For 35 years, Alfredo Stroessner was the most powerful man in Paraguay. His government, between 1954 and 1989, was marked by relentless repression, state-sponsored murder, widespread corruption, and even rumors of a pedophile ring working under his auspices. Mr. Stroessner also turned his country into a safe haven for exiled Nazis, being a late-in-life home Dr. Josef Mengele, nicknamed the “Angel of Death” due to his experiments on children in Auschwitz. He would eventually drown on a Brazilian beach in 1979.
However, decades after Mr. Stroessner’s ouster, the dictator’s figure still haunts Paraguay — and a decision by a Brazilian court means that this past literally refuses to stay buried.
After being pushed out of the presidency, Mr. Stroessner sought refuge in Brazil — where he lived until expiring in 2006 due to complications following a hernia operation, at 93 years old. He left an estate rumored at over USD 20...
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