María Lucía Hiriart Rodríguez (10 December 1923 – 16 December 2021), also known as Lucía Hiriart de Pinochet, was married to former Chilean dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

Early life and education

Hiriart was born into a wealthy family in

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

, on 10 December 1923 to Osvaldo Hiriart Corvalán, a lawyer, former Radical Party senator, and former Interior Minister of president Juan Antonio Ríos; and Lucía Rodríguez Auda de Hiriart, of Basque French descent.

Legal accusations

Famille de Pinochet lors de ses funérailles

In 2005, Hiriart was sued by Chile’s Internal Tax Service (''Servicio de Impuestos Internos'') over tax evasion totaling US$2.35 million and was arrested with her son Marco Antonio a few months later. In October 2007, she was arrested again in the frame of the

Riggs Bank Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financia ...

case, along with Pinochet's five children and 17 other people (including two generals, one of his former lawyers and his former secretary) on charges of embezzlement and use of false passports. They were accused of having illegally transferred $27m (£13.2m) to foreign bank accounts during Pinochet's rule. In August 2016, Hiriart was accused of using funds from her

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

, CEMA Chile. During Pinochet's time under house arrest in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, two separate transfers were made from Chile to herself, in 1998 and 1999. Each transfer was totaled to be $50,000. According to the prosecutors, the money was used to pay for Pinochet's living expenses. Hiriart was sued by two

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

lawmakers from Chile, Hugo Gutierrez and Karol Cariola, along with the Relatives of Disappeared Detainees Group (AFDD) for misuse of public assets owned by CEMA Chile for misappropriation of public assets, tax fraud, and embezzlement. CEMA Chile is accused of illegally acquiring more than 30 properties for more than $18 million. During the investigation, Hiriart resigned following a news report from November 2015 stating that she had used sales and rentals of public lands from CEMA Chile for her own benefit.

Personal life and death

On 30 January 1943, Hiriart married Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, then a Chilean Army Infantry School lieutenant. They had five children – three daughters ( Inés Lucía, María Verónica, and Jacqueline Marie) and two sons (Augusto Osvaldo and Marco Antonio). On 30 December 2018, Hiriart was hospitalized after falling at her home in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

and fracturing her arm and several ribs. Hiriart died from heart failure in Santiago on 16 December 2021, at the age of 98.

References

External links

Analysis of her arrest

Confirmation of death
* CEMA Chile {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiriart, Lucia 1923 births 2021 deaths First Ladies of Chile Chilean people of French descent Chilean Roman Catholics People from Antofagasta Pinochet family Chilean anti-communists Deaths from congestive heart failure