Ministers Juan Guzmán and Daniel Calvo have for some time been putting into practice this legal criterion, which this month became one of the most controversial aspects of President Lagos's human rights proposal.

The idea of distinguishing responsibilities between those who organized, planned, ordered, directed, and even committed crimes, from those who were perpetrators, accomplices, or accessories while holding lower ranks in 1973, was one of the most controversial aspects incorporated into President Ricardo Lagos's proposal on human rights, which will be translated into a bill in the coming days.

Upon reviewing what occurred in the proceedings, it is discovered that some of the visiting ministers instructing cases have for some time been applying this concept based on the principle of due obedience.

That is to say, not to prosecute officers who in 1973 and subsequent years held the ranks of second lieutenant, lieutenant, and even captain, and who were perpetrators, accomplices, or accessories to crimes.

In the same vein, they have not prosecuted those who were non-commissioned officers, corporals, or conscripts. In these cases, the indictments have fallen upon officers who in 1973 held the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and general.

This has been, for example, the doctrine followed until now by visiting ministers Juan Guzmán and Daniel Calvo. But there are also other judges, who until now are in the majority, who are not applying that legal line and have prosecuted and even convicted those who, at the time the crimes occurred, held the ranks of lieutenant, captain, and non-commissioned officer.

Such is the case of visiting ministers Alejandro Solís and Gabriela Corti, and judges Olga Pérez and Juan Carlos Urrutia. In the process for the Caravan of Death, in the latest indictments issued by Minister Juan Guzmán on July 18, 2003, for crimes from the southern episodes, he only prosecuted the generals (ret.) Sergio Arellano and Héctor Bravo (ranks in 1973) as perpetrators of 12 kidnappings and homicides in Valdivia, and Colonel (ret.) Gabriel del Río for four kidnappings and homicides in Linares.

Differently, when Guzmán issued the first indictments for the Caravan on June 9, 1999, he also prosecuted those who in 1973 held lower commands in this operation, with the ranks of major and lieutenant colonel.

The Santiago Court of Appeals even later prosecuted Armando Fernández Larios ex officio, who was a lieutenant in 1973. For Valdivia, last July, Guzmán did not prosecute, for example, those who made up a firing squad nor the officer who directed it, even though the 12 executions were illegal.

Guzmán has applied the same criterion in the cases of Lago Ranco and San Javier-Linares. In the former, on June 25, 2002, out of five Navy defendants for the kidnapping and execution of four peasants in October 1973, the minister only prosecuted the then-lieutenant Sergio Rivera Bozzo.

Despite the fact that they also confessed to firing at the peasants under Rivera's order, the judge definitively dismissed the charges due to "due obedience" for Naval School cadets Javier Vera, Rodolfo Mondión, Cristián Bórquez, and Julio Vera.

In the trial for the murders of four young men at the Linares Artillery School on October 2, 1973, under the instruction of General Arellano Stark as part of the Caravan, on July 18, 2003, Minister Guzmán only prosecuted Arellano and Colonel (ret.) Del Río, who was also the commander of the regiment.

Guzmán did not prosecute, for example, the former military prosecutor Carlos Romero Muñoz, who was a captain in 1973, despite the fact that he recently confessed to his direct participation in the four crimes. "The young men were resting and they were given the opportunity to run so they could be shot in the back," declared Romero.

PISAGUA

Minister Daniel Calvo applies the same legal criterion in the Pisagua trial, a case previously instructed by Guzmán. For example, Calvo identified officers who in 1973 were lieutenants or captains, and who today acknowledge that they fired at the prisoners or commanded the crimes.

Among them are the then-lieutenant Sergio Figueroa López and the then-captain Sergio Benavides Villarreal. In the same situation are the then-captain Sergio Espinoza Davis and the then-lieutenants Arturo Contador, Roberto Ampuero Alarcón, and Gabriel Guerrero.

Until now, Judge Calvo has not prosecuted them, with the only defendants for Pisagua remaining General (ret.) Carlos Forestier (rank in 1973), who was head of the IV Division in Iquique and superior chief of Pisagua, and non-commissioned officer (ret.) Miguel Aguirre.

These indictments were issued by Guzmán, but on April 12, 2000. Minister Calvo also has not yet prosecuted Gendarmerie officer (ret.) Francisco Zamora and non-commissioned officer Max Villaseñor, who admit that they killed prisoners.

The same applies to Carabineros non-commissioned officers (ret.) Manuel Vega, Arturo Rocco, and José Higueras, who admit that, by superior order, they killed prisoners more than once.

THOSE WHO PROSECUTE AND CONVICT EQUALLY

On the contrary, a majority of judges have prosecuted both those who were the chiefs, as well as officers (ret.) of low or medium rank in 1973 and non-commissioned officers (ret.). For the crimes at La Moneda (Peldehue), Judge Juan Carlos Urrutia prosecuted on January 10, 2003 (ranks in 1973) a colonel, two second lieutenants, and five non-commissioned officers, all as perpetrators.

He used the same criterion to prosecute for the 1978 exhumations. Judge Olga Pérez (who left the case later) issued six indictments on October 18, 2002, for the crime of former DINA agent Eugenio Berríos, against those who in 1993 held the ranks of general, colonel, captain, and lieutenant.

In this case, perpetrators and accessories were prosecuted equally. In the Villa Grimaldi (DINA) trial, for the kidnapping of Miguel Ángel Sandoval, five former members of the DINA who in 1973 were colonel (Contreras), major (Moren), and lieutenants (Krassnoff, Lauriani, and Godoy) were prosecuted and later convicted on April 14, 2003, as perpetrators by Minister Alejandro Solís.

For 27 forcibly disappeared persons in Parral, on August 4, 2003, Minister Solís sentenced those who in 1973 held the ranks of captain or major (Hugo Cardemil and Pablo Caulier) and Carabineros non-commissioned officer (ret.) Luis Hidalgo to long prison terms as perpetrators.

For eight forcibly disappeared persons from Linares, on June 6, 2003, Minister Solís prosecuted six officers and one non-commissioned officer (ret.) as perpetrators. The officers held the ranks of colonel and captain in 1973.

On June 5, Valparaíso minister Gabriela Corti prosecuted five Navy officers and one non-commissioned officer (ret.) as perpetrators of the kidnapping of Jaime Aldoney. Only one of the officers was a captain in the Navy in 1973 and the rest were lieutenants.

Source: La Nacion.cl, August 20, 2003

Judge Carroza convicts seven members (ret.) of the Army for crimes in Pisagua

In the ruling, the special minister sentenced Sergio Benavides Villarreal and Manuel Vega Collado to life imprisonment as perpetrators of three crimes of aggravated kidnapping and eight aggravated homicides.

The minister on special assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Mario Carroza, convicted seven retired members of the Army for their responsibility in crimes against humanity perpetrated in Pisagua, Tarapacá Region.

The crimes that led to the convictions were the aggravated kidnapping of Miguel Nash Sáez, Jesús Cañas Cañas, and Juan Jiménez Vidal, and the aggravated homicide of Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Calderón Villalón, Luis Lizardi Lizardi, Julio Cabezas Gacitúa, Julio Córdova Croxato, Mario Morris Barrios, Humberto Lizardi Flores, and Juan Valencia Hinojosa, political prisoners admitted to the Pisagua detention center in September and October 1973.

In the ruling, the special minister sentenced Sergio Benavides Villarreal and Manuel Vega Collado to life imprisonment as perpetrators of three crimes of aggravated kidnapping and eight aggravated homicides.

Meanwhile, Roberto Ampuero Alarcón, Gabriel Guerrero Reeve, Sergio Figueroa López, and Arturo Contador Rosales were sentenced to 15 years and one day in prison for their responsibility in the three crimes of aggravated kidnapping and for the aggravated homicides of Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Calderón Villalón, and Luis Lizardi Lizardi.

Miguel Aguirre Álvarez was sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison for his responsibility in the three aggravated kidnappings, illicit acts perpetrated starting September 29, 1973. He also ordered the State to pay the sum of 510 million pesos to the parents, spouses, children, and siblings of the victims for the moral damage caused.

Source: publimetro.cl, August 17, 2016

Santiago Court confirms ruling convicting members of the Army (ret.) for kidnappings and homicides in Pisagua

The appellate court ratified the resolution that sentenced Sergio Benavides Villarreal and Manuel Vega Collado to life imprisonment as perpetrators of the three aggravated kidnappings and the eight aggravated homicides.

In a unanimous ruling, the Santiago Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence that convicted seven retired members of the Army for their responsibility in the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Miguel Selín Nash Sáez, Jesús Nolberto Cañas Cañas, and Juan Jiménez Vidal; and in the aggravated homicide of Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Calderón Villalón, Luis Lizardi Lizardi, Julio Cabezas Gacitúa, Julio Córdova Croxato, Mario Morris Barrios, Humberto Lizardi Flores, and Juan Valencia Hinojosa, political prisoners admitted to the Pisagua Detention Center in September and October 1973.

The appellate court ratified the resolution that sentenced Sergio Benavides Villarreal and Manuel Vega Collado to life imprisonment as perpetrators of the three aggravated kidnappings and the eight aggravated homicides.

For their part, Roberto Antonio Ampuero Alarcón, Gabriel Alfonso Guerrero Reeve, and Arturo Alberto Contador Rosales must serve single sentences of 10 years in prison as co-perpetrators of the repeated crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Miguel Selin Nash Sáez, Jesús Nolberto Cañas Cañas, and Juan Jiménez Vidal, and as co-perpetrators of the repeated crimes of aggravated homicide of Marcelo Omar Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Calderón Villalón, and Luis Alberto Lizardi Lizardi.

Meanwhile, Sergio Eduardo Figueroa López was sentenced to a single sentence of 12 years in prison as a perpetrator of the crimes, and it confirmed the sentence of 10 years and one day in prison that Miguel Aguirre Álvarez must serve for his responsibility in the three aggravated kidnappings.

During the investigation stage, the special minister Mario Carroza managed to determine the following facts: That after September 11, 1973, a permanent repression operation against militants and sympathizers of the parties of the deposed government, under the name CIRE, was installed at the general headquarters of the Sixth Army Division under the command of General Carlos Forestier Haenseng (deceased), and acted under the order and guidance of the military prosecutor of the time, Mario Acuña Riquelme (deceased); Those who responded to calls made through military decrees or who were arrested in raids were taken to the general headquarters of the Sixth Army Division, from where they were transferred to the Telecommunications Regiment of the city of Iquique, where they were subjected to interrogations under physical duress by orders issued by Commander Forestier or military prosecutor Acuña; The detainees from the Telecommunications Regiment were taken to the Pisagua Prisoner Camp where, once again, they were subjected to beatings to "soften them up" and were forced to sign blank documents that were taken to military prosecutor Acuña "with the sole purpose of justifying fallacious accusations before simulated War Councils and being able to request in them sentences such as the death penalty," which once imposed was executed within the following 24 hours with firing squads; Within this mode of operation, on the morning of September 19, 1973, Juan Calderón Villalón, Luis Alberto Lizardi Lizardi, Marcelo Omar Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Jiménez Vidal, Jesús Nolberto Cañas, and Michel Selin Nash Sáez were taken from their cells in the Pisagua Prisoner Camp and executed in the vicinity of the prisoner camp under the pretext that they had attempted to escape while being transported outside the area. The bodies were wrapped in burlap and then buried in a grave in the Atacama Desert. Subsequently, in mid-1990, the remains of Calderón Villalón, Lizardi Lizardi, and Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes were found, but no information has been found regarding the bodies of Juan Jiménez Vidal, Jesús Nolberto Cañas, and Michel Nash Sáez, who currently remain forcibly disappeared; Meanwhile, on October 11, 1973, prisoners Julio Cabezas Gacitúa, Juan Valencia Hinojosa, Mario Morris Barrios, José Córdova Croxato, and José Humberto Lizardi Flores were taken from their cells and executed in a place near the cemetery with their eyes blindfolded and their hands tied, outside of all legality, a death that was verified by a doctor, and in the event that they survived, they were finished off with a coup de grâce; after that, their bodies were wrapped in burlap and buried in a mass grave. In the civil aspect, the ruling ordered the State of Chile to pay, for moral damages, a total sum of $510,000,000 to the parents, spouses, children, and siblings of the victims.

Source: diarioconstitucional.cl, April 2, 2018

Human Rights: Supreme Court confirms ruling for kidnappings and homicides in Pisagua, including two life sentences

In a split decision, the chamber composed of ministers Carlos Künsemüller, Jorge Dahm, Leopoldo Llanos, and lawyers (i) Diego Munita and Ricardo Abuauad ratified the sentence and ruled out any error of law in the ruling issued by the Santiago Court of Appeals on March 29, 2018, which convicted the former State agents.

The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court rejected the appeals for cassation filed by the defense against the sentence that convicted seven former State agents for their responsibility in the crimes of kidnapping and homicide at the Pisagua detention center in September and October 1973.

In a split decision, the chamber composed of ministers Carlos Künsemüller, Jorge Dahm, Leopoldo Llanos, and lawyers (i) Diego Munita and Ricardo Abuauad ratified the sentence and ruled out any error of law in the ruling issued by the Santiago Court of Appeals on March 29, 2018, which convicted the former State agents.

Thus, the resolution that sentenced retired Army Colonel Sergio Benavides Villarreal and retired Carabineros Major Manuel Vega Collao to life imprisonment as perpetrators of the aggravated kidnappings of Michel Nash Sáez, Jesús Cañas Cañas, and Juan Jiménez Vidal; and of the aggravated homicide of Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Calderón Villalón, Luis Lizardi Lizardi, Julio Cabezas Gacitúa, Julio Córdova Croxato, Mario Morris Barrios, Humberto Lizardi Flores, and Juan Valencia Hinojosa, remained in force.

Meanwhile, retired Army members Roberto Ampuero Alarcón, Gabriel Guerrero Reeve, and Arturo Contador Rosales must serve 10 years in prison as perpetrators of the three crimes of aggravated kidnapping and for the aggravated homicides of Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Calderón Villalón, and Luis Lizardi Lizardi.

Sergio Figueroa López will serve a sentence of 12 years in prison for the same events. Finally, Miguel Aguirre Álvarez was sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison for his responsibility in the three aggravated kidnappings.

In the civil aspect, the ruling ordered the State of Chile to pay, for moral damages, a total sum of $510,000,000 (five hundred and ten million pesos) to the victims' families. The facts During the investigation stage of the case, Minister Mario Carroza managed to establish that "after September 11, 1973, a permanent repression operation against militants and sympathizers of the parties of the deposed government, under the name CIRE, was installed at the general headquarters of the Sixth Army Division under the command of General Carlos Forestier Haenseng (deceased), and acted under the order and guidance of the military prosecutor of the time, Mario Acuña Riquelme (deceased). Those who responded to calls made through military decrees or who were arrested in raids were taken to the general headquarters of the Sixth Army Division, from where they were transferred to the Telecommunications Regiment of the city of Iquique, where they were subjected to interrogations under physical duress by orders issued by Commander Forestier or military prosecutor Acuña." Minister Carroza's investigation also establishes that "the detainees from the Telecommunications Regiment were taken to the Pisagua Prisoner Camp where, once again, they were subjected to beatings to 'soften them up' and were forced to sign blank documents that were taken to military prosecutor Acuña 'with the sole purpose of justifying fallacious accusations before simulated War Councils and being able to request in them sentences such as the death penalty,' which once imposed was executed within the following 24 hours with firing squads." "Within this mode of operation, on the morning of September 19, 1973, Juan Calderón Villalón, Luis Alberto Lizardi Lizardi, Marcelo Omar Guzmán Fuentes, Juan Jiménez Vidal, Jesús Nolberto Cañas, and Michel Selin Nash Sáez were taken from their cells in the Pisagua Prisoner Camp and executed in the vicinity of the prisoner camp under the pretext that they had attempted to escape while being transported outside the area. The bodies were wrapped in burlap and then buried in a grave in the Atacama Desert. Subsequently, in mid-1990, the remains of Calderón Villalón, Lizardi Lizardi, and Marcelo Guzmán Fuentes were found, but no information has been found regarding the bodies of Juan Jiménez Vidal, Jesús Nolberto Cañas, and Michel Nash Sáez, who currently remain forcibly disappeared." "Meanwhile, on October 11, 1973, prisoners Julio Cabezas Gacitúa, Juan Valencia Hinojosa, Mario Morris Barrios, José Córdova Croxato, and José Humberto Lizardi Flores were taken from their cells and executed in a place near the cemetery with their eyes blindfolded and their hands tied, outside of all legality, a death that was verified by a doctor, and in the event that they survived, they were finished off with a coup de grâce; after that, their bodies were wrapped in burlap and buried in a mass grave."

Source: elmostrador.cl, February 10, 2021