Dictator of Chile
What was Augusto Pinochet's impact on Latin America and the rest of the world?
His early years
- Pinochet was born in Valparaiso. He was the son of Augusto Pinochet Vera, descendant of a Breton immigrant from Lamballe, and Avelina Ugarte Martínez, a woman of Basque descent.
- On 30 January 1943, Pinochet married Lucia Hiriart Rodrigez, with whom he has five children: Ines Lucia, María Verónica, Jacqueline Marie, Augusto Osvaldo, and Marco Antonio.
- Pinochet entered the War Academy in 1938. After obtaining the title of Officer Chief of Staff, in 1951, he returned to teach at the Military School.
- He also was active as editor of the institutional magazine Cien Águilas ("One Hundred Eagles").
Pinochet in Power
Rise to power
On 11 September 1973, the combined Chilean Armed Forces (the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Carabineros) overthrew Allende's government in a coup, during which the presidential palace, La Moneda, was shelled and Allende committed suicide.
The Arrest of Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet was indicted for human rights violations committed in Chile on October 10, 1998. He was arrested in London six days later and held for a year and a half before being released by the British government in March of 2000. Authorized to freely return to Chile, Pinochet was there first indicted by judge Juan Tapia, and charged with a number of crimes, before dying on December 10, 2006, without having been convicted in any case.
The Crimes of Pinochet - Chile