2019-09-02 Bloomberg Businessweek

There are certainelements a good

winemakershouldknow.Soilrichin

iron,forexample,givesmerlotsand

malbecsnotesoftobacco,graphite,and

mushroom.Calciumand magnesium

givepinotsthetangofearth,anise,and

spices.Butthere’sanotherelementthat

CarlosCardoen,a winemakerinChile’s

bucolicColchaguaValley,is familiarwith

forverydifferentreasons.

Acivil engineerwith a doctorate

in metals science, Cardoen started

anexplosivescompanyinthe1970s

meanttoservetheminingindustry.

Withregionaltensionsrising,Chile’s

then dictator, Augusto Pinochet,

askedhimtostartmakingbombsand

landmines.Cardoen’sbusinesssoon

expandedinternationally, and Iraqi

leaderSaddamHusseinbecamea fan

ofhiszirconium-lacedclusterbombs,

designedtoblowupandburna target

onimpact.

Launchedfromairorground,clus-

termunitionscanbebomblets,chem-

icals,orbiologicalweapons.Theycan

kill indiscriminately across a wide

swathof territory,and left undeto-

natedthey’re dangerous longafter

a conflictends.The Conventionon

ClusterMunitions,ratified

by 120 countriesincluding

Chile,prohibitstheiruse,

butthey were common

duringIraq’swars,respon-

sibleforthousandsofcivil-

iandeaths.

In 1993 theU.S.govern-

ment charged Cardoen

withimproperlyexport-

ing zirconium, effec-

tively confining him to

Chile.Hecontinuedbuildinghiscom-

mercialempirethere,spanningmin-

ing,agriculture,tourism,renewable

energy,and,of course, wine.Inso

doing,hecultivatedrelationshipswith

politiciansandbusinesspeopleofall

stripes.ManyChileanshailedhimas

a heroandvisionaryafterhehelped

rebuildcommunitiesdevastatedbya

massiveearthquakein2010.Hisonce

sleepyhometownof

SantaCruzbecame

an international

tourist destina-

tion,witha luxury

hotel, a person-

allycuratedhistory

museum, and the

winery,renowned

forrichanddiverse

soilthatproduces

grapessuchascar-

ménère,cabernetsauvignon,andtem-

pranillo.Thewinesarebrandedwith

namesdrawnfromChile’sindigenous

peoples:Aymara,Mapuche,RapaNui.

Thatit’sanidyllforoenophilesis

fortunateforCardoen,now77,who

wasplacedunderhousearrestinApril

afteranextraditionrequestbytheU.S.

Hedeclinedtocommentonthecase,

but hislongtimelawyer,JuanPablo

Hermosilla,calls it “fragile,”saying

theU.S.madetheextraditionrequest

“simplytokeepthered alert valid until

he dies.” Hermosilla speculates that

Interpol, in renewing the notice last

year, told the U.S. it needed to do some-

thing to pursue the case—“what they

should have done 26 years ago.” He

adds, “It shows bad faith. They always

knew where Carlos was.”

Some Chileans who’ve been avidly

following the saga, however, hope it will

close an open wound from the Pinochet

era. Rodrigo Avilez, a 47-year-old accoun-

tant who grew up under the regime, says

the case has brought back bad memo-

ries. “Justice is delayed,” he says, “but

justice arrives eventually.” <BW>

Bloomberg Businessweek / SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 THE ELEMENTS

By Daniela Guzmán Carlos Cardoen sold weapons to Saddam Hussein, then became

a renowned winemaker in Chile. The U.S. wants him extradited

40

Zr

Zirconium

◼ Zirconium $13 / kg Unwrought import, China market

The Bombmaking Vintner of Colchagua

The4th TacticalFighter

Wing ordnancedisposal

team detonatesa cluster

bomb duringOperation

Desert StorminIraq

CardoenwithHussein

47