The minister of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, issued indictments against three former Carabineros officers for the homicide of a man during the dictatorship. The individuals are Renán Ahumada Tapia, Guillermo Bermúdez Roco, and Orlando Astete Sánchez, who were prosecuted as perpetrators of the qualified homicide of Onofre Peña Castro.

Peña Castro was a councilman for the commune of Catemu, in the Valparaíso region, when the crime occurred on October 9, 1973, on the border between the localities of Ocoa and Hijuelas. The gathered evidence indicates that the man was detained by police officers and taken to the local station.

Later, he was allegedly taken to the La Calavera tunnel area, where he was machine-gunned, receiving bullet wounds to the head and thorax. "His body was found in an irrigation canal days later, that is, on October 17, 1973, by one of his sons," the judicial resolution adds.

Source: biobiochile.cl, June 9, 2014

Accusation issued against two retired Carabineros for the 1973 homicide of a Catemu councilman

The visiting minister for human rights violation cases of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals issued a new accusation against two retired Carabineros officers. The individuals are Renán Ahumada Tapia and Orlando Astete Sánchez, whom Judge Jaime Arancibia charges with the crime of qualified homicide against Onofre Peña Castro, who in 1973 served as a councilman for Catemu.

Silvana Mariangel, a lawyer for the Human Rights Program, indicated to Radio Bío Bío that, as a plaintiff, they will study the accusation. The case files indicate that Peña Castro, a communist militant, was detained inside his home on October 9, 1973, by order of the Carabineros lieutenant of Catemu. "Subsequent to his detention, and after being interrogated at the station, Onofre Peña was taken to the La Calavera tunnel area, where he was gunned down by the officers guarding him, receiving bullet wounds to the head and thorax.

His body was found in an irrigation canal days later, that is, on October 17, 1973, by one of his sons," the accusation details. This is the third accusation issued in recent days by the extraordinary visiting minister for human rights cases, Jaime Arancibia.

Source: biobiochile.cl, June 23, 2015

Minister Arancibia sentences former Carabineros to fifteen years for qualified homicide.

The crime against Onofre Peña Castro was perpetrated on October 9, 1973, in the vicinity of the La Calavera tunnel, located on Route 5 North in the Valparaíso region. The visiting minister for human rights violation cases of the Valparaíso Court, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, sentenced former Carabineros Renán Antonio Ahumada Tapia and Orlando Sergio Astete Sánchez to a penalty of 15 years and one day of imprisonment without benefits, as perpetrators of the crime of qualified homicide against Onofre Peña Castro, a crime perpetrated on October 9, 1973, in the vicinity of the La Calavera tunnel, located on Route 5 North in the Valparaíso region. During the investigation stage, Minister Arancibia was able to establish that on October 9, 1973, around 9:30 PM, by order of the Carabineros lieutenant of the Catemu police station, San Felipe province, Onofre Peña Castro—at the time a councilman for the Communist Party of Chile—was detained inside his home. The detention was carried out by Carabineros officers from that police unit, who were traveling in a white pickup truck. The ruling of the appellate court further establishes that subsequent to his detention, and after being interrogated at the Catemu station, Onofre Peña Castro was taken to the La Calavera tunnel area, located on Route 5 North, where he was gunned down by the officers guarding him, receiving bullet wounds to the head and thorax, which caused his death. His body was found in an irrigation canal days later, at a distance of between 3 and 4 kilometers from where he was gunned down, by one of his sons.

Source: diarioconstitucional.cl, April 25, 2017

Supreme Court confirms conviction of retired Carabineros for the homicide of a former Catemu councilman

The Supreme Court convicted two retired Carabineros for their responsibility in the crime of qualified homicide of former Catemu councilman Onofre Peña Castro. The crime was perpetrated in the vicinity of the La Calavera tunnel on October 9, 1973.

In the unanimous ruling (case file 18.650-2018), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of ministers Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, Manuel Antonio Valderrama, Jorge Dahm, and lawyer (i) María Cristina Gajardo—confirmed the sentence that condemned Renán Antonio Ahumada Tapia and Orlando Sergio Astete Sánchez to 10 years and one day of imprisonment as perpetrators of the crime.

During the investigation stage, the visiting minister of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, established the following facts: "On October 9, 1973, around 9:30 PM, by order of the Carabineros Lieutenant of the Catemu Police Station, San Felipe province, Valparaíso region, Onofre Peña Castro—at the time a Councilman for the Communist Party of Chile—was detained inside his home in that commune.

The detention was carried out by Carabineros officers from that police unit, who were traveling in a white pickup truck. Subsequent to his detention, and after being interrogated at the Catemu Station, Onofre Peña Castro was taken to the La Calavera tunnel, located on Route 5 North, where he was gunned down by the officers guarding him, receiving bullet wounds to the head and thorax, which caused his death.

His body was found in an irrigation canal days later, at a distance of between 3 to 4 km from where he was gunned down, by one of his sons." The Supreme Court ruling establishes that the cassation appeal presented in this case does not meet the legal requirements for the alleged violation of law in the challenged sentence. "Given the circumstances presented and as a consequence of the noted antinomies, the requirements to expressly and determinately mention the manner in which the violation of law that motivates the appeal occurred have not been met, as ordered by Article 772 of the Code of Civil Procedure, applicable in this case in accordance with the provisions of Article 535 of the Code of Criminal Procedure," the resolution states. "Given the preceding considerations, which represent serious inaccuracies in the formalization of the identified document, contrary to the nature and purposes of this appeal for nullification, it is appropriate to dismiss, in all its chapters, the appeal promoted in the case on behalf of the convicted Renán Antonio Ahumada Tapia," it adds.

Source: adprensa.cl, March 26, 2020

Retired Carabineros convicted for the 1973 homicide of a former Catemu councilman

In the ruling, Minister Arancibia Pinto sentenced Renán Antonio Ahumada Tapia and Orlando Sergio Astete Sánchez to 10 years and one day of imprisonment, a sentence they must serve at the Punta Peuco Special Preventive Detention and Penitentiary Compliance Center.

The extraordinary visiting minister for human rights violation cases of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, convicted two retired Carabineros as perpetrators of the consummated crime of qualified homicide of Onofre Peña Castro, in Llay Llay, on October 9, 1973.

In the ruling (case file 67.354-2011), Minister Arancibia Pinto sentenced Renán Antonio Ahumada Tapia and Orlando Sergio Astete Sánchez to 10 years and one day of imprisonment, a sentence they must serve at the Punta Peuco Special Preventive Detention and Penitentiary Compliance Center.

During the investigation stage, the visiting minister deemed the following facts proven: "That on October 9, 1973, around 9:30 PM, by order of the Carabineros Lieutenant of the Catemu Police Station, San Felipe Province, Valparaíso Region, Onofre Peña Castro—at the time a Councilman for the Communist Party of Chile— was detained inside his home in that commune.

The detention was carried out by Carabineros officers from that police unit, who were traveling in a white pickup truck. Subsequent to his detention, and after being interrogated at the Catemu Station, Onofre Peña Castro was taken to the La Calavera tunnel area, located on Route 5 North, where he was gunned down by the officers guarding him, receiving bullet wounds to the head and thorax, which caused his death.

His body was found in an irrigation canal days later, at a distance of between 3 to 4 kilometers from where he was gunned down, by one of his sons." According to Arancibia, the investigation includes the first and second instance rulings and the Supreme Court ruling, where the appeal of one of the convicted individuals was rejected. "It is a human rights ruling that refers to events that occurred in October 1973, and where a conviction has been issued in the terms already indicated," he concluded.

Source: soychile.cl, April 27, 2020