Six charged with 1982 killing in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Six people have been charged with killing former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Montalva, an outspoken opponent of dictator Augusto Pinochet, in 1982.

Frei was recovering from routine surgery when he died and, at the time, his death was attributed to an infection.

Four of those charged with his death are doctors, Merco Press reported. Two performed the surgery and two the autopsy.

"The death of the former president came about as a result of the gradual introduction into his system of unusual, toxic substances ... which broke down his immune system," Judge Alejandro Madrid said Monday.

Frei's son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, served as president from 1994 to 2000 and is running for president in Sunday's election. He is the candidate of the center-left coalition led by President Michelle Bachelet.

Pinochet, an Army general, led the coup that ousted and killed Marxist President Salvador Allende in 1973 and remained in power until 1990.

Frei, who defeated Allende for president in 1964, at first supported the Pinochet regime but later became an opponent. He was allegedly considered a threat because he was respected by parties from the Communists to the Conservatives.