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News > Latin America

Pinochet's Bodyguard Arrested for a Second Time in Chile

  • Pinochet led the coup against democratically-elected leftist President Salvador Allende in 1973.

    Pinochet led the coup against democratically-elected leftist President Salvador Allende in 1973. | Photo: El Tiempo

Published 10 November 2016
Opinion

Just like Pinochet, the security chief has never been tried for any crimes committed during the military dictatorship.

The former bodyguard and security chief of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was arrested Wednesday, accused of kidnapping and torture during the military dictatorship.

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5 Things Chileans Inherited from Pinochet's Dictatorship

Cristian Labbe is charged with being the "perpetrator of the crimes of illegal detention, torture and kidnapping with serious harm, committed in the town of Rocas de Santo Domingo in the month of March in 1975," according to a court in the city of Valparaiso.

Labbe was arrested following a complaint by a trade union leader in Valparaiso who accused him of torturing him with "punches, as well as electricity," at a military facility where he was detained for 15 days.

The former colonel, and former mayor of the municipality of Providencia in Santiago who governed for 14 years, will be imprisoned in a military compound and remain in custody pending investigation of the case.

Labbe (L) was a key figure in Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. | Photo: El Mostrador

Labbe had been arrested and imprisoned two years ago for another case of human rights violations, but he was released after paying a US$760 bail. He had been accused several times, but he was never tried for any crimes.

RELATED:
Chile Declares Pinochet Most Violent Criminal Ruler in History

Labbe was a member of the DINA, the feared Chilean secret police, and became a politician in 1990.

Pinochet was arrested in the U.K. years after losing power but was never prosecuted for his crimes in Chile due to an immunity clause passed in the constitution that was approved during the military regime.

The dictator ruled Chile for 17 years and is estimated to have ordered the murder of over 3,000, jailing and torturing tens of thousands more. Pinochet died in 2006 without ever being prosecuted for the cases of forced disappearance, torture, rape, and murder under his command.

Chilean legislators demanded in October the prohibition of any photographs of Pinochet in public institutions, with the exception of military museums.

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