Pinochet's Lost Millions: The UK Connection

[Jan Klimkowski]

From December 2006:

Baroness Thatcher was tonight said to be "greatly saddened" by the death of General Augusto Pinochet, the one-time ruthless right-wing dictator of Chile.

The former British Prime Minister remained a firm and loyal supporter of Pinochet, especially in the last stormy years of his life when a series of legal attempts were made in Chile to charge him with alleged crimes relating to the disappearance of thousands of dissidents during his years of power.

Lady Thatcher always maintained that Pinochet had offered the British invaluable help during the Falklands conflict of 1982.

And when he came to Britain on a private visit in 1998, she had tea with him and expressed her opposition to attempts by the Spanish government to extradite him to Madrid to face charges concerning the disappearance of Spanish citizens in Chile during his presidency.

That procedure was foiled, when the then Home Secretary Jack Straw said he should not be extradited because of his state of health, creating a huge political storm among Labour MPs.

A spokesman for Lady Thatcher said she would not be issuing a formal statement on his death, but said she would be sending her "deepest condolences" to his widow and family.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "We note the passing of General Pinochet and want to pay tribute to the remarkable progress that Chile has made over the last 15 years as an open, stable and prosperous democracy."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/pol...27941.html

Generalissimo Pinochet = Thatcher's favourite fascist.

Magda's post suggests the relationship was also very lucrative for deep black British elements.