-On September 11, 1973 a group of Chilean military commanders headed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet surrounded the presidential palace. Along with his security guards Allende resisted to the military coup.Gen. Pinochet went as far as ordering the Chilean Air force to bomb the presidential palace. Not willing to surrender to Pinochet’s rule, Allende resisted to the end and lost his life for the cause of defending freedom and democracy in his country.
Following international pressures and the Chilean people’s struggle for freedom, Pinochet gave in to an open election. In 1988 Chileans rejected a plebiscite that would have allowed Pinochet a second eight-year term beginning in 1989. In December 1989 Patricio Aylwin was elected to succeed Pinochet; Pinochet stepped down from the presidency in 1990 when Aylwin was inaugurated, although he retained his post as army commander.
In a campaign to destroy leftist political forces in Chile, Pinochet’s government arrested thousands of people; many were executed or disappeared, and many others were imprisoned. Thousands fled the country. In 1977 the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemned Pinochet’s government for torturing detainees.
While Pinochet was seeking medical treatment in the United Kingdom in 1998, a Spanish judge requested his extradition to Spain to face charges of human rights violations committed during his regime. The Chilean government demanded Pinochet’s release, arguing that as a senator he had diplomatic immunity. In 1999 the United Kingdom’s highest court ruled that Pinochet could be extradited under the terms of a 1988 international human rights agreement. In 2000 the United Kingdom, citing Pinochet’s failing health, released the former dictator to Chile. Shortly after Pinochet’s return, the Chilean Supreme Court stripped him of his immunity from prosecution. In early 2001 Pinochet was charged with committing kidnapping and murder during his rule, and he was placed under house arrest.
 The families of victims and missing political prisoners staged demonstrations outside his court and in different countries and many complaints were filed against him. The day Pinochet massacred Allende’s supporters in Diego Garcia Stadium, he never imagined that he will have to answer to the victims’ families a few years later behind bars.