Lucia Hiriart, the widow of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, died Thursday. She turned 99 last week. When the news broke, celebrations broke out in the country’s streets.
Her son Marco Antonio Pinochet announced the news in a short statement. Hiriart died at home, where she lived with all her children and grandchildren. She has been hospitalized several times in recent months.
Hiriart was the wife of dictator Augusto Pinochet, who brutally ruled Chile between September 1973 and March 1990. Under his rule, 3,200 were killed and missing. She would have had a significant influence on his actions.
When the news of Hiriart’s death broke, many Chileans began celebrating in the streets. Hundreds of people gathered in a well-known square in the capital Santiago as cars honked their horns.
