Chile Jails 5 Men in Sept. 7 Attempt on Pinochet’s Life
Police arrested five members of a Communist guerrilla group Thursday and accused them of trying to assassinate President Augusto Pinochet in an ambush of his motorcade that killed five bodyguards.
Officials said the five men, between the ages of 23 and 32, confessed to taking part in the Sept. 7 attack by more than two dozen rebels, who opened fire on the motorcade with rocket launchers and M-16 rifles.
They said the men are members of the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front, the guerrilla wing of the outlawed Communist Party. The group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack led the military junta headed by Pinochet to decree a state of siege still in effect throughout most of this South American nation.
An army prosecutor investigating the failed assassination attempt announced Wednesday that warrants had been issued for the arrest of 50 suspects.
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