PLOT THICKENS IN CHILE’S WEAPONS TRAFFICKING CASES

Investigations into illegal weapons sales to Croatia in the early 1990s and the mysterious death of Col. Gerardo Huber advanced rapidly this week, as new discoveries from the Riggs Bank case shed light on the motives behind decades of arms purchases, bribes, murders and – perhaps – the origin of former dictator Augusto Pinochet’s secret wealth.

New evidence discovered by Judge Claudio Pavez has conclusively linked Huber’s 1992 death to the Riggs Bank case, an inquiry into former Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s private fortune, which is hidden in numerous offshore bank accounts. Pavez, lead investigator for the court reviewing the Huber case, asked for the appointment of a civilian judge to his military panel of investigators on Sept 27.

Col. Huber disappeared on Jan. 29, 1992, two months after United Nations (UN) officials in Hungary seized a Chilean shipment of weapons bound for the Balkan state of Croatia. The country was then under a UN arms embargo for its part in the Balkan War and the weapons shipment was illegal.