Augusto Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet was the dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. At the time of his death in December 2006, around 300 criminal charges were still pending against him for crimes relating to Operation Condor in his native country. The criminal charges included human rights abuses (torture, forced disappearance, assassination, etc.), tax evasion and embezzlement under his rule and afterwards.

Involvement with Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger has repeatedly denied that he, or the Department of State, were involved in the collapse of the Marxist Allendale government of Chile.

In his memoirs Kissinger stated:

• It may seem strange that in a book describing my stewardship of affairs I should feel obliged to include a chapter on the downfall of Chile President Salvador Allende Gossens in September 1973. It is a testament to the power of political mythology – for, contrary to anti-American propaganda around the world and revisionist history in the United States, our government had nothing to do with planning his overthrow and no involvement with the plotters.

–Henry A. Kissinger, The Years of Upheaval (1982): 374

However, documents later revealed under FOIA, and obtained by the National Security Archive, revealed Richard Nixon ordered CIA counter-intelligence operations to disrupt the Allendale government from coming to power.[1] Kissinger urged Nixon to take a hard line on the Allendale government, and that he posed a serious threat to American interests in the country.[2]

Involvement with US Banks

According to several European media articles, among them Spanish El Pais and the BBC, "A US Senate report has alleged that a US bank helped former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet hide up to $8m and evade efforts to seize his assets." The bank is Riggs Bank N.A. with close ties to the Bush Dynasty. [3]

Involvement with BAE Systems

"The dogged pursuit of [Pinochet's] multimillion dollar fortune by a Chilean judge, Sergio Muñoz, culminated last month in the arrest of General Pinochet's wife and son in Santiago. The hunt has unearthed a sophisticated array of bank accounts and offshore hiding places. It has also left Britain's biggest arms company, BAE Systems, facing many questions in what may prove one of the biggest scandals to hit an already scandal-prone company." [4]

External links

• David Leigh, Jonathan Franklin and Rob Evans, "Detective story that linked £1m Pinochet cash to BAE. US investigators find 100 accounts linked to general. Secret payments listed to alleged front companies," Guardian Unlimited (UK), September 15, 2005. Links to other related articles on page.