The ceremony will take place this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in the area located on the road between Tomé and Lirquén. They took refuge in the hills of Tomé as soon as the military coup of September 11, 1973, occurred.

But Ricardo Barra Martínez, Miguel Catalán Febrero, Héctor Lepe Moraga, and Tránsito Cabrera Ortiz, young militants of the MIR, had no means to survive. This forced them to approach Héctor Lepe’s family in search of help to sustain themselves.

That is how, on the morning of September 27, 1973, they arrived at the house located at Calle Miramar Nº 10, in Cerro Alegre. And although they took what precautions they could, their presence did not go unnoticed by the neighbors in the area.

Very soon, the police surrounded them, and there was nothing they could do. They chose to surrender so that the family would not suffer further problems and left the house peacefully. They were taken to the Tomé Police Station, and there their worst nightmare began.

The tortures to which they were subjected were so cruel that Ricardo Barra had to be transferred in serious condition to the Tomé hospital, and from there he was taken, nearly dying, to the Talcahuano Naval Base, where he passed away on September 28.

His companions were transferred to the same facility and held incommunicado. An investigation was initiated against them under Naval Prosecutor Fernando Jiménez Larraín, who found them guilty. On October 6, they were subjected to a War Council in the Second Naval Zone of Talcahuano (docket Ancla-1).

They were accused separately of the crimes of carrying firearms in wartime, carrying and concealing explosives in wartime, and gathering for the formation of paramilitary militias in wartime. The defense arguments for the accused were made by lawyers from the Free Legal Clinic of the Concepción Bar Association: Luciano Salgado for Miguel Catalán, Alfredo Toloza for Héctor Lepe, and Rubén Sanhueza for Tránsito Cabrera.

At sunset the following day, the sentences were notified: Miguel Catalán was sentenced to 15 years and one day of presidio mayor in its maximum degree, 10 years and one day of presidio mayor in its medium degree, 20 years of presidio in its maximum degree, and 10 years of extrañamiento in its maximum degree.

For Tránsito Cabrera, the penalty was 15 years and one day of presidio mayor and 5 years of presidio menor, while for Héctor Lepe, the sentence was 15 years of presidio mayor, 5 years and one day of presidio mayor, and 3 years and one day of presidio menor.

Two days after the notification, they were transferred from the Talcahuano Naval Base to the Tomé prison to serve their sentences. However, on the evening of October 9, the young men were taken out of the Tomé prison by naval personnel and returned hours later to the penitentiary in a dying state, but the warden at the time refused to receive them due to their disastrous condition.

The naval officer who was transporting them ordered them to be taken back to Talcahuano. On the way, they were murdered in the Quebrada Honda sector, between Punta de Parra and Lirquén. The official version from the Navy indicated that the patrol in charge of guarding the detainees had been attacked by two or three individuals with hunting shotguns and homemade devices.

That occasion was allegedly used by the prisoners to escape, which forced one of the patrol members to shoot them, causing their deaths. In memory: Years later, the Rettig Report reached the conviction that this official version was not credible, since the "affected individuals were guarded and unarmed; had there been an attack against the patrol, it is implausible that no uniformed personnel were injured and that none of the attackers were wounded, detained, or killed; and testimonies from other detainees who were with the three deceased indicated that they were executed by firing squad without any prior attack. ...The Commission has formed the conviction that the execution of these three people was an act of violation of human rights committed by agents of the State, specifically the Navy." In March 2003, investigating judge Daniel Calvo prosecuted the retired Navy officer Carlos Mauricio Blanlot Kerbernhard for the crime of qualified homicide for being in command of the patrol that murdered the three young MIR militants. No further accomplices were identified because Blanlot passed away shortly after being held at the Air Force Hospital. This story, which occurred 32 years ago, remains in the memory of those who knew the three murdered young men and, of course, their families. That is why this Sunday, on the anniversary of the deaths of Tránsito Cabrera, Héctor Lepe, and Miguel Catalán, the Working Commission of Former Political Prisoners of the MIR of Concepción will pay tribute to them at the place where they were presumably executed. That is, the Quebrada Honda sector, on the road from Tomé to Lirquén. On the occasion, a commemorative plaque with their names will be installed. An invitation to participate in this tribute has been extended to all who wish to attend. The act will take place starting at 11:00 a.m.

Source: Tribunadelbibio.cl, October 5, 2005

Sentences for the Quebrada Honda crimes

This October 9 marked 40 years since the murder of three political prisoners committed by Navy personnel at the place known as Quebrada Honda, located on Highway 150 that connects Penco and Tomé. On September 11, a first-instance ruling was released in which Judge Carlos Aldana Fuentes handed down sentences for these crimes against three former Navy personnel.

Judge Aldana is substantiating the case for the Quebrada Honda murders in his capacity as an extraordinary Visiting Judge for Human Rights cases of the Concepción Court of Appeals. The ruling convicts the perpetrators of the crimes of qualified homicide committed against the victims: Tránsito del Carmen Cabrera Ortiz, Miguel Ángel Catalán Febrero, and Héctor Manuel Lepe Moraga, murdered on the night of October 9, 1973.

At the site of the crime stands a memorial that honors the memory of the three mentioned and of Mario Alberto Ávila Maldonado, executed on that same day and in that same place, but whose case is not part of this process.

Judge Aldana sentenced the retired Navy non-commissioned officers, Bernardo del Rosario Daza Navarro, 66, and Juan Heraldo Maldonado Sanhueza, 63, to effective sentences of 10 years and one day of presidio mayor in its medium degree, plus the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for public offices and political rights; in addition to absolute disqualification for professional practice for the duration of the sentence and the joint payment of court costs.

He sentenced Patricio Enrique Salamanca Marín, 60, a retired Navy first-class soldier, to the penalty of five years of presidio menor in its maximum degree, plus the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for political rights and absolute disqualification for public offices, and the joint payment of court costs.

This convict was granted the benefit of supervised release. A fourth defendant in this case, retired Navy first-class soldier Eliecer Victoriano Caamaño, was acquitted of the aforementioned charges. All the former marines mentioned above were part of a patrol under the command of the then-corvette captain Carlos Mauricio Blanlot Kerberhard, 2nd commander of the Marine Infantry Detachment No. 3 "Aldea," based at Fuerte Borgoño in Talcahuano.

This officer, who later reached the rank of Admiral, was prosecuted in this case but died of natural causes a couple of years ago, thus escaping a possible conviction. For its part, Fuerte Borgoño, the "Aldea" Detachment, and naval intelligence agents played a decisive role in the execution of the repressive and punitive tasks that were characteristic of the period of the establishment of the dictatorship in the area.

The Navy facilities and the Talcahuano Naval Base became prisoner camps and torture centers, matters that are more than proven in the Rettig and Valech Reports and in a dozen human rights trials. The three executed in Quebrada Honda were militants of the MIR who had been detained on September 27, 1973, in Tomé by carabineros (police) who handed them over to naval intelligence agents.

Together with them, Ricardo Antonio Barra Martínez was detained, who, during that same night, was killed during the torture to which he was subjected by officers of the Navy Intelligence Service, known as Ancla II.

The other three prisoners were subjected to a spurious war council that, on October 6, 1973, sentenced them to unusual prison terms. Cabrera was sentenced to 15 years and one day of presidio mayor, plus 5 years of presidio menor; Catalán to 15 years and one day of presidio mayor, plus another 10 years and one day of presidio mayor, plus 20 years of presidio mayor, and, as if that were not enough, 10 years of major extrañamiento; and Lepe was sentenced to 15 years of presidio mayor, 5 years and one day of presidio mayor, and 3 years and one day of presidio menor.

All three were then admitted to the Tomé prison. Notwithstanding the farce of the war council and the penalties applied, on the night of October 9, the patrol under the command of Carlos Blanlot Kerberhard appeared at the Tomé prison and removed the three convicted MIR militants, transporting them to an unknown destination.

At the Quebrada Honda site, Blanlot proceeded to execute them and stage the farce of a confrontation. In this regard, the ruling states: The members of the naval patrol transported the detainees "(...) along the road from Tomé to Concepción with the goal of eliminating them, for which they stopped on the right side of the road, in the sector called 'Quebrada Honda,' proceeding to take the prisoners out, ordering the Head of the Patrol to run toward the hill, immediately ordering the guards to shoot them in the back with their HK submachine guns, causing wounds that resulted in their death." Then, it adds that "the same head of the patrol took out a shotgun he was carrying in the cabin of the truck and fired against the canvas of the same, to make it appear that they had been attacked by extremists, reporting this to the press of the time. That the perpetrators acted with treachery and on sure ground in the execution of the death of their victims, who were unarmed and at the full mercy of their guards, during curfew hours and in an unpopulated place." Apart from Blanlot, who built his career on these murders, the non-commissioned officer Bernardo Daza Navarro stands out among the criminals, who, due to his history as a murderer, was summoned to be part of the DINA from its creation at the end of 1973. There, in the DINA, he was part of the inner circle of Manuel Contreras, in charge of the protection of "El Mamo," and they were referred to as "Los Míos" (Mine). Daza Navarro, known as "El Chancho" (The Pig), was part of the bloodthirsty Lautaro Brigade of the DINA, the same one that operated in the so-called Simón Bolívar Barracks (Simón Bolívar 8800), from where no prisoner left alive. Later, in the CNI, this Brigade, under another name, operated in the so-called Loyola Barracks, and "El Chancho" Daza continued to be part of the criminal repressive apparatus. Brief profile of the murdered MIR militants from Tomé. The Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) in Tomé began to structure itself through the organization of a Military Political Group (GPM), due to the large number of militants that existed in the commune. From the regional committee of the MIR in Concepción, they sent Miguel Ángel Catalán Febrero with the mission of organizing the GPM of Tomé there, who, together with Tránsito del Carmen Cabrera Ortiz, Héctor Manuel Lepe Moraga, and Ricardo Antonio Barra Martínez, took the leadership of the Tomé revolutionary movement. These men constituted the leadership base of the GPM, maintaining links with left-wing entities that supported them, and forming intermediate mass organizations such as the FTR (Revolutionary Workers' Front) in the three textile industries and the FER (Revolutionary Students' Front) belonging to the Industrial School and the Co-educational Lyceum of the commune, as well as university students.

RICARDO ANTONIO BARRA MARTÍNEZ

He was 24 years old when he was murdered. He was born in Tomé in 1949. He lived with his parents and two younger brothers, Pedro and Roberto, in the house located in the San Juan sector, Calle 21 de Mayo Nº 85, Tomé.

He completed his primary education at School D-417, then entered the Vicente Palacios Lyceum where he finished his secondary studies. Afterward, he began working at the FIAP Tomé textile factory, where he worked as a laborer in the Dry Finishing section.

During this time, he met Tránsito Cabrera, a MIR militant, from whom he received his first political influences. After a year, he entered the University of Concepción to study Political Economy for 4 years, during the afternoons, as he continued working in the textile industry in the mornings.

There he met Luciano Cruz, one of the founders of the MIR in Concepción, with whom, in addition to sharing academic activities, he maintained a bond of friendship. He was a leader of the MIR in Tomé, where he was known as Miguel, and traveled to Cuba in 1972 without his family's knowledge, in order to receive military training.

He returned after a few months, reintegrating into his work, student, and political activities.

TRÁNSITO DEL CARMEN CABRERA ORTIZ

He was 28 years old. He was born on May 4, 1945. He lived his childhood in the town of Cerro Verde between Lirquén and Penco. Years later, he moved to the city of Tomé in order to study at the Industrial Lyceum of that commune; due to the distance from his home, he had to stay as a boarder during this period.

Once he graduated from secondary school, he chose to work for a few years. In 1966, he began his militancy in the MIR, where he was known as Manuel or Tatín, and he came to have a relevant role in the development of the MIR in the commune.

Around 1968, he entered the State Technical University to study to be a draftsman, where he remained for two semesters and then had to withdraw, as the following year he married Blanca Amelia Álvarez and at the same time began working at the FIAP Tomé textile industry.

In the factory, some time later, he attained union positions; at that time, he settled in a home located on Calle O’Higgins. He had two children, César and Claudio, three years old and three months old, respectively, at the time of his death.

During the summer of 1972, he traveled to Cuba for about 4 months. Once back, on August 30, his home was raided by soldiers under the pretext of the Arms Control Law reinstated in the country during those days.

HÉCTOR MANUEL LEPE MORAGA

He was 29 years old. He was born in Tomé on May 21, 1944. His home was located at Calle Miramar Nº 10, Cerro Alegre. He was the second son of Laura Moraga and the first of the Lepe-Moraga marriage. His siblings, born from this union, are Marcos and Eduvigis.

In the fifties, his father passed away, and his mother later remarried. He completed his primary studies at the Bellavista School and, after finishing secondary school, entered the State Technical University in Concepción in 1967, where he pursued a degree in Electricity.

While pursuing higher education, he met different people linked to the left-wing political movement, among them Tránsito del Carmen Cabrera Ortiz, a MIR militant. In 1970, he joined this movement, in which he was known as Javier Rojas or Rojitas.

Because of his merits as a militant, he was also selected to be part of the GAP (Group of Friends of the President). He traveled to Cuba for a few months in 1972. Once back, he reintegrated into political activities, with a deep conviction in his ideals and social struggle.

MIGUEL ÁNGEL CATALÁN FEBRERO

He was 22 years old. Born on January 31, 1951, in Río Negro, Osorno. He studied at the Osorno Lyceum and the Puerto Montt Lyceum, where he finished his fourth year of secondary school. During his student life, he had active participation in local social and political groups.

After secondary school, he entered to study Pedagogy in History and Geography at the University of Concepción. His arrival in this area was motivated by the presence of his older brother, who was studying Agronomy at the Chillán campus of the UdeC and was a militant in the MIR.

Once in Concepción, Miguel Ángel joined the MIR, where he was known as "Cata Chico" (Little Cata), in allusion to the fact that his brother was known as "Cata." Among his peers, he was also called "Coliguacho" because he was inquisitive and restless, and "Pepe" by the Tomé militants.

The MIR assigned him to Tomé to organize the GPM based on the existing foundations in the commune. In that place, he stayed at the house of Erasmo Peñailillo, a Mathematics student at the UdeC. He was installed in a room at the back of the patio where he remained for several months; later, he had to change his address on several occasions for security reasons.

According to those who knew him, Miguel Ángel was a person of medium height, blond, thin, fair-skinned, very simple, generous, and always concerned about social problems. He was a brilliant and very quiet young man, who in his spare time used to play chess with his companions.

MARIO ALBERTO ÁVILA MALDONADO

He was 27 years old at the time of his murder. He was an employee of the Social Development Department of Tomé and a militant of the Socialist Youth. On September 18, he had voluntarily presented himself to the police unit in Penco.

After remaining detained for three days, he was released. However, on October 9, Penco carabineros and civilian agents arrested him at his workplace in Tomé. From that moment on, all trace of him was lost until November 27, 1973, when his corpse appeared in the Quebrada Honda sector. The death certificate indicates that the cause of death could not be determined.

Source: Resumen.cl, November 1, 2013