International Human Rights Day

As the international human rights community observes this day, the news of Pinochet's death arrived.

The Mercury News noted

Hounded by human rights groups until the end and defended with equal zeal by the armed forces, Chile's controversial former dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte died Sunday from complications after suffering a heart attack last week. He was 91.

History likely will remember Pinochet as a figure with twin legacies: His bloody right-wing rule and defense against Soviet and Cuban communism changed the fate of not only Chile but also its neighbors in the southern cone of South America.

Decades later, attempts to prosecute Pinochet at home and abroad in the final years of his life set a precedent likely to be felt across the globe: that there is no statute of limitations on human rights abuses. Thousands filled the streets of Santiago on Sunday after the announcement of his death, both weeping supporters and some critics, most peacefully marking his passing, though a few scuffles were reported.

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