CHILE-CONTRERAS/OBITUARY The head of Chile's secret police under the Pinochet dictatorship, Manuel Contreras, dies at age 86

Record ID: 144669

  • Title: CHILE-CONTRERAS/OBITUARY The head of Chile's secret police under the Pinochet dictatorship, Manuel Contreras, dies at age 86
  • Date: 8th August 2015
  • Summary: SANTIAGO, CHILE (FILE - JANUARY, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONTRERAS TALKING TO REPORTERS AND SHOWING HIS BOOK: "LA VERDAD HISTORICA" (THE HISTORICAL TRUTH)
  • Embargoed: 23rd August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Chile
  • Country: Chile
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC5UMUIBDFGEHU1LAL05SL1O25
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    The former head of Chile's secret police during the military dictatorship, Manuel Contreras, died on Friday (August 7) aged 86, unrepentant until his final days for human rights crimes he committed under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
    Pinochet, who was then the head of the army, toppled the democratically elected socialist president, Salvador Allende, in a violent coup on September 11, 1973. An estimated 3,000 people were kidnapped and killed or disappeared and 28,000 were tortured during Chile's 17-year dictatorship.
    As head of the DINA intelligence service at the time, Contreras ran torture centres where hundreds of people were killed.
    Pinochet died in 2006 at the age of 91, having never faced a full trial for the crimes committed under his rule. Contreras was left to face the breadth of human rights charges levelled at the former Chilean strongman. In May 2015, he amassed more than 505 years of jail time for a series of human rights violations from 58 court sentences.
    Following his 2004 court appearances, which saw an extra 12 years added to a hefty sentence, a defiant Contreras ruled out a prison term, instead wishing Pinochet would face justice himself.
    "I have said I will not spend one day in prison," he declared.
    Contreras served a large part of his sentence at the Penitenciario Cordillera in Santiago, which was eventually closed down amid public anger over his relative comfortable conditions alongside other former Pinochet agents.
    Whilst behind bars, he wrote a book titled 'The Historical Truth' which presented his version of the bloody coup. Amongst the arguments purported by Contreras in his book was the theory that those who disappeared during the Pinochet era actually fled the country.
    In his last television interview from prison, Contreras showed no remorse.
    "It's a source of pride (REPORTERS ASK: Why?) Because we did everything properly. (REPORTER ASKS: Do you think making people disappear means doing the job properly?) We never made anyone disappear. (Human rights) were violated before September 11, 1973. (REPORTER SAYS: But we're talking about what happened after the 11th) It's likely they were violated." (REPORTER ASKS: And do you assume responsibility for that?) No, because we did not violate human rights in DINA, it was forbidden. (REPORTER ASKS: Do you regret anything?) Nothing. (REPORTER SAYS: You must apologise for what happened 40 years ago (from the 1973 Chilean coup d'etat)) I apologise to God alone, nobody else," he said.
    In his final year of life, Contreras' health took a turn for the worse. Receiving treatment for colon cancer, diabetes and thrombotic sequelae, he was a far cry from the military strongman who presided over Chile's infamous secret police.
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