Pinochet fighting for life, but shows improvement

Former dictator Augusto Pinochet was today fighting for his life at a Chilean military hospital after suffering a heart attack, but doctors said he was improving after an emergency angioplasty to restore blood flow to his heart.

The heart attack, which a close associate, retired general Luis Cortes, described today as Pinochet’s “most serious health condition so far”, came one week after Pinochet took “full political responsibility” for the actions of his 1973-to-1990 dictatorship, which carried out thousands of political killings, widespread torture and illegal detentions.

“We are now in the hands of God and of the doctors,” said the 91-year-old Pinochet’s son Marco Antonio. “My father is in very bad condition.”

Dr Juan Ignacio Vergara, a member of the medical team treating the former dictator, said bypass surgery was ruled out after an angioplasty performed in the morning to clear a heart artery obstruction “allowed improvement in his condition”.

“No bypass has been performed and we expect no open heart surgery will be necessary,” Vergara said, explaining that such a procedure would be extremely risky for someone of Pinochet’s age.

Vergara said Pinochet was conscious and communicating with family members and doctors, who had been able to drain a build-up of fluid in his lungs.

But Vergara stressed that Pinochet was still in serious condition, saying: The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical to see whether other complications appear.”

Pinochet, who was under house arrest on human rights charges, was rushed to the hospital from his suburban Santiago residence on Sunday.

As the news of the heart attack spread, some 50 supporters gathered in front of the hospital, some carrying portraits of the former ruler.

“He’s like a father to me, and we all owe him so much,” said Julieta Aguilar, who held a small bronze bust of Pinochet.

But the former dictator has been increasingly isolated since 1998, when he was arrested in London on an international warrant issued by a Spanish judge who unsuccessfully sought his extradition on human rights charges.

In 2004, a probe was launched after a US senate committee reported that Pinochet had millions deposited at the Riggs Bank in Washington. The report led to his indictment on tax-evasion charges.

On September 11, the 33rd anniversary of the military coup against socialist President Salvador Allende, only two women appeared at his house for what used to be a day of great celebration.

Presidential spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber said the government was closely following the former dictator’s health, which has deteriorated in recent years. He has used a pacemaker for several years and suffers from diabetes, arthritis and mild dementia caused by several strokes.

Pinochet’s faltering health has helped him avoid trial, with judges dismissing at least two cases in recent years saying he was unfit to stand trial. His foes say he exaggerates his health problems.

“He is hospitalised every time he faces an indictment. That is why we have doubts this time, too,” human rights lawyer Hiram Villagra told Radio Bio Bio.

Pinochet was indicted on human rights violations and put under house arrest last week for the execution of two Allende bodyguards in 1973. A court was scheduled to rule today on his appeal.

It was the fifth such action against Pinochet, who was already under another indictment for human rights abuses and one on tax-evasion charges.

The indictment came on the heels of Pinochet’s 91st birthday on November 25, when for the first time he took political, if not explicitly legal, responsibility for abuses under his regime.

“Today, near the end of my days, I want to say that I harbour no rancour against anybody, that I love my fatherland above all and that I take political responsibility for everything that was done, which had no other goal than making Chile greater and avoiding its disintegration,” he said in a statement read by his wife.

According to an official report prepared by an independent commission appointed by the first civilian government after Pinochet’s rule, 3,197 people were killed for political reasons during his regime and more than 1,000 of them were never found.