Pinochet at hospital to replace pacemaker

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet checked into an army hospital Thursday to undergo surgery to replace his 7-year-old pacemaker.

Retired Gen. Guillermo Garin said the 87-year-old Pinochet would be operated on after undergoing tests.

Garin, who has been Pinochet's main spokesman for the last two years, said the procedure had been scheduled since last month, when tests determined Pinochet needed a new device to control his heart beat. Pinochet suffers from mild dementia, arthritis and diabetes and has had several mild strokes since 1998.

He as lived largely in seclusion for the last three years, but he was seen in public last month when he vacationed in southern Chile with his wife and family.

Nearly 3,200 people were killed during Pinochet's 1973-90 reign, mainly for political reasons, according to an investigation by the civilian government that succeeded him.

Chile's Supreme Court ruled last year that Pinochet is mentally and physically unfit to stand trial.