Alfredo Stroessner's rule was marked by political repression
Alfredo Stroessner was Paraguay's military leader for 35 years, from 1954 to 1989.
Under his rule the country became a haven for Nazi war criminals, peaceful opposition was crushed and the indigenous population was persecuted.
Stroessner was one of the great strongmen of South American politics. Indeed, during the 20th Century, only Cuba's Fidel Castro served as head of state in the continent for a longer period of time.
A violent dictator to many, others - most notably in the United States - saw him as a bulwark against communism.
Coup
Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda was born in Encarnacion in southern Paraguay in November 1912. The son of a German brewer, he joined the army at the age of 17, becoming a junior officer two years later.
Between 1932 and 1935 he saw action in the Chaco War, a conflict between Paraguay and Bolivia over an area incorrectly believed to contain vast oil reserves.
Gen Stroessner's rule was marked by political repression... opponents were forced to flee into exile... Those who remained were harassed or imprisoned, and the media was heavily censored
During the 1940s Paraguay became increasingly unstable, descending into civil war in 1947. Alfredo Stroessner was a key player through all this tumult.
By 1948 he was a brigadier general, the youngest general in the whole of South America. Three years later he was named commander in chief of the country's armed forces, becoming a hugely powerful figure.
And on 4 May 1954, General Stroessner led a military coup which toppled the government of Federico Chavez, before becoming president a few months later.
This continued the Paraguayan tradition, under which no president was elected democratically between its independence from Spain in 1811 and free elections in May 1993.
War criminals
Gen Stroessner's rule was marked by political repression. Many of his opponents were forced to flee into exile. Those who remained were harassed or imprisoned, and the media was heavily censored.
A personality cult sprung up around the general and his portrait became a regular sight throughout the country.
Josef Mengele was given shelter in Paraguay
And Paraguay became a bolt-hole for Nazi war criminals, including for a time the former SS doctor at Auschwitz, Josef Mengele.
For a time, Paraguay was highly favoured by the United States. Indeed, in 1965, Asuncion sent troops to fight with US Marines in the Dominican Republic in 1965 in what the US later said was a move to prevent a communist takeover.
But, later in his rule, Washington became increasingly unsettled about Paraguay's poor human rights record, gradually withdrawing its support as the years went by.
Gen Stroessner's achievements were limited. Together with the Brazilian government, he oversaw the building of the Itaipu dam on the Parana River.
This project, which also included the construction of the world's largest hydroelectric plant, vastly increased Paraguay's export revenues through the sale of electricity.
Stroessner was "re-elected" eight consecutive times before being himself overthrown in a military coup in February 1989 and going into exile in Brazil.
Der ehemalige Diktator Paraguays, der deutschstämmige Alfredo Stroessner, ist tot. Der Ex-General, der sich im Juli einer Leistenoperation unterzogen hatte, litt an einer Lungenentzündung und war mit starkem Untergewicht in die Intensivstation eines Krankenhauses in Brasília eingeliefert worden, wo er künstlich beatmet werden musste. Hier erlag er nach Angaben seiner Ärzte am Mittwoch den Folgen der Lungenentzündung.

Alfredo Stroessner war der Sohn eines deutschen Einwanderers, der im Jahr 1912 in Encarnación, im Süden Paraguays, geboren wurde. Mit 17 Jahren trat Alfredo Stroessner in die Armee ein, wo er eine Blitzkarriere machte. 1948 wurde er zu dem jüngsten Brigadegeneral Südamerikas ernannt. Bereits drei Jahre später wurde er Oberbefehlshaber der Streitkräfte. Am 4. Mai 1954 ergriff er an der Spitze eines Militärputsches die Macht gegen den amtierenden Präsidenten Federico Chavez. Kurz danach wurde er Präsident Paraguays.

Stroessner war einer der brutalsten Diktatoren in der an Diktatoren nicht gerade armen Geschichte Südamerikas. Das Verschwinden von Menschen, totale Bespitzelung, politische Morde ohne Gerichtsurteil – das waren die Methoden, mit denen sich der Militärbefehlshaber an der Macht hielt. Tausende mussten dafür mit dem Leben bezahlen, verschwanden in den Gefängnissen oder wurden gefoltert. Dies alles geschah, wie seine Tochter Olivia Stroessner sagte, auf Druck der USA und im Namen der „Bekämpfung des Kommunismus“. Unter seiner Herrschaft wurde Paraguay auch zur beliebten Zuflucht ehemaliger Nazi-Kriegsverbrecher wie dem KZ-Arzt Josef Mengele.

Im Jahr 1989 wurde der Diktator mit einem Militärputsch gestürzt, so dass er des Landes verwiesen wurde und flüchten musste. Das Land Brasilien nahm ihn auf. Er erhielt politisches Asyl mit der Begründung, dass er in seiner Heimat mit dem Tod bedroht würde. In der brasilianischen Hauptstadt Brasília lebte er lange Jahre in einer luxoriösen Unterkunft. Versuche, ihn für seine Verbrechen während seiner Amtszeit zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen, schlugen fehl. Auslieferungsanträge von Paraguay wurden abgelehnt. Er wurde in Paraguay wegen Mordes und Folter angeklagt.

Die Außenministerin des Landes, Leila Rachid, kündigte an, es werde kein Staatsbegräbnis geben.