Death of Eduardo Frei Montalva

Eduardo Frei Montalva, President of Chile, reportedly died following a low-risk surgery. Questions continue to surround the events that led to his death and recently, Chilean justice has accused that Frei was murdered with small dozes of toxic substances.

Historical context

Eduardo Frei was one of the opposition leaders against the government of President Salvador Allende. As such he supported the Chilean coup of 1973 that deposed Allende and initially supported the administration of general Augusto Pinochet.

Events leading to the death

In 1981 Frei was suffering from chronic acid reflux, stemming from a hiatal hernia, a very uncomfortable but essentially low risk condition. After consulting with several specialists, he decided to have it treated via surgery. The surgery was performed at the Santa María Clinic in Santiago, on 18 November 1981 by a team of 3 surgeons headed by Dr. Augusto Larraín Orrego, also comprising Drs. Patricio Silva Garín and Ivo Eterovic. Dr. Larraín at that time was a world-renowned gastric surgeon and also first-cousin of Andrés Zaldívar, one of Frei's closest advisers.

The initial surgery was considered a success, and after a few days, Frei was discharged to continue his recovery at his home. Nonetheless just a few days later he started experiencing fever and pains, so he was readmitted to the Santa María Clinic on 4 December. After a complete check, he was diagnosed with an intestinal occlusion and a partial necrosis of the small intestine. He underwent a second (corrective) surgery on 6 December; this time performed by Dr. Patricio Silva Garín.

Two days later, Frei suffered a septic shock, and little by little septicaemia set in. Eventually his immune system collapsed and Frei died on January 22, 1982. His death at the time was attributed to an infection by the fungus candida albicans, contracted either during surgery or due to hospital contamination. He was buried in the Cementerio General de Santiago.

Controversy

Frei's death is a matter of controversy due to allegations that he was poisoned by the DINA, the intelligence service of the military government, allegedly using a toxin produced by biochemist Eugenio Berrios. After Belgian researchers from the University of Ghent reportedly found mustard gas in Frei's body, the former president's family filed a lawsuit, which is still pending as of 2009^[1]. Frei's personal doctor, Patricio Rojas, who was also his minister of Interior and minister of defense during Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle's administration, has denied the accusations. El Mercurio columnist Hermógenes Pérez de Arce disputes even the existence of the Belgian report, citing the denial by the University's chief of communications, Tom de Smedt, that an investigation had been done in that university^[2].

In December 2009, six persons were arrested for their roles in the alleged assassination of Frei^[3]. Judge Alejandro Madrid based his decision on a report that determined that Frei was administered low doses of thallium and mustard gas over an extended period while he was hospitalized at the Santa María Clinic in Santiago, and that these toxic substances had the effect of decreasing Frei's immune system, making him too weak to survive his surgery"^[4]. Nonetheless, the report has been widely criticized on scientific basis as well as by the medical team that participated in the surgery^[5][6]. The arrests are widely seen as a desperate attempt to influence the 2009-2010 Presidential Elections, given their timing and the lack of credible evidence. The Appeals Court has suspended Judge Madrid from the case and the accused have been set free on bail. Criticism of the case and the judge has been almost universal, adding to the generalized public view that the Chilean Justice system is corrupt, inept, and subject to political manipulation.

Accused

• Dr. Patricio Silva Garín – Head of the second medical team
• Dr. Pedro Valdivia Soto – member of the medical team
• Dr. Helmar Rosenberg Gómez
• Dr. Sergio Gónzalez Bombardiere
• Luis Becerra Arancibia
• Raúl Lillo Gutierrez

Additional information

See also

• Chile under Allende
• Chile under Pinochet
• Augusto Pinochet
• Chilean coup of 1973
• Government Junta of Chile (1973)

References

1. ^ Ex-Chilean leader 'was murdered', BBC, 23 January 2007
2. ^ Pérez de Arce, Hermógenes (31 January 2007). "En el nivel 49" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. http://diario.elmercurio.cl/detalle/index.asp?id={f968a32e-86ba-47e3-a402-243fdd75ce72. Retrieved 10 February 2007. 
3. ^ "Six arrested over assassination of former Chilean president". Telegraph Online. London, UK. 7 December 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/chile/6755282/Six-arrested-over-assassination-of-former-Chilean-president.html. 
4. ^ "Detalles del auto de procesamiento contra médicos que lo operaron: "Con bajas dosis de Talio y gas mostaza durante varios meses asesinaron a Frei"" (in Spanish). El Mostrador. 9 December 2009. http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2009/12/07/con-bajas-dosis-de-talio-y-gas-mostaza-durante-varios-meses-asesinaron-a-frei/. Retrieved 10 December 2009. 
5. ^ "Caso Frei Montalva: Enrique Paris sostiene que hubo un grave error en las muestras procesadas en Chile" (in Spanish). La Segunda. Santiago, Chile. 22 December 2009. http://www.lasegunda.com/ediciononline/politica/detalle/index.asp?idnoticia=527775. 
6. ^ "Caso Frei Montalva. Carta del Dr. Fernando Orrego Vicuña" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. Santiago, Chile. 13 January 2010. http://blogs.elmercurio.com/columnasycartas/2010/01/13/caso-frei-montalva-ii-4.asp.