In a unanimous ruling, the Second Chamber of the high court confirmed the sentence that convicted José Figueroa Toro to 12 years in prison as the perpetrator of the crime, and Jorge Barriga Soto to 3 years in prison as an accessory.

The Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeals filed against the sentence that convicted two retired members of the Investigations Police (PDI) for their responsibility in the consummated crime of qualified kidnapping of Segundo Elías Llancaqueo Millán.

The illicit act was perpetrated in the commune of Lautaro in April 1975. In a unanimous ruling (case file 26.804-2018), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of ministers Haroldo Brito, Jorge Dahm, Leopoldo Llanos, and lawyers (i) Diego Munita and Carolina Coppo—confirmed the sentence that convicted José Amador Figueroa Toro to serve a 12-year prison sentence as the perpetrator of the crime, and Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto to 3 years in prison as an accessory. “Regarding the second allegation of the same appeal, consisting now of failing to apply the reduction provided for in Article 103 of the Penal Code, that is, half-prescription, without prejudice to the reasoning in this regard by the challenged judgment which this Court shares, it should be added that Article 103 of the Penal Code is not only contemplated in the same title as prescription, but is developed after it; however, as in this case it is a crime against humanity, which the ruling expressly declares, by application of the norms of International Law and given that both half-prescription and the cause for the extinction of criminal liability are based on the passage of time as a justifying element for their application, the impropriety of applying total prescription necessarily reaches partial prescription, since no reason is seen to recognize time as having the effect of reducing the sanction, given that both institutions are based on the same element which is rejected by the international humanitarian penal order, so that neither of such institutes is appropriate in illicit acts like the one in question,” the ruling maintains. The resolution also notes that the facts deemed proven by the challenged judgment, issued by the visiting minister Álvaro Mesa Latorre, are as follows: “ A.- That on a date after September 11, 1973, Segundo Llancaqueo Millán was detained by personnel of the Lautaro Investigations Police, as he was accused of illegal possession of weapons, and was also subjected to physical duress in that place. On the third or fourth day of his stay at the police station, he led the police officers to a rural sector of the commune of Lautaro to show them the supposed site where the weaponry was hidden. Personnel from the Information Department of the Temuco Investigations Police also joined this operation. Upon arriving at the place and taking advantage of a moment of inattention by Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto and the other police officers, Llancaqueo Millán escaped from them, remaining hidden for a long period of time in different sectors near his home, receiving sporadic visits from his then-partner María Eva Ñancuvil Larenas. B.- That on the night of April 5, 1975, while Llancaqueo Millán’s partner was at home with the two young daughters of that relationship, her home was violently raided by a patrol composed of at least 4 officers of the Lautaro Investigations Police, who proceeded to forcibly remove her from her home. Then, two of the police officers put her in a pickup truck and took her to the area of the Vega Redonda school, near her home, while the other officers remained in her house with her two minor daughters. Among the officers who participated in the operation, the woman was able to recognize José Amador Figueroa Toro. C.- That after being left out in the open in the area of the Vega Redonda school, María Eva Ñancuvil Larenas returned immediately to her home, hearing very loud cries of pain, recognizing the voice of Segundo Llancaqueo Millán, to which she did not want to go due to her concern for her daughters. Upon arriving at her house and after checking on the health of the minors, the woman noticed that the hat her partner habitually wore was on the kitchen floor and had not been there before, so she estimated that Llancaqueo had gone to the home while she was being transported by the police officers. D.- That the relatives of Llancaqueo Millán, who lived a few meters from his home, heard that same night noises caused by the Lautaro Investigations officers, the shots they fired, and cries of pain from Llancaqueo Millán coming from his home, not wanting to leave their houses for fear of what might happen to them. Even Fernando Garcés Gutiérrez, a teacher at the school in that sector who resided in the vicinity of Llancaqueo Millán’s home, heard cries for help and the moans of a person that night, not paying much attention to it. The next day, the relatives verified that there were bloodstains near their house and signs of a body having been dragged toward the exit gate of their property. E.- That the next day, María Eva Ñancuvil Larenas went accompanied by her partner’s relatives to the Lautaro Investigations station to find out what had happened to him. However, José Amador Figueroa Toro indicated to her that they had no news of him, that what she was telling him was false, and that she was probably mistaken or confused. To this date, Segundo Llancaqueo Millán remains forcibly disappeared. F.- That the Information Department of the Temuco Investigations Police, which was dedicated to collecting political information on individuals, learned of the detention of Segundo Llancaqueo Millán, the weapons search operation, and his escape. Personnel from that office, including Carlos Zurita Panguilef, participated in the weapons search operation in the commune of Lautaro, observing that José Amador Figueroa Toro and Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto participated in it, as well as the maneuvers to thwart the detainee’s escape, including shots fired. Subsequently, after this procedure, Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto was the object of mockery for what happened and verbal reprimands from his superiors. Some time later, official information arrived at that same Temuco office via telephone from the Lautaro Police Station, indicating that as a result of the detainee’s escape, a search was initiated, resulting in his death as a consequence. G.- That according to the merit of the resolution of the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Temuco, on page 837, and notwithstanding Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto’s knowledge of the crime, he has permanently hidden all information regarding the events that occurred since the time of the facts, not reporting them subsequently to the respective judicial authorities, nor does it appear in the process that a criminal case has been initiated to investigate the disappearance of Segundo Elías Llancaqueo Millán ”.

Source: pjud.cl, June 7, 2021

Minister Álvaro Mesa Latorre issues indictment for illegal detentions and homicide in Lautaro

In the resolution, the visiting minister indicted Ludovico Eduardo Aldunate Herman as the perpetrator of the homicide of Catalán Lincoleo, an employee of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA); meanwhile, non-commissioned officer Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto and police officer Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza face charges as co-perpetrators of the illegal detention of Catalán Lincoleo, Cayuán Cheuquén, and José Miguel Pacheco Coliluán.

These are crimes against humanity. The minister on special assignment for human rights violation cases for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued an indictment against an Army officer and a retired detective as co-perpetrators of the crime of illegal detention of Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo, Domingo Cayuán Chauquén, and José Miguel Pacheco Colihuán; and against a lieutenant of the La Concepción Regiment at the time of the events as the perpetrator of the crime of qualified homicide of Catalán Lincoleo.

These illicit acts were perpetrated in August 1974 in the commune of Lautaro. In the resolution (case file 113.958), the visiting minister indicted Ludovico Eduardo Aldunate Herman as the perpetrator of the homicide of Catalán Lincoleo, an employee of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA); meanwhile, non-commissioned officer Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto and police officer Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza face charges as co-perpetrators of the illegal detention of Catalán Lincoleo, Cayuán Cheuquén, and José Miguel Pacheco Coliluán.

These are crimes against humanity. Detentions During the investigation stage, Minister Mesa Latorre managed to collect sufficient evidence to establish the following facts: “That Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo, 29 years old, worked as an employee of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA) in the city of Pitrufquén since 1970, being in charge of the expropriations of rural properties.

In addition, he was a sympathizer of the Communist Party. In 1973, after the military coup, he requested his transfer to the Temuco office, so he began to travel to that city from Lautaro, where he resided (as stated in the indictment order on pages 817 to 821, dated June 12, 2015, Volume III).

That on August 27, 1974, around two in the morning, a military patrol from the reinforced Regiment No. 20 ‘La Concepción’ of Lautaro, composed of Second Lieutenant Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza, plus Sergeant Héctor Salazar (deceased, as stated on page 2086, Volume VI), some non-commissioned officers, conscript soldiers, and the Lautaro Investigations Police detective Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto, traveled to the home of Samuel Catalán Lincoleo located on the Millachiguay estate in that commune, for which they moved in one or two military vehicles (as stated in the indictment order on pages 817 to 821, dated June 12, 2015, Volume III). That once they arrived at the Catalán family’s home, the officer in command ordered the property to be raided, for which they entered violently, waking all its occupants, among whom were Rosa Catalán Lincoleo (pages 57 to 58, 61, Volume I, page 1364, Volume IV); Hortensia Sinforosa Catalán Lincoleo (59, 61, 252, 266 Volume I); Eliecer Jaime Catalán Lincoleo (page 65, 303, and 335, Volume I, page 1358 Volume IV); Domingo Cayuán Cheuquén (pages 235 to 236, Volume I, and page 495, Volume II). Immediately thereafter, Second Lieutenant Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza, in charge, entered the room in which Samuel Catalán Lincoleo was sleeping and jumped onto his bed. Immediately, he struck the victim’s face with his rifle, producing a deep wound on his forehead, causing him to bleed profusely and leaving him semi-unconscious. At that moment, Second Lieutenant Alcayaga Barraza fired his weapon over Catalán Lincoleo’s headboard, leaving a hole in it and in the bed frame (as stated in the indictment order on pages 817 to 821, dated June 12, 2015, Volume III). That subsequently, Second Lieutenant Alcayaga Barraza ordered the detention and removal of Catalán Lincoleo from the house and for him to be put into one of the vehicles in which the patrol was traveling, apparently without carrying a judicial order for such purposes. On that same occasion, Víctor Cristóbal Catalán Trangol, Samuel Catalán’s cousin, who was staying at the home; Domingo Cayuán Cheuquén, a worker for the Catalán family (pages 235 to 236, Volume I, and page 495, Volume II); and José Miguel Pacheco Coliluán, a neighbor of the Catalán family (pages 63 to 64 and 334, Volume I, pages 2049 to 2050, Volume VI), who had been detained prior to the aforementioned raid, were also detained. All those affected were taken to the La Concepción Regiment of Lautaro, where they were left in the facilities of that unit (as stated in the indictment order on pages 817 to 821, dated June 12, 2015, Volume III). That Víctor Cristóbal Catalán Trangol, Domingo Cayuán Cheuquén (pages 235 to 236, Volume I, and page 495, Volume II); and José Miguel Pacheco Coliluán (pages 63 to 64 and 334 (Volume I), pages 2049 to 2050 Volume VI), were interrogated and released the following day or on a later date, but not Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo; likewise, it was commented among the conscripts that a person with the surname Catalán had been detained, according to statements by Héctor Andrés Pinto Pino on page 1649 (Volume V) (as stated in the indictment order on pages 817 to 821, dated June 12, 2015, Volume III). That what is narrated in the preceding considerations accounts for the fact that there was the formation of patrols in the La Concepción Regiment of Lautaro that patrolled the jurisdiction of Lautaro and proceeded to detain citizens who were identified as terrorist elements or who had links to leftist ideologies, proscribed by the incoming military regime. This is also evidenced by what happened to José Abel Díaz Toro, José Enrique Conejeros Troncoso, and Juan Bautista Rodríguez Escobar, captured by a patrol from the La Concepción Regiment of Lautaro in the town of Cajón, as evidenced by Case File No. 45.306-A, Cajón Episode; likewise, Case File 45.306-B, Burgos and Haddad and Eligen Ponce Arias Episode, detained by other patrols in the city of Lautaro, both cases with duly executed sentences, as stated on pages 2088 to 2193 (Volume VI)”. Execution at the fish farm Likewise, regarding the homicide of Catalán Lincoleo, the resolution notes: “That Héctor Hugo Vásquez Martínez (deceased, as stated on page 3026, Volume VIII), in his capacity as a nurse at the La Concepción Regiment of Lautaro, one morning in the second half of 1974, was required to form a patrol, carrying only his first aid kit and no weapons, which was in charge of the then-lieutenant Ludovico Eduardo Aldunate Herman, and which would have been composed of about ten military personnel, including conscripts and non-commissioned officers, in addition to the aforementioned military officer (pages 1103 to 1105 (Volume IV), 1151 to 1155 (Volume IV), 1156 to 1157 (Volume IV), 1162 to 1163 (Volume IV), 1202 to 1203 (Volume IV), 1204, 1254 to 1256 (Volume IV), 1388 to 1389 (Volume IV), 1578 to 1588 (Volume V), 1758 to 1765 (Volume V); the patrol left the regiment by truck, heading toward the Lautaro Fish Farm, a place where there was a forest. Upon arriving, Vásquez Martínez was able to notice that next to a group of soldiers there was a detained person whom they had kneeling, with his hands tied behind his back and his face uncovered, so he was able to realize that he was of Mapuche descent. That among the soldiers was Captain Rafael García Ferlice (deceased, as stated on page 2083, Volume VI), possibly a lieutenant with the surname Díaz, and a group of conscript soldiers (as stated on pages 1103 to 1105 (Volume IV), 1151 to 1155 (Volume IV), 1156 to 1157 (Volume IV), 1162 to 1163 (Volume IV), 1202 to 1203 (Volume IV), 1204 (Volume IV), 1254 to 1256 (Volume IV), 1388 to 1389 (Volume IV); 1578 to 1588 (Volume V), 1758 to 1765 (Volume V); they proceeded to cover the detainee’s face with a black piece of clothing he himself was wearing. Immediately thereafter, Lieutenant Ludovico Eduardo Aldunate Herman rested his SIG rifle on a bush to aim at the detainee’s head, shooting him and causing his death immediately. Subsequently, it was commented in the regiment among the soldiers (pages 1103 to 1105 (Volume IV), 1151 to 1155 (Volume IV), 1156 to 1157 (Volume IV), 1162 to 1163 (Volume IV), 1202 to 1203 (Volume IV), 1204 (Volume IV), 1254 to 1256 (Volume IV), 1388 to 1389 (Volume IV); 1578 to 1588 (Volume V), 1758 to 1765 (Volume V), that the executed man was surnamed Catalán and that he was linked to the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR); in this same sense, Pedro Joel Fuentes Sepúlveda, a conscript, declares that he knew Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo and that through comments inside the regiment he learned that it was a uniformed officer who killed him (as stated on pages 1169 to 1670, Volume V)”.

Source: pjud.cl, August 31, 2023

Temuco Court confirms conviction of former Army officer for the crime against a worker in Lautaro in 1974

The Temuco Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence that convicted the former Army general, a lieutenant at the time of the events, Ludovico Eduardo Aldunate Herman, to a penalty of 14 years of effective imprisonment as the perpetrator of the consummated crime of qualified homicide of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA) employee, Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo.

This is a crime against humanity perpetrated in September 1974 in the commune of Lautaro, Cautín province. In a unanimous ruling (case file 2105-2024), the Second Chamber of the appellate court dismissed the claim of infringement in the challenged sentence, issued in October 2024 by the minister on special assignment Álvaro Mesa Latorre.

In the case, the appellate court confirmed the three-year prison sentences imposed on former Investigations Police detective Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto and former Army officer Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza, but substituted them with intensive supervised release for the same period, as co-perpetrators of the crime of illegal detention of Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo, Domingo Cayuán Cheuquén, and José Miguel Pacheco Coliluán.

The facts Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo, single, 29 years old, an agricultural technician, had worked since 1970 as an employee of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA) in the commune of Pitrufquén, being in charge of the expropriations of rural properties.

In 1973, after the military coup, he requested his transfer to the Temuco office, so he began to travel to that city from the commune of Lautaro, where he resided. The worker, a sympathizer of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), was detained at his home located on the Millachiguay estate on August 27, 1974, around two in the morning, by a military patrol from the reinforced Regiment No. 20 'La Concepción' of Lautaro.

The apprehending group was composed of Second Lieutenant Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza, plus Sergeant Héctor Salazar, some non-commissioned officers, conscript soldiers, and detective Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto of the Lautaro Investigations Police.

The patrol, which was moving in military vehicles, arrived at the Millachiguay estate and the Catalán family home, entered the property violently, raided the house causing damage, and assaulted Samuel Catalán Lincoleo with rifle butts and intimidation shots to then subdue him.

Along with Samuel, on that same occasion, Víctor Cristóbal Catalán Trangol, Samuel Catalán’s cousin, who was staying at the home; Domingo Cayuán Cheuquén, a worker at the site; and José Miguel Pacheco Coliluán, a neighbor of the Catalán family, who had been detained prior to the raid, were also detained.

All the detainees were taken to the La Concepción Regiment of Lautaro, where they were admitted as prisoners in the facilities of that unit. The three people detained along with Samuel Catalán, who was linked to the MIR, were interrogated at the Regiment by military personnel and released in the following days; not so Samuel, of whom there was never any news again regarding his situation and whereabouts.

However, subsequent testimonies established that a patrol that was in charge of the then-lieutenant Ludovico Eduardo Aldunate Herman, and which was composed of about ten military personnel, including officers, non-commissioned officers, and conscripts, left the regiment by truck, heading toward the Lautaro fish farm.

In a forest that was in that place, they made the detainee kneel, covered his face with a black garment that he himself was wearing, and then, the former officer Aldunate Herman rested his SIG rifle on a bush to aim at the detainee’s head, shooting him and causing his death immediately.

Subsequently, the executing officer, now convicted for this crime, continued his repressive duties in the DINA, as a member of the Mulchén Brigade, and in the CNI, as part of the Anti-Terrorist Unit (successor to the previous one), which operated at the Simón Bolívar Barracks in Santiago. by Darío Núñez

Source: resumen.cl, July 28, 2025