Beautiful Horizons

A Couple of Passings

I always liked The Band of Gypsys album by Jimi Hendrix, notwithstanding the fact that I was always very lukewarm towards Buddy Miles, and that was primarily because I saw him live once and he performed his one major hit, Them Changes, three times. Nevertheless, I was saddened to hear that he had passed away this week. I was also surprised to hear that his was the voice of the old California Raisins commercials. Rest in peace.

I was deeply saddened to hear that Patricia Verdugo had died more than a month ago (hat tip to Tomas Dinges). She was one of the most compelling chroniclers of Augusto Pinochet's reign of terror, her most famous work being Los Zarpazos del Puma (translated into English as Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death), documenting the helicopter tour of Sergio Arellano Stark, who traveled via Puma helicopter to several locations in Chile immediately after the 1973 coup, leaving a trail of some 75 executed political prisoners and numerous others tortured.

It was personal for her as well. Her father was tortured to death through a form of torture known as the submarino and his body was tossed into the Rio Mapocho along with numerous other victims of Pinochet. It's truly tragic that she did so young, but her body of work was invaluable in setting the historical record straight on what Pinochet knew, when he knew and what really happened. She will be missed.

Good News: Times Are Even Tougher For Some

Former Pinochet-era general, Raúl Iturriaga, whose flight from a conviction for atrocities committed during the dictatorship I wrote about here, has been caught:

Former Gen. Raul Iturriaga Neumann, 69, was arrested without incident in an apartment in the resort town of Viña del Mar, on Chile's Pacific coast, officials said.

Once a high-ranking figure in the military's feared intelligence service, Iturriaga is one of the best-known convicted human rights abusers from the dictatorship of the late Augusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973 to 1990. His case drew attention to right-wing discontent with human rights prosecutions.

This may be the best news for Chile's future:

But officers serving in the country's modernized armed forces refused to side with Iturriaga, proclaiming their loyalty to the elected government and calling his trial and sentence fair. The military and defense leadership uniformly condemned Iturriaga's flight and urged the fugitive to turn himself in.

Maybe he can become Manuel Contreras' cellmate!

Enjoy Hell, Osvaldo Romo

One of Augusto Pinochet's most vicious underlings, Osvaldo Romo, died Wednesday while serving time in prison for the murder of three dissidents. He was 70.

Not content to merely torture, Romo believed in killing all of those DINA, Pinochet's secret police force, had arrested. What the article doesn't say about Romo is that he switched sides. He had been involved with the Popular Socialist Union, which had been a member of Allende's Popular Union coalition.

One wonders what he ever believed in to switch sides and with such viciousness. On the other hand, perhaps he was merely the rankest of opportunists.

Just a Little More on Pinochet

I really don't want to address this subject too much more, but I did want to call your attention to these two mentions of Pinochet's passing in The Economist here and here.

Also, it appears that Pinochet's grandson has been booted from the Army for criticizing the judges investigating his grandfather and praising the coup. Ten years ago, hell five yeasr ago that wouldn't have happened. That's progress.

Pinochet Roundup - And Some Mythbusting

Marc Cooper has thoughts here and here that you should not miss. Tomas Dinges (just added to the blogroll) e-mailed about these two posts regarding events in Chile. Marc tips me to this post by a blogger in Chile who embedded himself with some  pro-Pinochet marchers.

Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings takes down the moral obtuseness of Red State's response to Pinochet's death. Dave Noon takes a look at the wingnut praise for Pinochet, including this nonsensical bit by an obviously butt stupid Harvard physics professor. Scott Lemieux catches Mark Steyn breaking wind bloviating with his typical blissful ignorance and shows that he puts the ass in bombastic.

Now for some mythbusting.

Myth #1:

Pinochet left power gracefully after losing the 1988 plebiscite.

Fact:

In 2003 in an interview on Chilean television, General Matthei, the commander of the air force at the time of the plebiscite, pointed out that when confronted with the results of the plebiscite and that the “no” (on eight more years of Pinochet) vote was winning, Pinochet told the other commanders (navy, caribineros and the air force) that he wanted to send the troops on the streets. They all told him that they would not support him and he backed down.

Earlier that evening, when Matthei arrived at La Moneda, the presidential palace, the press raced towards him because the official government account of the election showed results that were not in keeping with what independent observers and the “no” coalition was showing. Matthei responded that it appears that the “no” vote had won and said “We are calm.”

A few months after the plebiscite, Pinochet, in addressing a women's group commented that there had been another plebiscite once and the people chose Barabbas. Jesus, if I recall correctly, never had people murdered on his orders.

Myth #2:

Pinochet's amnesty was negotiated as part of his retirement.

Fact:

Pinochet's amnesty was written in April 1978 by his cousin, Justice Minister at the time, Monica Madariaga and approved by the other leaders of the armed forces. No one else had any input into it.

Myth #3:

Continued rule by Allende would have been worse.

Fact:

The above sentence was written in the subjunctive case. Anyone who says it is offering an opinion and we all know the old saying about opinions.

But, if in three years in power, Allende did not systematize torture, abolish Congress and political parties, ban opposition media, put the military in charge of universities, burn books, send his secret police around the world to kill his political enemies, all of which Pinochet's regime did, what empirical evidence is there to prove this? It's not a matter of whitewashing Allende as a commenter accused me of in the prior post, it's a matter of making an informed judgment based on the available facts.

I'm sure that there will be more myths to bust in the days to come.

Wanted: A Strong Wooden Stake and Several Garlic Bulbs

Those are some of the tools that are necessary to ensure that a vampire is really dead. As one has died today and his truly vile regime was responsible for the deaths of thousands, the torture of many more thousands, international acts of terrorism over three continents and in his final years, the revelation of illegal enrichment, possibly through the violation of an arms embargo against Croatia during the Balkan War, clearly we must be certain that he is dead. News reports indicate as much:

Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, the brutal dictator who repressed and reshaped Chile for nearly two decades and became a notorious symbol of human rights abuse and corruption, died today at the Military Hospital of Santiago. He was 91.

The Times also gives a rather facile listing of key dates in Pinochet's career. I'll take the liberty of adding a few in  a career filled with many abonimable acts:

• September 1974: Has DINA, his secret police organization plant a bomb in the car of General Carlos Prats, his predecessor in Buenos Aires. The bomb kills General Prats and his wife, Sofia. Debris from the explosion is found on the ninth floor of a building across the street.
• October 1975: Has DINA, through Italian fascist terrorist Stefano Della Chiae, attempt to murder Christian Democrat politician and regime opponent, Bernardo Leighton in Rome Italy. Leighton and his wife survive, but live in constant pain for the rest of their lives.
• September 1976: Has DINA blow up the car of Orlando Letelier in Washington, DC, killing Letelier and his American assistant, Ronni Moffitt.
• November 1978: The bodies of fifteen men who were "disappeared" are found in an abandoned limestone mine in Lonquen.
• June 1990: The bodies of 19 men who disappeared in the 1970's are discovered in a mass grave in Pisagua.
• September 1991: The bodies of 127 victims of Pinochet's regime are found buried secretly, two to a grave in some cases. Pinochet responds to television reporters by praising the economy of burying two to a grave.

I could go on and on, but that would be overkill. There is a delicious coincidence that Pinochet breathed his last on Human Rights Day. While I'm sorry to see him cheat the metaphorical hangman, I 'm glad that his last years were spent defending himself against criminal charges. It will also be good to see Chile to continue to move away both politically and socially from his era.

As for Satan, in dealing with Pinochet he probably doesn't know what he's in for.

UPDATE: As expected, Marc Cooper has the big picture covered.

Colonia Dignidad Members Indicted

It's also been a bad week for Pinochet's and Manuel Contreras' old friends at Colonia Dignidad:

 

Two members of a secretive German colony in Chile were indicted on abuse allegations Wednesday in connection with the alleged torture of eight children.

Judge Jorge Zepeda accused German citizens Paul Schaefer, 83, and Gisela Gruhlke of giving electrical shocks and drugs to eight children in an effort to suppress their sexuality.

[...]

Colony leaders were accused here and abroad of human rights violations, including allowing their facilities to be used as a torture and execution center by the former dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Zepeda has led several raids of the colony's farm in a so far unsuccessful search for victims of the Pinochet dictatorship who disappeared after being arrested and taken there.

The company this man kept.

Unhappy Birthday to You

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.

Why the Debate?

"She had blood gushing out of her mouth, blood all over . . . As I ran closer I could see a foot in the roadway . . . I could observe that apparently the vehicle had skidded across some 50 or 75 feet, leaving debris in the roadway, including the foot. I got closer to the vehicle. I looked into the car, and immediately saw a white male sitting there on his buttocks, on the pavement. The whole floor panel of the car was gone. He was missing his legs somewhere above the knees. There was blood everyplace. The inside of the vehicle was all blackened and charred."

This is an account by a detective who came upon the scene shortly after a car bombing. So, where did it take place? Lebanon? Iraq? Northern Ireland?

Try Washington, DC September 21, 1976.

Here's a view of what remained of Orlando Letelier's car:

Here's a look at the front seat:

While there is no proof that he was directly involved in this act, Luis Posada Carriles was at the meeting where it was planned and he did nothing to stop it.

Why then, is there any debate about granting this monstrous terrorist political asylum in the United States? Why is he even in this country? Send him to Venezuela. F#$% him.

Finally Fessing Up

I have often speculated that what would finally shed a great deal of light on just how great the level of Augusto Pinochet's involvement in the atrocities committed by his regime would be if one of his subordinates finally fessed up if they got fed up enough with their former CO's denials and refusal to accept responsibility. Well, it has finally happened and the subordinate is one of the more significant ones with strong ties to Pinochet:

Chile's former secret service chief has provided courts with a document that claims to list the whereabouts of hundreds of people who disappeared during the 17-year rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, casting blame for their killings away from himself and directly toward the former Chilean military chief.

Lawyers for retired Gen. Manuel Contreras submitted to Chile's Supreme Court on Friday a 32-page document that lists about 580 people -- almost half the number still considered "disappeared" -- and purportedly reveals exactly what was done with the bodies. Human rights groups immediately questioned the information and its source, citing Contreras's years of deception and denials of responsibility for human rights abuses.

I certainly agree with that last sentence. What has consistently motivated Contreras has not been a guilty conscience or a sense of repentance, but simple garden variety ass-covering. I would not put it past him in this case.

It has, however, beggared belief that given the Prussian-trained, chain of command tradition in Chile's military, that subordinates would be engaged in crimes against humanity that were rogue operations. This comes as no surprise to me:

Contreras alleged that Pinochet personally ordered the assassination of Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean foreign minister who was killed in a car-bombing in Washington in 1976 along with Ronni Moffitt, an American co-worker. He wrote that Pinochet also ordered the killing of former general Carlos Prats in Argentina in 1974. Contreras was previously jailed for his role in Letelier's death, and he is currently in prison for the 1975 killing of activist Miguel Angel Sandoval.

One of the prosecutors in the Letelier case made this comment when Pinochet was  being investigated by Spanish authorites (leading to his arrest in London):

When former US Attorney Lawrence Barcella testified before Judge García Castellón earlier this year, he explained what the Justice Department investigation had learned about Pinochet's daily meetings with Colonel Contreras and the kind of "explicit orders" Pinochet gave. "I laid out my 'avenging angel's scenario,'" Barcella recalled. "Either angels were killing off his opponents year after year, or Pinochet was well aware that his secret police arm was out there directing the annual assassination of his enemies." It was "inconceivable," said Barcella, "that Pinochet did not know."

Contreras's allegations should be investigated thoroughly, and certainly not accepted on their face. Some of what he is claiming may be true. A broken clock is right twice a day. A sociopathic terrorist criminal against humanity could be right about a few things as well, even if he is trying to cover his ass and is facing fifteen years in jail at the age of 75.