The family of Chile’s former president, Salvador Allende, petitioned for the rifle AK-47 used on his alleged suicide to be found. Allende is supposed to have committed suicide in the midst of a violent army coup led by general Pinochet in September 1973.
Chilean Judge Julio Miranda of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals formally presented last week an accusation against 10 retired navy officers for the kidnapping and torture of Anglo-Chilean priest Michael Woodward.
By José Aylwin - The Santiago Times Publisher Steve Anderson’s editorial note: There are many reasons for the ongoing Chilean national anguish about the US$7.5 billion HidroAysén dam in Patagonia and transmission line project.
Argentina’ Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman and his Chilean peer Alfredo Moreno will lead next Monday in the Vatican homage to John Paul II for his 1978 successful mediation in preventing a full fledged armed conflict between the two neighbouring countries.
In what was the most controversial issue of the visit, President Obama said he's ready to help Chile solve human rights crimes committed during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, but avoided agreeing Monday to a US apology for meddling in the country's affairs.
An embassy cable published this week by WikiLeaks revealed a 2009 email in which then-U.S ambassador to Chile, Paul Simons, predicted that former President Eduardo Frei Montalva’s controversial 1982 death would never be fully understood. “The tragic recent history of Chile continues to divide its people, and the death of this emblematic President seems destined to remain a mystery.”
When former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet flew to Europe in 1998 for a vacation and back surgery, little did he know that he would be jailed by British authorities (acting on a Spanish arrest warrant) for human rights violations that occurred during his 17-year dictatorship.
Chile has commenced its first ever investigation into the death of former president Salvador Allende.
As President Sebastián Piñera spoke of national unity and moving past quarrels from recent history on the anniversary of the 11 September 1973 military coup that ousted democratically elected President Salvador Allende, protests and demonstrations occurred throughout Chile.