In Chile, a museum dedicated to victims of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship prepares to open

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Chile plans to open the Museum of Memory and Human Rights on Jan. 11 dedicated to the 31,000 murder, torture and kidnapping victims of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

The $19-million museum in downtown Santiago is expected to include exhibits, photographs, records and first-person accounts from victims and relatives. Pinochet, the leader of a military junta that took over the government in 1973, became president and remained in power until 1990.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, whose father was an air force general who opposed Pinochet and died of heart failure under torture, led efforts for the museum. Brazilian architect Mario Figueroa designed the three-story structure.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.