Bottles of cyanide, jumps and vacuum shots: the suicides of world leaders and dictators in the last century

Before the former president of Peru, other former heads of state and leaders of their country had decided to make the same final decision because of their embarrbadment or their last escape from a marked destination. Plots of corruption, ethnic crimes, political pressure or incurable diseases are some of the reasons that have pushed different figures in the history of the world. to suicide in the last century.

The death of no dictator in the history of humanity has generated so much conspiracy theories like the genocide Adolf Hitler. The official version about his suicide on April 30, 1945 in a bunker with his wife, Eva Braunhas been refuted hundreds of times by different theories, each more absurd than the previous one.

Many have claimed that the death of the German dictator was a theater, an entanglement that sought only to cover his flight. While some insured that he had traveled in submarine to Argentina, others argued that he had been hiding in a base in Antarctica. There were also those who claimed that he had escaped to the moon thanks to the technology developed by the Nazis during his dictatorship.

However, a 2018 study excluded all versions and confirmed the cause of the death of the German genocide. This could be confirmed thanks to the authorization of the secret services of the Russian FSB and to the State archives which allowed examine the remains of the dictator for the first time since their discovery in 1946.

"The teeth are genuine, there is no doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945, "Professor Philippe Charlier told AFP.

The examination of the prosthesis proved that Adolf Hitler died after consume cyanide and hit a ball. Historians argue that the dictator decided to commit suicide when Soviet troops took Berlin and ended the Second World War.

Getulio Vargas, Brazil, 1954

"I serenely take the first step on the road to eternity and I come out of life to get into history", wrote Getulio Vargas in his will.

On August 24, 1954, one of the most famous presidents of Brazil of the twentieth century decided to end his life in his room Cadet Palace, in Rio de Janeiro.

Getulio Vargas's political profile is as disconcerting as the strange circumstances surrounding his death. He came to power for the first time in 1930, as provisional president after the revolution of the same year that overthrew to the president of Washington, Luis.

Getulio Vargas remained in power as provisional leader until 1934, when he was elected indirectly during constitutional government. His grip on senior management exasperated supporters of democratic movements, a hostility that explodes the beginning of a civil war and he climaxed with Getulio Vargas as dictator of the country.

In 1937, Vargas proclaimed the Estado Novo, a model of management characterized by authoritarianism and a vigorous industrial policy that will last until 1945. Several years after the end of his dictatorship, in 1951, the Brazilians reelected him at the ballot box and he ruled democratically until in 1954, when he decided to commit suicide a direct blow to the heart.

The Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) revealed that the President had written a letter accusing the "enemies of Brazil" to be responsible for his suicide. He was referring to international groups, allied to trainings in Brazil, not supporting his proposals, such as the "work guarantee".

According to the foundation, the true intention of Vargas It was "devote a martyr" and that his name will be consolidated "in the Brazilian political pantheon" and be badociated with the "flag of national interests and work".

Salvador Allende, Chile, 1973

Since his death in 1973, different versions and theories involved in an enigma the death of Salvador Allende, one of the most iconic and recognized presidents in history.

His supporters refused to accept that on September 11, 1973, the The President of Chile would have ended his days. However, his family has always suspected that this was his end.

This day of 1973, the general Augusto Pinochet had walked with his troops at the presidential palace during his military state coup. It was said that on entering the building, the dictator killed Salvador Allende, who He became a martyr. However, an autopsy showed that the story did not unfold as well.

In 2011, a judge ordered the exhumation of the bodyas part of a human rights inquiry. The autopsy determined that the Socialist politician ends his life with a bullet in his head.

"We mean, in clear and simple terms, that we have a great peace because this report concludes something in which we have been convinced. And the conclusion of the Allende family is as follows: President Allende, on September 11, 1973, in the extreme circumstances in which he lived, He made the decision to end his life instead of being humiliated or live in any situation, "wrote the daughter of the former president, the Chilean Senator Isabel Allende Bussi.

Salvador Allende became in 1970 the first socialist to reach the government of a country in Latin America through the polls and the first to lead with the support of communism. It is said that the gun that he committed suicide was a gift Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Antonio Guzmán, Dominican Republic, 1982

The reason why the Dominican Antonio Guzmán decided to commit suicide one month after the end of his presidential term it remains a mystery. What has been confirmed is that at the dawn of July 4, 1982, the President of the Dominican Republic put an end to his life from a shot in the head.

According to a research published by The New York Times in 1982, "his death was partly intended prevent a major investigation by the new government ", and that's what the newspaper explained, Antonio Guzmán had been involved in a corruption case.

The Dominican politician He came to power in 1978, at the age of 71.. His election put an end to decades of right-wing rule and became the first peaceful transfer of the Dominican Republic.

With his mandate, political stability came to a country that had emerged only in 1961 from the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo Medina. Antonio Guzmán depoliticized the armed forces, authorized the return of all exiles, released political prisoners and respected the press.

Citizens appreciated their work and judged their management honest. However, shortly before his death, the president would have discovered a plot that would forever damage his image and that of his party: members of his administration. they had embezzled millions of dollars to private bank accounts abroadat a time when the economy of the Dominican Republic was stagnating.

The parents of the president and the Dominican government claimed that the death of the president It had been an accident "to allow the burial of the president in a Catholic cemetery", he then said. The New York Times.

For the American newspaper, his death was a reflection of one of the main weaknesses of the country, previously unexposed: public corruption

Carlos Roberto Reina, Honduras, 2003

In August 2003, the autopsy confirmed a story already suspected by some: the death of the former president of Honduras, Carlos Roberto Reina, was due to suicide.

"He's committed suicide." The autopsy indicates that I had a bullet in the side of the head"said a public prosecutor Reuters.

On August 19, 2003, the former president of Honduras, between 1994 and 1998, was holding a firearm at his home in Tegucigalpa, He looked at his head and squeezed the trigger. He felt overwhelmed by pancreatic cancer that he did not have a good prognosis, which led him to end his life.

His death touched the Honduran society, which reminds him of having submitted to the army, to whom the civil power was subordinated. Until 1982, Honduras had been subjected to many military dictatorships and Roberto Reina had committed to do not let the armed forces intervene in political power.

At the time he was in power, the president embarked on a "moral revolution" to fight corruption. During his life, he was also a professor at the Faculty of Law of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, and President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

He fought for more than 50 years in the liberal party, formation with which he won the elections in 1993.

Roh Moo-Hyun, South Korea, 2009

On May 23, 2009, Roh Moo-Hyun, President of South Korea between 2003 and 2008, went for a walk a high rocky mountain located next to your house. When his bodyguard is far enough away from him, the former president jumped into the void from the ravine.

Although the possibility that it was an incident was considered, his family quickly discovered the truth. On a computer, Roh Moo-Hyun He had left a note to his family. He asked his relatives not to cry and understand that he had faced "very difficult times," according to the South Korean agency. Yonhap.

"I'm in debt to too many people. Too many people have suffered because of me. And I can not imagine his suffering in the future, "said the note.

The 62-year-old manager was referring to his letter at the current investigation, and that he badyzed his involvement in a case of millionaire bribes, for which he would have received up to 6 million USD during his tenure.

On April 30, 2009, almost a month before committing suicide, Roh Moo-Hyun admitted in court that he was involved in a corruption scandal.

He explained that his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, had accepted money from a shoe mogul, Park Yeon-cha, known in the country for leading the Taekwang Industry Company and for his numerous bribes to senior officials of the old administration. President.

Slobodan Praljak has committed suicide live during the appeal hearing before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Video: Reuters)

Slobodan Praljak, a politician and former Bosnian Croat commander, surrendered on 29 November 2017 to the International Court of Justice, which was preparing him for war crimes perpetrated during the Bosnian war (1992-1995).

Slobodan Praljak was accused of having commanded the military command that during the conflict He executed tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims. According to official figures, out of 100,000 deaths, 68% professed Islam.

Hidden in a pocket, Slobodan Praljak was heard at the hearing hearing. a bottle of cyanide. Reading the judgment, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia he found him guilty "to have made no serious effort to arrest his soldiers" and to be responsible, along with five other Bosnian Croat politicians, for a "joint criminal strategy aimed at ethnic cleansing " in the cities of Mostar and Prozor.

After his statement, the judges sentenced Praljak to 20 years in prison. Seconds later, what happened shocked the world.

Slobodan Praljak, 72, defended his innocence and shouted that he was not a war criminal. In front of dozens of cameras and international media who followed their legal proceedings, the former soldier took out a bottle and drank it live. The liquid was cyanide: he had committed suicide before the members of the Court.