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The former Dictator of Chile, Augosto Pinochet Died in a military hospital on December 10 at the ripe old age of 91. Pinochet had a heart attack a few days prior to his death.During his life there were only a few attempts to assassinate him. The military leader came into power in a coup on September 11 1973 when his forces bombed the presidential office while the socialist leader Salvador Allende Gossens was inside. It is believed that Allende committed suicide with a gun given to him by Fidel Castro.
Response to the death of the former dictator has been mixed. Some are crying in the streets with signs, while other are burning barriers they placed in the streets and starting riots of celebration.
During Pinochet's rule from 1973 to 1988 there were many violations of human rights. There were an estimated 3,000 people who died during his rule. Many more were detained and tortured, raped, and beaten. The current president of Chile, Michel Bachelet, is one of the living survivors of being detained and tortured.
Part of the reason Pinochet came into power was to oust the socialist movement in Chile because many feared it would succumb to Communist movements. Communism, if it even took place, was defeated but a dictatorship replaced it. The angering part of the story is that Pinochet never paid the price for the lives he took. Upon leaving office he made certain provisions so that he could never be tried in Chilean courts, nor would he lose his lifetime seat as a member of the Chilean military and government. There were a few attempts from other countries to take Pinochet to trial but he was found to be too weak in his medical condition to defend himself.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/10/pinochet/index.html