■ Chile
Pinochet granted bail
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was granted bail on Monday after seven weeks of house arrest on charges related to the disappearance and presumed death of three leftists during his 17-year rule. The motion by Judge Victor Montiglio, who suggested a bail of US$19,000, must be ratified by the court of appeals and a ruling is expected this week. Pinochet, 90, ran Chile from 1973-1990, an era in which an estimated 3,000 people died in political violence and some 28,000 people were tortured. Last week the court of appeals ratified bail for the retired general in the cases of six other leftists kidnapped and presumed killed as part of a government crackdown during the Pinochet regime that became known as Operation Colombo.
■ El Salvador
Pirate vendors protest
Street vendors who make a living from selling pirated films and music albums protested in the capital, San Salvador, on Monday against government plans to seize their counterfeit goods. The vendors, many of whom covered their faces with scarves, carried signs protesting plans by the authorities to begin seizing their goods in coming days in accord with government reforms following the sealing of a free trade agreement with the US. "We're asking the president of the republic not to approve the legal reforms as long as we have no other job opportunities," Martin Montoya, a spokesman for the street vendors, told reporters.
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