BRASILIA, Brazil, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Former Paraguay military dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled from 1954 until his ouster in 1989, has died in exile in Brazil at the age of 93.
Stroessner died Wednesday in a hospital in Brasilia after contracting pneumonia following a hernia operation last month, reports the BBC.
Stroessner, who took over power in Paraguay after a military coup in 1954, was regarded as a fugitive from justice in his country where he was wanted for questioning over alleged rights abuses.
Stroessner was accused of being sympathetic to former Nazis who were given asylum in Paraguay including the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele.
In 1948, Stroessner was made brigadier general in the army, the youngest in South America to gain that rank. After Fidel Castro of Cuba, Stroessner had the longest tenure in office.
Stroessner detested communism and did not allow any communist nation except Yugoslavia to have an embassy in his country, says the report. Among his achievements, he was well regarded for repaying World Bank loans to his government.
