Judge Orders House Arrest, Trial for Chile’s Pinochet

A federal judge ordered Gen. Augusto Pinochet placed under house arrest Monday to stand trial for dozens of political killings during his 17-year rule.

Judge Juan Guzman, whose earlier indictment of the former dictator was cast aside by the Supreme Court, decided the retired right-wing general should be prosecuted for killings committed soon after he led a 1973 coup, prosecuting lawyer Hugo Gutierrez said.

The defense team promised a swift appeal and said the 85-year-old Pinochet hadn’t been immediately informed of the decision out of concerns for his health.

Guzman has spent years investigating the so-called Caravan of Death, a military squadron that hopscotched Chile by helicopter in 1973, pulling 75 leftist prisoners from jails to be tortured and executed.

Attorney Hiram Villagra said the judge’s order calls for trying Pinochet in 57 homicide cases and 18 cases in which the victims disappeared.

Pinochet’s critics lauded the rejuvenated efforts to put the former dictator on trial after more than 3,100 people died or disappeared under his rule. That was the finding of an official government report after Pinochet relinquished power to an elected civilian in 1990 and democracy was restored in Chile.

“This is what we’ve been fighting for, day after day, for the past 27 years,” said Viviana Diaz, a leader of families of the dead and missing.

Pinochet’s allies denounced what they called a witch hunt against the man they credit with saving Chile from the chaos of leftist rule. Pinochet led the coup that toppled Salvador Allende, who died in the overthrow.

Guzman’s previous indictment against Pinochet was rejected on appeal because he had not interrogated him, as required by Chilean law. The new indictment came after Guzman formally questioned Pinochet last week.

In that interrogation, Pinochet said regional military commanders were responsible for the “Caravan of Death” killings.