Augusto Pinochet: Difference between revisions
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'''Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte''' (November 25<sup>th</sup>, 1915 - December 10<sup>th</sup>, 2006) was a Chilean general and military dictator who served as the head of state of Chile from 1973 to 1990. He first came to power after a successful ''coup d'etat'' on September 11, 1973, and remained in power for nearly two full decades. | '''Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte''' (November 25<sup>th</sup>, 1915 - December 10<sup>th</sup>, 2006) was a Chilean general and military dictator who served as the head of state of Chile from 1973 to 1990. He first came to power after a successful ''coup d'etat'' on September 11, 1973, and remained in power for nearly two full decades. | ||
Pinochet is considered to be one of the worst of South America's Cold War-era military dictators, as he presided over a totalitarian regime that perpetrated numerous human rights abuses, [[crimes against humanity]], unlawful executions, the internment of as many as 80,000 people and the torture of tens of thousands. | Pinochet is considered to be one of the worst of South America's Cold War-era military dictators, as he presided over a totalitarian regime that perpetrated numerous human rights abuses, [[crimes against humanity]], unlawful executions, the internment of as many as 80,000 people and the torture of tens of thousands. | ||
== Villiany == | == Villiany == | ||
In 1973 he took over as commander in chief of Chile. On 11 September of that year, led a coup that overthrew Chile's democratically-elected president, Salvador Allende, despite being considered a loyal ally by him, a close friend of the defense minister Jose Toha and chief of the armed forces, Calos Prats. The coup was facilitated as apart of Operation Condor, the campaign of [[state terrorism]] propagated by various South American military dictatorships to prevent the spread of [[communism]] in South America, and supported by the United States (then under the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] administration.) [[Henry Kissinger]], who concurrently served as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor at the time, also played a large role in the coup. | In 1973 he took over as commander in chief of Chile. On 11 September of that year, led a coup that overthrew Chile's democratically-elected president, Salvador Allende, despite being considered a loyal ally by him, a close friend of the defense minister Jose Toha and chief of the armed forces, Calos Prats. The coup was facilitated as apart of Operation Condor, the campaign of [[state terrorism]] propagated by various South American military dictatorships to prevent the spread of [[communism]] in South America, and supported by the United States (then under the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] administration.) [[Henry Kissinger]], who concurrently served as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor at the time, also played a large role in the coup. | ||
Since then, Pinochet became the country's government, first under the office of president of the Military Junta (he held until 1981), to which was added the title of supreme head of the Nation on June 27, 1974, which gave the executive branch. | Since then, Pinochet became the country's government, first under the office of president of the Military Junta (he held until 1981), to which was added the title of supreme head of the Nation on June 27, 1974, which gave the executive branch. | ||
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On 16 December the same year took over as President, to be ratified by the enactment of the 1980 Constitution. His government would end after the defeat in the National Plebiscite of 1988 and its replacement by Patricio Aylwin in 1990. Pinochet would remain as commander in chief until March 10, 1998, and the next day assume the post of senator for life, a fact that exercise for a couple of months. He was later arrested months later in London on the orders of Spain on October 17, 1998, a month from his 83rd birthday. | On 16 December the same year took over as President, to be ratified by the enactment of the 1980 Constitution. His government would end after the defeat in the National Plebiscite of 1988 and its replacement by Patricio Aylwin in 1990. Pinochet would remain as commander in chief until March 10, 1998, and the next day assume the post of senator for life, a fact that exercise for a couple of months. He was later arrested months later in London on the orders of Spain on October 17, 1998, a month from his 83rd birthday. | ||
Pinochet's dictatorship has been widely criticized both at home and in the rest of the world by various egregious human rights violations committed in the period known as the military regime, so Pinochet faced various trials to date of its death. He was never formally charged, however. | Pinochet's dictatorship has been widely criticized both at home and in the rest of the world by various egregious human rights violations committed in the period known as the military regime, so Pinochet faced various trials to date of its death. He was never formally charged, however. | ||
The sheer brutality of his crimes are incredible, after his Coup he sent armed troops to search the capital for left wing sympathisers. Students, writers, Catholics, indigenous people, and union workers were rounded up, and sent to torture centers, set up in Santiago. These were sometimes police cells or army barracks, but more often they were converted homes, hotels or offices. His most infamous was that he converted the international soccer stadium into a massive holding centre, the people were split into two lines, ones for death and ones for interrogation. The ones in the death line were taken to a field and shot, while the ones for interrogation were often tortured for weeks before being released. At the height of the repression he had over sixty of these working around the clock. He practically turned the whole capital into one giant [[Concentration Camp|concentration camp]]. | The sheer brutality of his crimes are incredible, after his Coup he sent armed troops to search the capital for left wing sympathisers. Students, writers, Catholics, indigenous people, and union workers were rounded up, and sent to torture centers, set up in Santiago. These were sometimes police cells or army barracks, but more often they were converted homes, hotels or offices. His most infamous was that he converted the international soccer stadium into a massive holding centre, the people were split into two lines, ones for death and ones for interrogation. The ones in the death line were taken to a field and shot, while the ones for interrogation were often tortured for weeks before being released. At the height of the repression he had over sixty of these working around the clock. He practically turned the whole capital into one giant [[Concentration Camp|concentration camp]]. | ||
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===Role in Operation Condor=== | ===Role in Operation Condor=== | ||
Pinochet was one of the leading participants in [[Operation Condor]] alongside fellow dictators [[Alfredo Stroessner]], [[Jorge Rafael Videla]], and [[Hugo Banzer]]. It was essentially a pact between | Pinochet was one of the leading participants in [[Operation Condor]] alongside fellow dictators [[Alfredo Stroessner]], [[Jorge Rafael Videla]], and [[Hugo Banzer]]. It was essentially a pact between various South American regimes to hunt down dissidents wherever they were, and [[murder]] them. Condor allowed Pinochet to kill opponents as far away as Rome. But it was also the DINA’s expertise that allowed the lesser dictatorships on the continent to murder a phenomenal number of opponents at home. It’s estimated now that 80,000 leftists, students, human rights advocates and intellectuals were “disappeared.” | ||
==Public image== | ==Public image== |