Pinochet Suffers Heart Attack In Chile

Gen. Augusto Pinochet suffered an acute heart attack Sunday and doctors, using a catheter to clear his arteries, "virtually rescued him from death," his son said.

Doctors called the former dictator's condition life threatening, and a spokesman said he received last rites. Dr. Juan Ignacio Vergara said the catheter procedure was successful, but that Pinochet remained in serious but stable condition some seven hours after being admitted to the Santiago Military hospital.

The 91-year-old retired general, who has been under house arrest, was rushed to the hospital after suffering "an acute" heart attack and a buildup of fluid in his lungs, the hospital said in a statement. "His condition is serious but stable," it read.

Pinochet, who ruled from 1973 until 1990, was taken to the hospital from his suburban Santiago residence.

Pinochet's spokesman, retired Gen. Guilleremo Garin, said the former strongman was undergoing "thorough medical tests. It's a heart condition. That's all we know now."

Pinochet's health has deteriorated gradually in recent years. He has used a pacemaker for several years and was diagnosed with mild dementia caused by several strokes. He also suffers from diabetes and arthritis.

The former dictator's failing health has helped him escape punishment for human rights abuses committed during his regime, with courts ruling his condition prevented from standing trail in at least two cases in recent years.

But last week, Pinochet was indicted and ordered to remain under house arrest for the execution of two bodyguards of Salvador Allende, the freely elected Marxist president who was toppled in the 1973 coup.

The indictment came after Pinochet's 91st birthday on Nov. 25, which he marked by issuing a statement for the first time taking full political — though not explicitly legal — responsibility for abuses committed by his regime.

"Today, near the end of my days, I want to say that I harbor no rancor against anybody, that I love my fatherland above all and that I take political responsibility for everything that was done which had no other goal than making Chile greater and avoiding its disintegration," he said at the time.

The recent house arrest is the fifth such action taken against Pinochet on charges stemming from human rights violations during his dictatorship.

The indictment alleges kidnapping and homicide in connection with the deaths of two Allende bodyguards who were arrested the day of the coup, Sept. 11, 1973. Both were executed by firing squad four weeks later, the military regime announced at the time.

Pinochet faces two other indictments — another in connection to human rights abuses and one on tax charges.

According to an official report prepared by an independent commission appointed by the first civilian government after Pinochet's rule, 3,197 people were killed for political reasons during his regime and more than 1,000 of them were "disappeared."