Abelardo de la Cruz Cortes Contreras
Comerciante Feria Libre — 39 years old.
Background
Abelardo de la Cruz Cortes Contreras
Comerciante Feria Libre — 39 years old.
Case summary
Abelardo De La Cruz Cortes Contreras, a 39-year-old merchant with no political affiliation, was executed by State agents on September 19, 1973. He was detained by Carabineros along with a friend in Quinta Normal after being falsely accused of stealing a gas cylinder while waiting in line to purchase one. Their bodies were subsequently found at the Instituto Médico Legal.
Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos[1]
Román Armando Castillo and Abelardo de la Cruz Cortés Contreras died that day at 15:00 hours, at the corner of Calle Carrascal and José Tobías, due to cervical, thoracic, and extremity gunshot wounds with projectile exit, as recorded in the Medical Death Certificate from the Legal Medical Institute.
According to witness statements, around 13:00 hours on September 19, Román Castillo and Abelardo Cortés went to buy liquefied gas at a distributor located on Calle Carrascal, in the commune of Quinta Normal.
While Abelardo Cortés was waiting in line, Román Castillo crossed the street to a restaurant located opposite. Under those circumstances, an incident occurred because a woman accused Cortés of having stolen one of the gas cylinders.
Carabineros officers arrived at the scene and took Abelardo Cortés and Román Castillo, who had intervened in the incident to help him, into custody. Together, they were taken to an unknown destination.
Subsequently, their bodies were located by their relatives at the Legal Medical Institute.
Considering the background information gathered and the investigation carried out by this Corporation, the Superior Council reached the conviction that Román Armando Castillo and Abelardo de la Cruz Cortés Contreras, while in custody, were extrajudicially executed by State agents. For this reason, it declared them victims of human rights violations.
References
- 1Museum of Memoryhttps://interactivos.museodelamemoria.cl/victims/?p=169