Andres Rodriguez; Former President of Paraguay

Andres Rodriguez, 72, who became president of Paraguay after leading a coup that deposed the dictator Gen. Alfredo Stroessner. For almost three decades, Rodriguez was Stroessner’s right-hand man, serving as commander of Paraguay’s 3,000-man army corps. His daughter was married to Stroessner’s son. But on Feb. 3, 1989, Rodriguez rebelled, toppling the Western Hemisphere’s longest-ruling dictator in an all-night firefight that killed as many as 500 soldiers. Stroessner was arrested and three days later was sent into exile in Brazil. After freeing his countrymen of nearly 35 years of Stroessner’s repressive rule, Rodriguez was a shoo-in for president when elections were held three months later. Nevertheless, he campaigned tirelessly, stressing human rights and press freedom. He patched up relations with the Roman Catholic Church and legalized eight political parties banned by Stroessner. Rodriguez held office until 1993. Detractors criticized him for failing to halt Stroessner’s brutality to citizens during his 1961-1989 tenure as head of the army. On Monday in Asuncion, Paraguay, of cancer.