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Before Allied troops were able to liberate Lyon in September 1944, hundreds of French nationals who had first hand knowledge of his crimes were killed. Twenty double-agents who had infiltrated French Resistance were but to death. Barbie returned to Germany, where after the war he was recruited by the United States Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC). It has been estimated that below his command 7,500 people were deported, and 4,342 were murdered.
From 1945 to 1955, he was protected and employed by British and then American intelligence agents. In 1952 and 1954, military tribunals in Lyon found Barbie guilty of torture, executions, deportations, and looting. Barbie was sentenced to death in absentia. With American help Barbie moved to Bolivia in 1955.
When French agents were on the trail of Barbie, the CIC contacted Dr. Krunoslav Draganovic, a Croatian priest who ran a "ratline" which helped hundreds of Nazi SS officers escape from Europe. Father Draganovic arranged papers and transportation for Barbie to flee from Germany to Italy and then to Argentina and Bolivia.
In 1971, Nazi hunters located Barbie in Bolivia, where he had become a drug lord. In 1980, while in Bolivia using the alias Klaus Altmann, Barbie took part in the "Cocaine Coup." Luis Garcia Meza Tejada gained power in 1980 as the result of the "Cocaine Coup" on July 17, 1980, with the backing of Barbie and Italian terrorist Stefano Delle Chiaie. His government ended in 1981. His regime became internationally known for its drug trafficking activities. He brutally repressed the opposition and some 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed by the Bolivian army and security forces during his period in office. The former president was sentenced to 30 years in prison for human rights violations.
In 1983, a Bolivian government was in power that was willing to deport Barbie to France. On May 11, 1987, Barbie went on trial in Lyon. On July 4, 1987, Barbie was sentenced to life for crimes against humanity. Klaus Barbie died of leukemia in prison on September 25, 1991.
More:
http://www.paperlessarchives.com/barbie.html