Minister Mario Carroza handed down sentences against 11 former military officers for the La Serena episode of the Caravan of Death. Among those convicted, the sentence against former Army Commander Juan Emilio Cheyre, who was tried as an accessory to the crimes, stands out.

The case involves 15 homicides ordered by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army at the time, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, which were entrusted to his subordinate, Brigadier General Sergio Arellano Stark. The material author sentenced to the longest prison term is Alberto Francisco Lapostol Orrego, with 15 years and one day of imprisonment, as the perpetrator of the repeated crimes of qualified homicide of: Oscar Gastón Aedo Herrera, Marcos Enrique Barrantes Alcayaga, Mario Alberto Ramírez Sepúlveda, Hipólito Pedro Cortés Álvarez, Jorge Abel Contreras Godoy, Roberto Guzmán Santa Cruz, Jorge Mario Jordán Domic, Gabriel Gonzalo Vergara Muñoz, Carlos Enrique Alcayaga Varela, Jorge Ovidio Osorio Zamora, José Eduardo Araya González, Oscar Armando Cortés Cortés, Manuel Jachadur Marcarian Jamett, Víctor Fernando Escobar Astudillo, and Jorge Washington Peña Hen, perpetrated on October 16, 1973. Meanwhile, Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo, Juan Viterbo Chiminelli Fullerton, Víctor Hugo Alegre Rodríguez, Jaime Manuel Ojeda Torrent, and Emilio Robert de la Mahotiere González must serve five years and one day of imprisonment as accomplices to the crimes; and former military officers Hernán Emilio Valdebenito Bugmann, Guillermo Oscar Raby Arancibia, Juan Emilio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Cheyre Espinoza, Mario Hernando Vargas Miguieles, and Luis Segundo Araos Flores were sentenced to 3 years and one day of imprisonment, with the benefit of supervised release, as accessories. Former Army Commander Juan Emilio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Cheyre Espinoza always denied his participation in crimes against humanity. However, Judge Carroza determined his participation as an accessory in acts that constitute crimes that violated the human rights of opponents of the military dictatorship in the city of La Serena, which was under military siege after September 11, 1973. The same man who has been found guilty of covering up crimes was presented by the Concertación governments as a democratic commander who would change the dictatorial and criminal legacy of the Chilean Army. Cheyre will not set foot in prison, as his sentence includes the benefit of supervised release.

Source: resumen.cl, November 9, 2018

Santiago Court convicts 10 former Army members for murders committed in La Serena by the "Caravan of Death"

The Santiago Court of Appeals convicted eight former officers and two former non-commissioned officers of the Army for their responsibility in the qualified homicide of 15 victims during the passage of the so-called "Caravan of Death" through the city of La Serena in 1973.

The group of criminals is composed of a former general and commander-in-chief of that institution, two former brigadiers, five former lieutenant colonels, and two non-commissioned officers. In that episode, the uniformed delegation perpetrated the murders of Oscar Gastón Aedo Herrera, Marcos Enrique Barrantes Alcayaga, Mario Alberto Ramírez Sepúlveda, Hipólito Pedro Cortés Álvarez, Jorge Abel Contreras Godoy, Roberto Guzmán Santa Cruz, Jorge Mario Jordán Domic, Gabriel Gonzalo Vergara Muñoz, Carlos Enrique Alcayaga Varela, Jorge Ovidio Osorio Zamora, José Eduardo Araya González, Oscar Armando Cortés Cortés, Manuel Jachadur Marcarian Jamett, Víctor Fernando Escobar Astudillo, and Jorge Washington Peña Hen on October 16 of that year. In a unanimous ruling (case file 4.599-2019), the Sixth Chamber of the appellate court—composed of Minister Antonio Ulloa and Ministers Gloria Solís and Verónica Sabaj—modified the first-instance sentence on Friday, October 28, regarding the participation of former Army officers Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo and Juan Viterbo Chiminelli Fullerton, who must serve 10 years and one day of imprisonment as co-perpetrators of the crimes, instead of the 5 years as accomplices as previously classified by Minister Carroza. Another former officer and main defendant, Ariosto Alberto Lapostol Orrego, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison, passed away during the proceedings, resulting in his dismissal from the case. Furthermore, the court confirmed the criminal ruling regarding the conviction of former officers Jaime Manuel Ojeda Torrent and Emilio Robert de la Mahotiere González and former non-commissioned officer Víctor Hugo Alegre Rodríguez to 5 years and one day of imprisonment as accomplices; and former officers Hernán Emilio Valdebenito Bugmann, Guillermo Oscar Raby Arancibia, Juan Emilio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Cheyre Espinoza, Mario Hernando Vargas Miguieles, and former non-commissioned officer Luis Segundo Araos Flores to 3 years and one day, with the benefit of supervised release, as accessories. The Helicopter of Death The judicial investigation established that on October 16, 1973, the delegation led by former General Sergio Arellano Stark (deceased) arrived in the city of La Serena in an Army 'Puma' helicopter, with a group of military personnel including officers Sergio Carlos Arredondo González, Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo, Emilio Robert de la Mahotiere González, Luis Felipe Polanco Gallardo, Juan Viterbo Chiminelli Fullerton, Marcelo Luis Manuel Moren Brito (deceased), and Hugo Héctor Leiva González. After disembarking, the aforementioned Arellano Stark held a meeting with the then-Commander of the N°2 "Arica" Artillery Regiment of La Serena, Ariosto Lapostol Orrego, and informed him of his mission entrusted by the tyrant Pinochet, which consisted of the execution of selected left-wing individuals who were being held by the coup-plotting uniformed officers in various locations and cities across the country. Subsequently, Arellano Stark selected the detainees to be executed. By his order, 14 of the chosen victims were removed from the La Serena Public Jail and transferred to the Regiment, where they remained at the disposal of the aforementioned military authority. At the same time, another detainee was removed from the Regiment's own dungeons and joined with the other prisoners, and they were all taken to the military facility's shooting range. Once at the range, the detainees were executed by gunfire carried out by Army personnel. After the murders were committed, the Regiment's personnel proceeded to register the victims' deaths without performing the respective autopsies, nor allowing for identification by their families. Immediately thereafter, military personnel proceeded to transport the bodies of the executed to the local cemetery and buried them in a common grave, in secret, for which the Regiment's authorities had previously made the necessary arrangements with the Municipal Cemetery administration. Once the stage of disappearing the victims' bodies was concluded, the Regiment's authorities, particularly the Zone Command held by Lapostol Orrego, published a Military Communiqué in the media informing the public of the execution of fifteen extremists in compliance with what was resolved by Military Tribunals in Times of War—a matter that never occurred, as the executions took place without prior trial, based solely on their ideology. In 1998, the Legal Medical Service found human remains in the La Serena Municipal Cemetery, conducted forensic examinations and identification procedures, and succeeded in identifying the 15 victims executed on October 16, 1973, verifying that all of them presented multiple projectile impacts in different parts of their bodies. by Darío Núñez

Source: resumen.cl, November 4, 2022

Caravan of Death: Cheyre and 8 other military officers convicted for 15 executions in La Serena

Juan Emilio Cheyre, former commander-in-chief of the Army, learned of his conviction for his participation in the so-called Caravan of Death, which occurred in the first months of the military dictatorship.

See more details here. During the afternoon of this Thursday, the Supreme Court issued its final ruling on the Caravan of Death case, which involved General (Ret.) Juan Emilio Cheyre, commander-in-chief of the Army between 2002 and 2006.

Additionally, the highest court increased the sentences that 8 retired military officers will have to serve for their responsibility in the crimes of the aforementioned case. Juan Emilio Cheyre was sentenced, as an accomplice, to 5 years of minor imprisonment for the murder of 15 people opposed to the military regime on October 16, 1973, in La Serena.

He also received the benefit of supervised release, also as an accomplice. It should be recalled that he was previously considered only an accessory. What does the sentence say about the rest of the defendants?

The Second Chamber of the highest court sentenced Pedro Espinoza Bravo and Juan Chiminelli Fullerton to 15 years and one day of imprisonment as co-perpetrators of the 15 qualified homicides. Meanwhile, Víctor Hugo Alegre Rodríguez, Jaime Ojeda Torrent, and Emilio de la Mahotiere González must serve 10 years and one day of imprisonment as accomplices to the 15 crimes.

Furthermore, Hernán Valdebenito Buggman, Guillermo Raby Arancibia, and Luis Araos Flores were sentenced to 5 years and one day of imprisonment as accessories. What does the Supreme Court ruling say? In the ruling, the highest court stated that "the meeting between the Delegation and a portion of the personnel of the N° 2 Arica Artillery Regiment of La Serena corresponds to a moment prior to the crimes committed, and in it, the statistical records of those whose processes were to be accelerated were reviewed, and in their case, they were immediately proceeded to be executed." "Such a task was typical of those who formed the most select circle of the Military Unit that was visited by the Delegation (...) its main participants were, among others, Sergio Arellano Stark, Marcelo Moren Brito, Ariosto Lapostol Orrego, Manuel Cazanga Pereira, and, in addition, the person who was the aide to the first command of the Regiment, the sentenced Juan Emilio Cheyre Espinoza," they added in the ruling.

Source: eldesconcierto.cl, December 28, 2023