Today is Augusto Pinochet's 90th birthday, but alas, he must spend it under house arrest. Why, you may ask? Here's one reason:
Former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet was indicted and placed under house arrest Wednesday -- not for torturing and killing his opponents, as human-rights advocates have long sought but on tax evasion charges.
The indictment may mean that the former army commander, who led a bloody coup in 1973 and ruled Chile until 1990, will finally face the hand of justice on charges that he failed to pay $2.4 million in taxes from millions of dollars that he stashed in secret foreign bank accounts.
''It's the most solid charge against Pinochet, more so than any of the human-rights cases,'' said Guillermo Holtzmann, a professor at the University of Chile.
Two days short of his 90th birthday, enfeebled by a variety of health maladies, Pinochet was placed under house arrest by Judge Carlos Cerda. The former leader can post a $22,000 bond to regain the right to travel freely.
Pinochet made bail on this charge after the bail was essentially halved, but the bad news for him just kept a comin':
Former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet was indicted on human rights charges Thursday and placed under house arrest, hours after he made bail on unrelated corruption charges filed only a day earlier.
In a widely expected decision, Judge Victor Montiglio charged Pinochet in connection with the kidnapping and disappearance of six dissidents in the early years of his 1973-90 dictatorship, his office said.
Montiglio sent a court secretary to Pinochet's Santiago mansion to inform the general of the charges, which will force him to spend his 90th birthday Friday under arrest. The judge did not grant Pinochet bail.
I'm hoping for a trifecta, but this will do for now.
Meanwhile, Pinochet's right hand man, Manuel Contreras met his former boss face to face on the orders of Judge Montiglio. It appears that the judge is deeply concerned about the discrepancies between Pinochet's account of things and Contreras' account. Contreras states that what he did as head of Pinochet's secret police, DINA was done under Pinochet's orders. Pinochet claims that he did not have direct influence over DINA despite one of his most famous quotes: "Not a leaf moves in Chile without my knowing."
Apparently things are not quite so good between Pinochet and Contreras, who used to have breakfast together every morning in La Moneda:
When asked about the Dina by the judge overseeing the case, Victor Montiglio, Gen Pinochet said he did not remember anything about it.
He also accused Contreras of having been plotting to take over the country and said he sacked him because he was creating problems.
Contreras' lawyer said the claims were unfounded, blaming them on Gen Pinochet's old age or his wish to "put the blame on someone who is already down and cannot respond", according to La Tercera newspaper.
As for Pinochet, he is as presumptuous and arrogant as always:
Chilean former dictator Augusto Pinochet told a judge he doesn't believe there were excesses during his 17-year rule, and if there were God would pardon him, a human rights lawyer said on Wednesday.
"Everything I did, all my actions, all of the problems I had I dedicate to God and to Chile, because I kept Chile from becoming Communist," Pinochet told a judge regarding the 1973 military coup that launched him to power, according to Hernan Quezada.
What part of thous shalt not kill does he not understand? In any event, if one expects forgiveness from God, one must acknowledge one's sins. So far Pinochet hasn't.
Unhappy birthday, mi general. Espero que usted tenga muchos más cumpleaños infelices!
Marc Cooper has more here.
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