- Juan Bustos
Juan Bustos (
December 8 ,1935 -August 7 ,2008 ) was aChile an politician, law professor andlawyer . He served as the President of theChamber of Deputies of Chile fromMarch 13 ,2008 until his death onAugust 7 ,2008 . cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN07465960|title=Chilean anti-Pinochet crusader Juan Bustos dies|publisher=Reuters|language=English|date=2008-08-07|accessdate=2008-08-08] He was known as an ardent opponent of theAugusto Pinochet dictatorship and thehuman rights abuses committed by theregime .Bustos lived in exile for 14 years while
Chile was ruled by the Pinochetmilitary junta from 1973 until 1990. After his return he played a major role in uncovering cases of human rights abuses. [citation |title=Juan Bustos: An icon for the defense of human rights|web|url=http://www.emol.com/noticias/ingles/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=316488 publisher=emol.com |language=English |accessdate=2008-08-08] Bustons, a top Chileanlaw professor and human rightslawyer , represented many of the families of people killed by the Pinochet government. During the Pinochet regime, nearly 3,000 people disappeared, while tens of thousands were arrested and tortured. Bustos represented the family of former Chilean Foreign MinisterOrlando Letelier , an opponent of Pinochet who was killed by acar bomb inWashington D.C. in 1976. Letelier's assasination was linked to Pinochetmilitary intelligence officials.Bustos was first elected as a
legislator in 1998 as a member of theSocialist Party of Chile . He served as President of theChamber of Deputies of Chile on March 13, 2008, a position he held until his death in August 2008. He died before gaining congressional approval for the creation of a new institute to be tasked with inevtigating the disappearance of thousands of opponents of the Pinochet regime.Juan Bustos died of
liver cancer inSantiago, Chile , onAugust 7 ,2008 , at the age of 72. [ cite news|url=http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=316455|title=Murió presidente de la Cámara de Diputados, Juan Bustos|publisher=emol.com|language=Spanish|accessdate=2008-08-08] He was survived by his wife and seven children.President
Michelle Bachelet declared three days of national mourning.References
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