Minister Álvaro Mesa issues indictments against retired Carabineros for homicide and aggravated kidnapping in Curacautín and Cunco.

The minister in extraordinary visitation issued an indictment in the proceedings he is substantiating for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping and homicide, illicit acts perpetrated in Cunco and Curacautín, in 1973 and 1989, respectively.

The minister in extraordinary visitation for human rights violation cases in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued an indictment in the proceedings he is substantiating for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping and homicide, illicit acts perpetrated in Cunco and Curacautín, in 1973 and 1989, respectively.

In the first resolution (Case No. 114.103), the visiting minister issued an indictment against retired Carabinero Gamaliel Soto Segura, as the perpetrator of the crime of aggravated kidnapping of peasant leader Alejandro Ancoa Paine.

This illicit act was perpetrated in the commune of Cunco, beginning on September 26, 1973. During the investigation stage of the case, Minister Mesa Latorre managed to establish the following facts:

A.-

That after September 11, 1973, as a result of an order issued nationwide to the armed and law enforcement institutions, the Cunco Carabineros Station increased its personnel as the lower units of the Los Laureles and Las Hortensias outposts were withdrawn, with the uniformed officers having to sleep at the unit, as the order compelled them to remain in a state of barracks confinement or Grade 1 alert, requiring the officers from the outposts to travel during the day to their respective workplaces and fulfill their duties.

B.-

That starting from that date, personnel from those units began to detain individuals who had political ties or social relevance, including public officials from the same commune (e.g., hospital staff, CORA, SAG, teachers), and peasants who had participated in the settlements located in rural sectors, among others.

These individuals were taken to the Cunco Carabineros Station and placed in the cells, with no record made of their detention and/or entry in the corresponding logs ( fs. 109, fs. 131, fs. 261 to fs. 262, among other records ).

These apprehensions were carried out by the head of the unit, Oscar Troncoso Chacón ( deceased, according to fs. 107 ), along with a group of his trusted subordinates, including Carabinero Gamaliel Soto Segura, nicknamed ‘Malelo', who were also dedicated to interrogating the detainees at the station, subjecting them, furthermore, to physical illegitimate coercion on different parts of their bodies ( fs. 72 to 73, fs. 85, fs. 88, fs. 89, fs. 92, fs. 102, fs. 125, fs. 131, fs. 133, fs. 134, fs. 138, fs. 152, fs. 205, fs. 264, fs. 274, fs. 283, fs. 553, among other records ).

The individuals to be apprehended were included on a list that Gamaliel Soto Segura himself carried and which was known to other officers at the Cunco Station ( fs. 130 ).

C.-

That on September 26, 1973, Alejandro Ancao Paine, a widower, father of one daughter, peasant leader, and member of the Revolutionary Peasant Movement, traveled with a cousin from the Quechurehue sector to Cunco to conduct business at the Banco del Estado in that commune ( fs. 17, fs. 19, fs. 614 ), arriving around 11:00 a.m. at those offices, but was summoned again at 1:00 p.m. to that location, asking his cousin to wait for him, as he wanted to return to the settlement soon ( fs. 614 ).

Before returning for his second appointment at the Banco Estado, Alejandro Ancao Paine was located by Moisés Fritz Mosquera, who warned him that he was being sought by the Carabineros of the Cunco Station, including Gamaliel Soto and other officers, because he had spoken with them and they were carrying a list of people, among whom were Ancao Paine and Francisco Quidel, and that they had orders from outside to ‘take them down', that is, to eliminate them.

Fritz suggested to Ancao that he should flee, but Ancao indicated that he had passed in front of the unit and nothing had happened to him ( 59 et seq., fs. 205 et seq. ).

D.-

That on the same day, September 26, Alejandro Ancao Paine was detained by officers of the Cunco Carabineros Station, including Carabinero Gamaliel Soto Segura, and placed in the unit's cells. There, he was seen by Juan Carlos Riveras Guzmán, a SAG official from the commune of Cunco who was being held in the barracks' cells, who observed that, like himself, Ancao Paine had been tortured.

Subsequently, several of the detainees were transferred to the city of Temuco, but Alejandro Ancao Paine was not among them ( fs. 553, fs. 565 ).

E.-

That days later, Alejandro Ancao Paine's mother, Mrs. Marcelina Paine Catrilaf, having no news of her son, went with a relative to the commune of Cunco to make inquiries at the Carabineros Station ( fs. 17 et seq., fs. 614 et seq., among other records ).

At that place, when she asked about her son, an officer told her to ‘ask the Allipén River' ( fs. 17 et seq., among other records ). Likewise, his sister, Mrs. María Regina Ancao Paine, traveled on different dates to the city of Temuco, asking at the Tucapel Regiment, the Carabineros Prosecutor's Office, and the city jail for her brother, but she could not find Alejandro Ancao Paine anywhere, and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day ( fs. 679 ).

F.-

That finally, to this date, no public official of the Chilean Army, Carabineros de Chile, or any other branch of the Armed Forces and/or Law and Order who served at the time of the events has provided any information to the respective authority regarding what happened to Alejandro Ancao Paine, maintaining to this day the concealment of all types of information regarding the events mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

Homicide at the Curacautín Police Station In the second case, Minister Meza Latorre issued an indictment against retired Carabineros officers for their responsibility in the aggravated homicide of Marcos Quezada Yáñez, who was 17 years old at the time of the events.

This illicit act was perpetrated in the commune of Curacautín on June 24, 1989. In the resolution (Case No. 18.779), the visiting minister indicted Joel Erwin Pérez Islas, Marco Antonio Aguirre Guajardo, César Octavio Adriazola Azócar, Nelson Adalberto Almendras Illesca, and José Dolorindo Fernández Jofré as perpetrators of the crime against humanity; meanwhile, he charged José Domingo Cádiz Parada and Bernardo Iván Aedo Leiva as accomplices.

During the investigation stage of the case, Minister Meza Latorre managed to establish the following facts:

A.-

That following a robbery report affecting the ‘Panadería Suiza' commercial establishment in the commune of Curacautín on June 24, 1989, around 12:30 p.m., 17-year-old Marcos Quezada Yáñez was detained on a public street, as he was identified as the sole suspect in the crime, having worked occasionally at that location.

His apprehension was carried out by four officers from the Curacautín Police Station, including Corporals Joel Pérez Isla and Nelson Almendras Illesca and Carabineros Marcos Aguirre Guajardo and Erwin Hormazábal Aedo. At the time of his detention, Quezada Yáñez showed no visible injuries.

B.-

That once at the police station, Quezada Yáñez was taken to a room intended for the entertainment of the unit's officers, adjacent to the guardroom. There, he was interrogated by all his captors and Lieutenant César Adriazola Azócar, who also directed the detainee's interrogation.

After Quezada Yáñez allegedly admitted to participating in the investigated crime, he was taken outside the police premises to the Manzanoco stream sector, to a private plot of land near an educational establishment, as he had allegedly thrown some items there.

This transfer was carried out by Corporals Pérez Isla and Almendras Illesca, as well as Carabinero Aguirre Guajardo. Subsequently, he was taken back to the police station, handed over to the guardroom, and interrogated again, as will be stated in the following letter.

C.-

That on the same day, June 24, three officers from the Manzanar Carabineros unit, including the head of that outpost, Sergeant José Dolorindo Fernández Cofré, and Carabineros Claudio Contreras Valencia and Erick Vásquez Órdenes, reported to the Fifth Carabineros Station of Curacautín, as the commissioner of that unit ordered them to form the civil commission in charge of alcohol enforcement in the commune.

During their duties, the described commission proceeded to apprehend two people, including José Lagos Pulgar and Juan Maldonado Pacheco, who were taken to the cells of the Fifth Carabineros Station of Curacautín and entered into them at 4:35 p.m. and 5:55 p.m. respectively, as accounted for by the barracks' own Guard Logbook.

That Maldonado Pacheco, a few minutes after being placed in those facilities, heard the screams of pain of a male person, hearing each time the characteristic sound of electricity being applied and the laughter of some Carabineros, a situation that lasted approximately two or three minutes.

Subsequently, the detainee heard a commotion and the footsteps of Carabineros in front of the cell where he was being held, observing the entry of Carabineros officers with sticks or beams and then a young person on a cart or stretcher, transported by Carabineros personnel, including Sergeant José Dolorindo Fernández Cofré, who that night was part of the civil alcohol commission in that locality.

D.-

That around 7:20 p.m. on the same day, June 24, 1989, relatives of Quezada Yáñez went to the Carabineros unit to inquire about his condition and leave him food. However, Corporal José Cádiz Parada, who was on guard duty at the time, told them to return later, not informing them that at the moment of checking the cell where Marcos Quezada was held, Carabinero Bernardo Aedo Leiva found him hanging from one of the beams with a sweater.

E.-

That after the above occurred, Corporal Cádiz Parada communicated the situation of Quezada Yáñez to his superiors, including Lieutenant César Adriazola Azócar, who went to the scene and observed that Quezada Yáñez was hanging lifeless from one of the cell beams.

F.-

That the body of Quezada Yáñez was sent to forensic doctor Wolfgang Reuter Berger, along with the police report indicating that Quezada Yáñez had apparently died by hanging. The professional determined that the precise and necessary cause of death of Marcos Quezada Yáñez was attributed to ‘shock most likely determined by the action of electric current applied to some fingers of both hands'.

The foregoing is corroborated, furthermore, by the report of the Criminalistics Department of the Chilean Investigative Police, at fs. 758, which concludes that Quezada, prior to his hanging, was exposed by third parties to electricity in both hands and that, probably after said exposure, he was incapacitated from performing maneuvers leading to his hanging, which is consistent with Quezada Yáñez's entry into that facility without visible injuries, the statement of the main witness, Juan Maldonado Pacheco, and the Legal Medical Service report at fs. 1.599 et seq.

G.-

That due to the above, Marcos Quezada Yáñez, once detained and taken to the police station, was subjected to coercion using electricity, in this case on both hands, which caused him to faint or lose consciousness.

Under such circumstances, it was not possible for Quezada Yáñez, due to his state of health, the conditions in which he was in the cell, the location of the beam, and the use of the garment that served as the ligature, to have hanged himself, as stated in the previous letter.

A death that ultimately does not allow for the exclusion of the participation of third parties, according to the Legal Medical Service's own report at fs. 1.599 et seq. All of this was known to the arresting personnel, the interrogators, and those who were on guard duty on the day of the events.

Furthermore, in no part of the military file of the time that has been reviewed is there any record that at the time of his entry into the police unit, Marcos Quezada Yáñez had visible injuries on any part of his body, which is consistent with the report of the Internal Affairs Section of the Malleco Province of Carabineros de Chile, which appears at fs. 103 et seq.

Finally, regarding the main witness of the process, Juan Nolberto Maldonado Pacheco, the psychiatric report of the Legal Medical Service of Temuco, at fs. 2.046 et seq., concludes that he is a normal person without alteration of reality judgment, which is also corroborated by his maintaining a coherent and similar account each time he has appeared in the process.

Source: pjud.cl, January 7, 2020

Minister Álvaro Mesa sentences retired Carabineros for the aggravated homicide of a bakery worker in Curacautín

The minister in extraordinary visitation for human rights violation cases in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, sentenced four retired Carabineros officers for their responsibility in the crime of aggravated homicide, as a crime against humanity, of Marcos Quezada Yáñez.

The illicit act was perpetrated on June 24, 1989, in the commune of Curacautín, La Araucanía Region. The visiting minister sentenced José Dolorindo Fernández Cofre and César Octavio Adriazola Azócar to 12 years and 10 years of imprisonment, respectively, as perpetrators of the crime.

Meanwhile, Bernardo Iván Aedo Leiva and José Domingo Cádiz Parada must serve a sentence of 7 years of imprisonment for their responsibility as accomplices. In the case, Nelson Adalberto Almendras Illesca, Joel Erwin Pérez Isla, and Marco Antonio Aguirre Guajardo were acquitted.

In the civil aspect, Minister Mesa ordered the state to pay a total compensation of $450,000,000 (four hundred and fifty million pesos) for moral damages to the victim's relatives. Alleged hanging In the sentence, Minister Mesa Latorre established the following facts: “

A.-

That following a robbery report affecting the ‘Panadería Suiza' commercial establishment in the commune of Curacautín on June 24, 1989, around 12:30 hours, 17-year-old Marcos Quezada Yáñez was detained on a public street, as he was identified as the sole suspect in the crime, having worked occasionally at that location.

His apprehension was carried out by four officers from the Curacautín Police Station, including Corporals Joel Pérez Isla and Nelson Almendras lllesca and Carabineros Marcos Aguirre Guajardo and Erwin Hormazábal Aedo. At the time of his detention, Quezada Yáñez showed no visible injuries.

B.-

That once at the police station, Quezada Yáñez was taken to a room intended for the entertainment of the unit's officers, adjacent to the guardroom. There, he was interrogated by all his captors and Lieutenant César Adriazola Azócar, who also directed the detainee's interrogation.

After Quezada Yáñez allegedly admitted to participating in the investigated crime, he was taken outside the police premises to the Manzanoco stream sector, to a private plot of land near an educational establishment, as he had allegedly thrown some items there.

This transfer was carried out by Corporals Pérez Isla and Almendras lllesca, as well as Carabinero Aguirre Guajardo. Subsequently, he was taken back to the police station, handed over to the guardroom, and interrogated again, as will be stated in the following letter.

C.-

That on the same day, June 24, three officers from the Manzanar Carabineros unit, including the head of that outpost, Sergeant José Dolorindo Fernández Cofré, and Carabineros Claudio Contreras Valencia and Erick Vásquez Órdenes, reported to the Fifth Carabineros Station of Curacautín, as the commissioner of that unit ordered them to form the civil commission in charge of alcohol enforcement in the commune.

During their duties, the described commission proceeded to apprehend two people, including José Lagos Pulgar and Juan Maldonado Pacheco, who were taken to the cells of the Fifth Carabineros Station of Curacautín and entered into them at 16:35 and 17:55 hours respectively, as accounted for by the barracks' own Guard Logbook.

That Maldonado Pacheco, a few minutes after being placed in those facilities, heard the screams of pain of a male person, hearing each time the characteristic sound of electricity being applied and the laughter of some Carabineros, a situation that lasted approximately two or three minutes.

Subsequently, the detainee heard a commotion and the footsteps of Carabineros in front of the cell where he was being held, observing the entry of Carabineros officers with sticks or beams and then a young person on a cart or stretcher, transported by Carabineros personnel, including Sergeant José Dolorindo Fernández Cofré, who that night was part of the civil alcohol commission in that locality.

D.-

That around 19:20 hours on the same day, June 24, 1989, relatives of Quezada Yáñez went to the Carabineros unit to inquire about his condition and leave him food. However, Corporal José Cádiz Parada, who was on guard duty at the time, told them to return later, not informing them that at the moment of checking the cell where Marcos Quezada was held, Carabinero Bernardo Aedo Leiva found him hanging from one of the beams with a sweater.

E.-

That after the above occurred, Corporal Cádiz Parada communicated the situation of Quezada Yáñez to his superiors, including Lieutenant César Adriazola Azócar, who went to the scene and observed that Quezada Yáñez was hanging lifeless from one of the cell beams.

F.-

That the body of Quezada Yáñez was sent to forensic doctor Wolfgang Reuter Berger, along with the police report indicating that Quezada Yáñez had apparently died by hanging. The professional determined that the precise and necessary cause of death of Marcos Quezada Yáñez was attributed to ‘shock most likely determined by the action of electric current applied to some fingers of both hands'.

The foregoing is corroborated, furthermore, by the report of the Criminalistics Department of the Chilean Investigative Police, at fs. 758, which concludes that Quezada, prior to his hanging, was exposed by third parties to electricity in both hands and that, probably after said exposure, he was incapacitated from performing maneuvers leading to his hanging, which is consistent with Quezada Yáñez's entry into that facility without visible injuries, the statement of the main witness, Juan Maldonado Pacheco, and the Legal Medical Service report at fs. 1.599 et seq.

Likewise, the report from the same service at fs. 2.596 suggests that it could be a hanging, but does not deny that there was an action of electric current, and cannot invalidate the statements of the witness Juan Maldonado Pacheco.

G.-

That, due to the above, Marcos Quezada Yáñez, once detained and taken to the police station, was subjected to coercion using electricity, in this case on both hands, which caused him to faint or lose consciousness.

Under such circumstances, it was not possible for Quezada Yáñez, due to his state of health, the conditions in which he was in the cell, the location of the beam, and the use of the garment that served as the ligature, to have hanged himself, as stated in the previous letter.

A death that ultimately does not allow for the exclusion of the participation of third parties, according to the Legal Medical Service's own report at fs. 1.599 et seq. and the one at fs. 2596. All of this was known to the guard personnel, the interrogators, and those who were on guard duty on the day of the events.

Furthermore, in no part of the military file of the time that has been reviewed is there any record that, at the time of his entry into the police unit, Marcos Quezada Yáñez had visible injuries on any part of his body, which is consistent with the report of the Internal Affairs Section of the Malleco Province of Carabineros de Chile, which appears at fs. 103 et seq.

Finally, regarding the main witness of the process, Juan Nolberto Maldonado Pacheco, the psychiatric report of the Legal Medical Service of Temuco, at fs. 2.046 et seq., concludes that he is a normal person without alteration of reality judgment, which is also corroborated by his maintaining a coherent and similar account each time he has appeared in the process”.

Source: temucotelevision.cl, March 16, 2023