Did he persecute people like Pinochet did? Calling him a dictator is like having someone saying that misgendering them caused them PTSD: it is putting war induced trauma in the same bag as whatever misgendering is.
I was alluding to the time he brought the military into the legislature to force through his 'crime package.' [1]
Belorussian leader Alexander Lukashenko refers to himself as the "last dictator in Europe" and I don't think he "persecutes people like Pinochet." He was also elected.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2020/02/10/804407503/troops-occupy-el-sa...
I realize it happens outside of Central and South America, but it's suggestive that there's a specific word.