Augusto Pinochet (In power: 1973 – 1990)
One of the marks of many despotic rulers is the longevity of their hold on power. For South America, one of the twentieth centuries most infamous leaders is the former dictator, Augusto Pinochet. Born in 1915 in Valparaíso, Chile, Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte was a career military officer in the Chilean army. He reached the pinnacle of his military career when he was appointed as the army commander in chief by President Salvador Allende in 1973. However, this decision would be a costly one for Allende and the people of Chile.
On September 11, 1973, General Pinochet helped to orchestrate a military coup which overthrew the Allende government. In the process, Allende was believed to have committed suicide but many believe that he was really assassinated. Following the coup, a military junta was set up with Pinochet as the chairman. He at first designated himself as the “Supreme Chief of the Nation” but later referred to himself as “President.” During the early years of the regime, approximately 130,000 Chileans would be arrested on suspicions that they were against the new government and many were subsequently tortured. Ultimately, over 3,000 people were executed or removed through “forced disappearances.”
Many have suspected that the coup against Allende was backed by the United States CIA and while there have been investigations, none have shown definitive evidence of U.S. involvement. However, it was widely known that the U.S. did not look kindly to the heavily socialist-leaning Allende regime. For Pinochet, he eventually left the office of the president in 1990 but he was again appointed as commander-in-chief of the army until 1998. At that time, he was granted immunity as a “senator for life” under the Chilean constitution. However, Pinochet did not escape the reach of justice as he was first put under house arrest in Britain and then Spain before returning to Chile. There, attempts were made to try him for crimes committed during his presidency. Eventually in 2004, the Chilean Supreme Court ruled that he could be charged with crimes committed during his long tenure in office. But Pinochet would succumb to ill health before he could be convicted in December 2006.