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BRASILIA (AFP) - Paraguay's former dictator Alfredo Stroessner, a ruthless anti-communist Cold War general who ruled the impoverished nation from 1954 to 1989, died in exile in Brazil.
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Stroessner, 93, died of an infection caused by the pneumonia he developed after being operated for a hernia last month, according to a doctor at Brasilia's Santa Luzia hospital.
"He was surrounded by his entire family," said Alfredo "Goli" Stroessner, the former general's grandson and a leader of the governing Colorado Party that had supported the dictatorship. "He died in absolute tranquility."
Stroessner had lived in Brazil since he was ousted in a 1989 military coup and was hospitalized in late July.
His grandson hailed him as a man "who profoundly loved his country ... a great Paraguayan."
But Senator Domingo Laino, once a leading opponent of the military dictatorship, said the former strongman would be remembered as "one of the bloodiest Latin American dictators of the 20th century."
Stroessner's rule was among the most brutal in the history of a country plagued by considerable bloodshed since its independence in 1811.
At least 1,000 opponents were abducted and presumed killed. Opponents of the dictatorship put the number of dead at 3,000. In addition, some two million Paraguayans fled the country under Stroessner.
"He was a ruthless, intolerant man," said Laina, once considered the most prominent opponent of the dictatorship and now an opposition senator.
"He did not allow any criticism, he committed atrocious crimes," said Laina, who was tortured and later exiled during the dictatorship after writing a book critical of Stroessner.
Stroessner had also drawn international criticism for granting asylum to Nazi war criminals, including Josef Mengele, the infamous "Angel of Death" at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
After rising to power in a 1954 coup, Stroessner, the son of a Bavarian brewer and a Paraguayan woman, clung to power for 34 years winning eight rigged elections and drawing Cold War support from the United States.
He fostered a cult of personality, with streets, squares, hospitals, schools and even entire cities bearing his name.
His court was stacked with civilians and military men, many of them involved in lucrative businesses such as drug trafficking and auto smuggling.
In an impoverished and mostly rural country, his family amassed a fortune as he consolidated power. A former wife of one of his sons, Maria Eugenia Heikel, estimated the family fortune at 300 million dollars.
Stroessner also created a politico-religious sect, still in existence, called People of God -- referred to as Catholic, apostolic and Paraguayan -- in which he was portrayed in retouched psalms as having been sent by God.
A huge photograph of the general adorned the entrance of a People of God congregation resplendent with Old Testament paintings.
Highways were lined with signs with his image, and statues of him bore his beloved motto: "Peace and Progress with Stroessner."
After his February 3, 1989 ouster, the longtime dictator -- dubbed the "Tyrannosaurus" -- fled to exile in Brazil to avoid prosecution for human rights violations.
Paraguayan media said the strongman, nicknamed "El Rubio" ("The Blond") and once an imposing general who stood nearly two meters (6.6 feet,) suffered from cancer and had wasted away to just 45 kilos (99 pounds) when he died.
Relatives said they had not decided yet whether to repatriate the body.
Victims of the dictatorship have said they would stage protests if the body is sent to Paraguay for burial.
Doesn't he resemble Hitler:
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Stroessner, 93, died of an infection caused by the pneumonia he developed after being operated for a hernia last month, according to a doctor at Brasilia's Santa Luzia hospital.
"He was surrounded by his entire family," said Alfredo "Goli" Stroessner, the former general's grandson and a leader of the governing Colorado Party that had supported the dictatorship. "He died in absolute tranquility."
Stroessner had lived in Brazil since he was ousted in a 1989 military coup and was hospitalized in late July.
His grandson hailed him as a man "who profoundly loved his country ... a great Paraguayan."
But Senator Domingo Laino, once a leading opponent of the military dictatorship, said the former strongman would be remembered as "one of the bloodiest Latin American dictators of the 20th century."
Stroessner's rule was among the most brutal in the history of a country plagued by considerable bloodshed since its independence in 1811.
At least 1,000 opponents were abducted and presumed killed. Opponents of the dictatorship put the number of dead at 3,000. In addition, some two million Paraguayans fled the country under Stroessner.
"He was a ruthless, intolerant man," said Laina, once considered the most prominent opponent of the dictatorship and now an opposition senator.
"He did not allow any criticism, he committed atrocious crimes," said Laina, who was tortured and later exiled during the dictatorship after writing a book critical of Stroessner.
Stroessner had also drawn international criticism for granting asylum to Nazi war criminals, including Josef Mengele, the infamous "Angel of Death" at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
After rising to power in a 1954 coup, Stroessner, the son of a Bavarian brewer and a Paraguayan woman, clung to power for 34 years winning eight rigged elections and drawing Cold War support from the United States.
He fostered a cult of personality, with streets, squares, hospitals, schools and even entire cities bearing his name.
His court was stacked with civilians and military men, many of them involved in lucrative businesses such as drug trafficking and auto smuggling.
In an impoverished and mostly rural country, his family amassed a fortune as he consolidated power. A former wife of one of his sons, Maria Eugenia Heikel, estimated the family fortune at 300 million dollars.
Stroessner also created a politico-religious sect, still in existence, called People of God -- referred to as Catholic, apostolic and Paraguayan -- in which he was portrayed in retouched psalms as having been sent by God.
A huge photograph of the general adorned the entrance of a People of God congregation resplendent with Old Testament paintings.
Highways were lined with signs with his image, and statues of him bore his beloved motto: "Peace and Progress with Stroessner."
After his February 3, 1989 ouster, the longtime dictator -- dubbed the "Tyrannosaurus" -- fled to exile in Brazil to avoid prosecution for human rights violations.
Paraguayan media said the strongman, nicknamed "El Rubio" ("The Blond") and once an imposing general who stood nearly two meters (6.6 feet,) suffered from cancer and had wasted away to just 45 kilos (99 pounds) when he died.
Relatives said they had not decided yet whether to repatriate the body.
Victims of the dictatorship have said they would stage protests if the body is sent to Paraguay for burial.
Doesn't he resemble Hitler: