Former Paraguayan dictator buried

BRASILIA, Brazil - Former Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner was buried Thursday in the Brazilian capital where he had lived in exile for the last 17 years. Surrounded by dozens of family members and friends, the former general was buried in a navy blue suit with the insignia of his Colorado Party, in a coffin draped with the flags of the party and Paraguay. Stroessner, 93, died of a stroke Wednesday with his family gathered around him at a local hospital. His grandson Alfredo Dominguez Stroessner said the family had considered returning the body to Encarnacion, the Paraguayan city where Stroessner was born, but decided to bury him in Brasilia. The former dictator's attorney, however, said it was possible his body would be later be returned to Paraguay. From his residence in Brasilia's exclusive South Lake district, Stroessner's coffin was accompanied to a cemetery by his son Gustavo, his daughter Graciela and 27 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Stroessner seized power in a 1954 coup and held it until he was ousted by his own generals in 1989. He was accused of repression and human rights violations and was hated by many in Paraguay. Yet he was also credited for major public works projects that modernized the country. Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte said there were no plans to honor him after his death. A staunch US ally, Stroessner made Paraguay a refuge for some Nazi war criminals among 200,000 Germans he sheltered after World War II, including Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous "Angel of Death" at Auschwitz. The general described virtually all his opponents as Marxist subversives bent on returning the country to political chaos.-GMANews.TV