BRASILIA, Brazil Alfredo Stroessner, the canny anti-communist general who ruled Paraguay for decades with a blend of force, guile and patronage before his ouster in 1989, died in exile on Wednesday.

Ten years ago this week, Army General Alfredo Stroessner seized control of Paraguay in a classic South American palace coup. He is still the landlocked little nation’s undisputed Numero Uno. But no ...