The Santiago Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence that convicted Carlos Arturo Abatte Gago as the perpetrator of the crime of simple homicide of Air Force non-commissioned officer Hugo Octavio Huerta Salinas, committed on January 23, 1974, at the intersection of Avenida Irarrázaval and Avenida Vicuña Mackenna, in the commune of Ñuñoa.

In a unanimous ruling, the Fifth Chamber of the appellate court—composed of justices Mauricio Silva Cancino, Jessica González, and Enrique Durán—ratified the resolution that sentenced Abatte Gago, an Army conscript soldier at the time of the events, to a penalty of 3 years and one day of imprisonment, with the benefit of intensive supervised release.

In the first-instance ruling, Justice Mario Carroza convicted Abatte Gago for his responsibility in the homicide of Huerta Salinas, who was serving as an escort for the then-Minister of Public Works, General Sergio Figueroa Gutiérrez.

During the investigation stage, Justice Carroza was able to establish the following facts:

“During the curfew in force at that time, on January 23, 1974, in the early hours of the morning, the victim Hugo Octavio Huerta Salinas, a 1st class soldier of the Chilean Air Force, who was serving as an escort for the then-Minister of Public Works, General Sergio Figueroa Gutiérrez, was returning from carrying out his duties in an official vehicle traveling west on Avenida Irarrázaval, driven by 1st Corporal Luis Jorge Acevedo Aros.”

“Before reaching the intersection with Avenida Vicuña Mackenna, one of the members of a patrol from the Army School of Telecommunications, composed of a Reserve Corporal and two soldiers, upon the vehicle failing to stop, fired his 7.62 caliber SIG rifle, with the bullet striking soldier Huerta Salinas in the skull; he was taken by his companion to the Posta Central, but his injuries ultimately caused his death.”

Regarding the civil aspect, the court confirmed the sentence that ordered the State of Chile to pay a total indemnity of $110,000,000 to the victim's family members.

Source: lanacion.cl, October 23, 2017