Chile

In August 1973, Pinochet was appointed commander-in-chief of the Army by President Allende. On September 11, 1973 the combined Chilean Armed Forces overthrew Allende's government in a coup. Declassified documents have since shed light on the involvement of the CIA in the coup. More info on that here. During the coup, the presidential palace, La Moneda, was shelled and as troops surrounded the palace, under mysterious circumstances Allende committed suicide.

A military junta, led by Pinochet, assumed power. The junta exercised both executive and legislative functions of the government, suspending both the national congress and the Chilean constitution (which had been in place since 1925).  They immediately seized control of all broadcasting and media in Chile, and and suspended all political activities, imprisoning suspected leftists and halting all perceived subversive activities. Estadio Nacional, home of the 1962 FIFA World Cup final, was used to hold and torture thousands of political prisoners. Despite being aware of these human rights violations, the United States government (among other world governments) did nothing and quickly recognized the new regime as Chile's legitimate government.

The junta had intended its head position to be rotated among the four branches of the armed forces. Pinochet, as the commander of the oldest branch of the armed forces (the Army) was the first head. Before the position could be transferred, Pinochet made his position permanent. In 1974, he officially changed his title to "President" and assumed the executive position of the Chilean government. The junta remained the government's legislative body.

Pinochet's government put forth a neoliberal economic policy based on free-market reforms. Large foreign banks provided loans to the government and many multi-national corporations returned to Chile. The nation's copper mines remained nationalized; however, new mineral deposits were opened to private and international investment.

On September 11, 1980, a referendum was held to ratify a new constitution. The constitution was approved, giving tremendous power to the President of Chile and scheduling a referendum for 1988, when a presidential candidate (nominated by the junta) would be approved ("YES" vote) or rejected ("NO" vote) for another 8-year period.

Faced with increasing domestic and international pressure, in 1987 Pinochet legalized political parties.  On October 5, 1988, a referendum was held and the "NO" vote prevailed, receiving 56% of the total votes. Pinochet accepted the result and presidential and legislative elections were held the following year. On March 11, 1990 Pinochet stepped down as President and transferred power to the new democratically elected president, Patricio Aylwin.

Due to favorable provisions of the Constitution (pushed through by Pinochet prior to leaving office), the ex-President remained as Commander-in-Chief of the Army until March 1998. He was then sworn in as a senator-for-life (a privilege granted by the 1980 constitution to former presidents with at least six years in office).

On October 10, 1998, Pinochet was indicted by the Spanish government for human rights violations committed during his regime. At the time, Pinochet was visiting London (for medical treatment); he was arrested by British police and placed under house arrest, pending extradition to Spain.

The court case was heard by the United Kingdom's highest court. Pinochet's lawyers argued that their client should not be extradited, as the Spanish court did not have the legal authority (jurisdiction) to prosecute Pinochet. Further, they asserted that Pinochet was immunized from guilt by (a) his position as head of state and (b) a Chilean amnesty law (passed in 1978 by the military junta). Prosecutors contended that Pinochet's crimes were so egregious that they constituted crimes against humanity and could therefore be prosecuted in any court in the world (the legal concept of universal jurisdiction). They also argued that Chile's domestic amnesty laws could not bind the Spanish courts.  This was a revolutionary use of the legal principle known as universal jurisdiction – which has since been used to prosecute former heads of state for crimes against humanity.

In 1999, former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush called upon the British government to release Pinochet. In March 2000, Pinochet was deemed to ill to stand trial and was permitted to return to Chile. Upon his return, the Chilean Congress approved a constitutional amendment which created the status of "ex-president", further immunizing Pinochet from prosecution and guaranteed him a financial allowance.  The Chilean Supreme Court revoked this immunity and Pinochet was indicted on charges of kidnapping.  These charges were dropped in 2002, after the Supreme Court determined Pinochet was mentally incapable of defending himself in court.

In 2005, Pinochet's immunity was once again revoked and in 2006 he was charged with multiple counts of kidnapping, torture and murder of opponents of his regime at the Villa Grimaldi prison camp. It was too little, too late. Pinochet died on December 10, 2006, never having stood trial for the crimes for which he was accused.