Chile Miguel Enriquez Operation Condor Assassination of Carlos Prats Attempted assassination of Bernardo Leighton Assassination of Orlando Letelier Chile under Pinochet Chicago Boys Indictment and arrest of Pinochet Controversies Death of Salvador Allende Criticisms of Salvador Allende Human rights violations under Pinochet v t e Presidents of Chile Blanco Encalada Eyzaguirre Freire F. Pinto Vicuña Ovalle Ruiz-Tagle Ovalle Prieto Bulnes M. Montt Pérez Errázuriz Zañartu A. Pinto Santa María Balmaceda J. Montt Errázuriz Echaurren Riesco P. Montt Figueroa Barros Luco Sanfuentes Alessandri Palma Figueroa Ibáñez del Campo Montero Dávila Alessandri Palma Aguirre Cerda Méndez Ríos González Videla Ibáñez del Campo Alessandri Rodriguez Frei Montalva Allende Pinochet Aylwin Frei Ruiz-Tagle Lagos Bachelet Piñera Bachelet Piñera Boric List Timeline

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• 1915 births
• 2006 deaths
• Augusto Pinochet
• Chilean anti-communists
• Chilean generals
• Chilean heads of state
• Chilean memoirists
• Chilean politicians
• Cold War leaders
• Deaths by myocardial infarction
• French Chileans
• Leaders who took power by coup
• Operation Condor
• People from Valparaíso
• People of Basque descent
• Presidents of Chile
• Chilean Roman Catholics
• Roman Catholic politicians