A Chilean judge on Thursday ordered the arrest of the widow and five children of late dictator Augusto Pinochet as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption, judicial sources in Santiago said. Judge Carlos Cerda also ordered the arrest of several retired military officers from the Pinochet era, and the sources told Reuters that arrest warrants also had been issued for other friends and associates of the former dictator. “This is a judicial decision,” Interior Minister Felipe Harboe told reporters. “The courts have ordered the arrests, and they are being carried out.” Pinochet, who ruled Chile from 1973 until 1990, died last year without being brought to trial to face corruption and human-rights charges. In 2005, Pinochet was charged with tax evasion linked to an estimated $27 million hidden in more than 100 bank accounts outside of Chile. He also was being investigated for fraud and embezzlement related to that money.
