Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, accused of torture, killings and kidnappings during his 1973-1990 rule, was stable but still seriously ill on Monday following a heart attack over the weekend, his doctors said.
Pinochet, 91, had a heart attack on Sunday and was rushed to hospital for an angioplasty operation to reopen his arteries. Doctors said it was too risky to operate further on the ageing former general, the best known of the strongmen who dominated South American politics in the 1970s and 1980s.
"The patient's life is still in danger. We can't change that," Dr Juan Ignacio Vergara told reporters on Monday. "(But) everything is under control." Dozens of Pinochet supporters gathered outside the hospital clutching portraits of the retired general. Some waved Chilean flags and sang the national anthem. Many shed tears for a man who, 17 years after he relinquished power, still provokes strong reactions.
Some Chileans regard Pinochet as the man who saved them from Communism by ousting leftist President Salvador Allende in a 1973 coup, while others view him as a murderer who should be put on trial for human rights abuses. Around 3,000 people died in political violence during Pinochet's 17-year rule and around 28,000 were tortured. Many more fled into exile.
Pinochet's latest illness has revived speculation over how the Chilean government would handle a funeral for the former dictator. Some Chileans say he should be given full state honours while others would regard that as a disgrace. The government has declined to discuss the issue, saying it would be in bad taste while Pinochet still lives.
President Michelle Bachelet was tortured during Pinochet's regime and has said in the past that Chileans - herself included - would be offended if Pinochet was given full state honours while still under the shadow of human rights and fraud charges. Pinochet has been charged with crimes in at least five separate cases, but, despite concerted efforts, no one has brought him to court. His defence lawyers have successfully argued he is too ill to stand trial.
Some of his critics view that as an excuse and complain that whenever a prosecution appears even remotely possible, the retired general falls ill. Last week, Pinochet was placed under house arrest over the murder of two of Allende's bodyguards in 1973. In the latest twist in the case, a court ruled on Monday Pinochet should be freed on bail.
In recent years, Pinochet has lived in an exclusive suburb of Santiago, surrounded by his wife and with his five adult children living nearby. He marked his birthday last month by issuing a statement accepting "political responsibility" for acts committed during his rule but said he acted with Chile's interests at heart.
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