General Augusto Pinochet, Chile’s former military dictator who has died at the age of 91, was one of the most controversial figures in twentieth-century Latin America.

In his latter years, sustained efforts first by Britain and Spain and then by a string of Chilean judges to bring him to trial for human rights abuses made headlines around the world and highlighted the two sides of his legacy: on the one hand he presided over what was undoubtedly a murderous regime; on the other he was the man who paved the way for Chile’s economic prosperity.