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General Pinochet dies in hospital awaiting trial
Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean dictator who ruled his country with an iron fist from 1973 to 1990, died last night aged 91.
General Pinochet had been taken to hospital a week ago after suffering a heart attack. He underwent an angioplasty to open up a clogged artery and had been recovering from the operation.
Doctors said that his condition took a sharp turn for the worse yesterday and he died in the early afternoon, with family members at his bedside.
Outside the hospital supporters chanted “Long live Pinochet!” and sang the national anthem, as several women cried openly. Others shouted insults at them from passing cars.
Police had set up a security cordon around the hospital, fearing disturbances between supporters and opponents of Chile’s most controversial figure.
A controversy was already developing on whether General Pinochet would receive a state funeral. President Bachelet, who was tortured by the Pinochet regime before being exiled to Australia, has previously stated that honouring Pinochet with a state funeral would “violate her”.
The former dictator’s death ended a tumultuous chapter in the history of the South American country that began with his overthrow of Salvador Allende’s democratically elected Government in 1973.
General Pinochet’s fierce anti-communism, free-market economics and support for Britain during the Falklands war made him one of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite leaders and he was received with honours on his visits to London.
That changed in 1998, when the new Labour Government acted on an unusual international arrest warrant issued by a Spanish judge. Although he managed to avoid being sent to Spain to face trial on charges of genocide, his arrest marked a watershed in Chile, showing Chileans for the first time that he was not invulnerable.
The general spent the final years of his life arguing that he was too ill to face trial. He was under house arrest at the time of his heart attack on December 3, accused of the murder of two of Mr Allende’s bodyguards.
Realising that his death was near, General Pinochet released a statement on his 91st birthday last month in which he attempted to heal the wounds caused by his brutal rule. He said that he accepted “political responsibility” for acts committed during his rule.
Last night Baroness Thatcher was said to be “greatly saddened” by General Pinochet’s death. A spokesman said that she would be sending her “deepest condolences” to his family.
