General Augusto Pinochet of Chile Arrested in London
Armed Metropolitan Police have arrested a startled General Augusto Pinochet of Chile pending an extradition order filed by two Spanish judges in connection with the deaths of Spanish nationals during his authoritarian rule.
The judges say 94 Spanish nationals were murdered by Chilean secret police during the General's rule of the country between 1973 and 1990.
Twenty-five years after the brutal coup that brought one of this century's most notorious despots to power, the relatives of countless thousands of murdered Chileans could now witness the unexpected trial of a man previously thought to be untouchable.
Augusto Pinochet, now 82, ruled Chile with an iron fist for 17 years following his successful coup of the elected, left wing Allende government.
He is admired by some and detested by others for imposing an absolute free-market economic strategy in Chile, however the catalogue of human rights abuses he presided over characterises his image of an invincible dictator behind dark glasses.
