Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet, 84, was admitted late Saturday to the Military Hospital here suffering from pneumonia, hospital officials said.
Pinochet, who ruled Chile with an iron fist from 1973 to 1990 and faces numerous charges of human rights abuses by his regime, has not been seen in public for three weeks.
The hospital said in a statement that the former leader had pneumonia and would remain hospitalized.
Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart, accompanied him to the hospital. She did not comment to the press before returning home, but the family spokesman also said that Pinochet would remain in the hospital for several days.
The spokesman said that medical staff caring for Pinochet at home decided that the leader's pneumonia needed hospital treatment and sent him for tests.
The Pinochet Foundation had confirmed earlier Saturday that Pinochet would not be going out to vote in Sunday's local elections, with the press here reporting that was due to his declining state of health.
According to a local radio station, Pinochet is in intensive care – SANTIAGO (AFP)
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