Pinochet Ugarte, Augusto

▪ 2007

      Chilean dictator (b. Nov. 25, 1915, Valparaíso, Chile—d. Dec. 10, 2006, Santiago, Chile), was leader of the military junta that overthrew the socialist government of Pres. Salvador Allende of Chile on Sept. 11, 1973, and head of Chile's military government (1974–90). Pinochet, a career military officer, was appointed army commander in chief by President Allende 18 days before the coup. Pinochet was named head of the victorious junta's governing council, and he moved to crush Chile's liberal opposition; in its first three years, the regime arrested approximately 130,000, many of whom were tortured. His junta was widely condemned for its harsh suppression of dissent. A modest political liberalization began in 1978 after the regime announced that in a plebiscite 75% of the electorate had endorsed Pinochet's rule. During the 1980s Pinochet's free-market policies were credited with maintaining a low rate of inflation and an acceptable rate of economic growth despite a severe recession in 1980–83. Although the electorate rejected Pinochet in a plebiscite held in 1988, he remained in office until a new president was elected in 1990. As commander of the armed forces until 1998, Pinochet frequently thwarted human rights prosecutions against members of the security forces. After stepping down, he became a senator for life, a post granted to former presidents. In 1998, while visiting London, he was detained by British authorities after Spain requested his extradition in connection with the torture of Spanish citizens in Chile during his rule. The unprecedented case stirred worldwide controversy and galvanized human rights organizations in Chile. Disclosures by the U.S. and other countries brought to light details of Operation Colombo, in which more than 100 Chilean leftists were “disappeared” in 1975, and Operation Condor, in which several South American military governments coordinated their efforts to systematically eliminate opponents in the 1970s and '80s. In January 2000 Pinochet was allowed to return home after a British court ruled that he was physically unfit to stand trial. Nevertheless, he continued to face investigations by Chilean authorities. In 2000 Pinochet was stripped of his immunity from prosecution and ordered to stand trial on charges of human rights abuses. The charges were dropped in 2002, however, after Chile's Supreme Court upheld a ruling that he was mentally incapable of defending himself in court. Soon afterward Pinochet resigned his post as a senator for life. In 2005 he was again stripped of immunity and ordered to stand trial on charges stemming from Operation Colombo and on separate charges of fraud and tax evasion.

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