Chile’s Pinochet: Napoleon wannabe?

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It was no secret that the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was an admirer of Napoleon — and, according to some, this self-designated ‘captain general’ from a modest background may have harbored somewhat of a Napoleon complex. Other grandiose role models included Julius Caesar and Francisco Franco.

Now comes word that Pinochet’s fondness for Bonaparte took on decadent dimensions. A judge last week ordered the arrest of 23 Pinochet relatives and former associates in connection with the alleged misappropriation of more than $20 million in government funds, mostly stashed in U.S. accounts via the use of false identities and passports. The cash was allegedly used to buy everything from apartments and clothing to hearing aids, watches, shoes … and ‘statues or busts’ of Napoleon, reports La Cuarta in Santiago, along with El Mercurio.

The allegations have further tarnished the already-sullied reputation of Pinochet, who died in December at age 91 while fighting human rights and graft charges. Critics say he was no better than other kleptocratic U.S. Cold War allies (Somoza, etc.).

Even die-hard supporters who declare that the Pinochet-led coup of 1973 had ‘saved’ Chile the fate of becoming ‘another Cuba’ could not excuse the alleged wholesale looting of the national treasury.

The Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archive has studiously tracked secret U.S.-Pinochet dealings, unearthing thousands of documents. At one point, notes Peter Kornbluh, who heads the project, a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency biographic sketch of Pinochet labeled the strongman ‘very honest, hardworking, dedicated … lives very modestly.’

Posted by Patrick J. McDonnell in Buenos Aires