The minister for extraordinary causes regarding human rights violations for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Claudio Mesa Latorre, issued indictment No. 85 in the cases he is processing and filed charges against retired Army non-commissioned officer Gabriel Humberto Díaz Morales for his responsibility in the crime of unlawful coercion.

This illicit act was perpetrated after September 11, 1973, in the commune of Traiguén.

In the resolution (case file 24.428), Minister Mesa Latorre identified the former paratrooper of the "Boinas Negras" (Black Berets) Command as the perpetrator of the crime against humanity committed against victims Antonio Inostroza Segura, Omar Enrique Cuevas Gajardo, Luis Alberto Collao Montalva, Rinaldo Torres Zapata, Carlos Silva Riffo, and Jaime Pablo Sperberg Cristia.

During the investigation phase of the case, the minister managed to gather sufficient evidence to establish the following facts:

“A.-

That immediately after September 11, 1973, the authorities who took control of the country ordered the systematic persecution and detention of militants and sympathizers of the parties of the government of Salvador Allende Gossens, especially those who held positions in the deposed public administration.

Thus, according to the statements of the then-Captain Jorge Bravo Vergara [deceased, according to p. 676 (vol. II)], a Military Prosecutor's Office was formed with the purpose of summoning and interrogating civilians recognized as militants of political parties in Traiguén or those who threatened the security of the State.

This summoning work was supported by personnel from the Carabineros and the Investigative Police [p. 10 (vol. I), among other evidence].

B.-

That there were detainees for political reasons who remained in the city's jail, who were interrogated in the facilities of the military unit's casino. These detainees were transferred on several occasions and at any time of the day, including late at night, from the Traiguén public jail to the Regiment and vice versa, as they were located across from each other [according to Expert Reports from p. 595 to p. 603 (vol.

II), among other evidence]. Upon arriving at the Regiment, the detainees were taken to the facilities located in what was known as the Officers' casino, with the group led by Captain Jorge Bravo, Lieutenant Pereira [deceased according to p. 677 (vol.

II)], and Corporal Gabriel Díaz operating in an adjacent room. Díaz held the specialty of paratrooper (Black Beret) and was specifically designated to work there after September 11, 1973 (according to p. 10, 15, 19, 25, 74, 155, 259 (vol. I), 405 (vol. II), among other evidence).

C.-

That there were numerous detainees in the Officers' Casino of the Traiguén Regiment, including some who were transferred from other penitentiary facilities, such as the jails of Angol and Victoria [according to p. 3 (vol.

I) and p. 672 to p. 675 (vol. II), among other evidence]. These detainees were kept face down and, on some occasions, blindfolded. According to the statements of Captain Jorge Bravo Vergara himself, on p. 10, when interrogated, they were beaten with fists, and on some occasions, low-voltage electricity was used, applying a telephone dynamo for this purpose.

The above is corroborated by the testimonies provided on p. 34, p. 36, 79, 146, 151, 157, 207 (vol. I), among other evidence.

D.-

That Antonio Inostroza Segura, a teacher and Regional Secretary of the Communist Party, was detained after September 11, 1973, in Temuco and transferred to the commune of Victoria. Subsequently, he was taken to the Victoria jail, where he was a fellow prisoner of several people classified as political prisoners, including Eliseo Jara Ríos, among others.

In October 1973, he was transferred to the Traiguén Regiment and led to an Officers' room, where he observed a large number of detainees in poor physical condition. He remained detained for about 13 days in that place, being interrogated by Captain Bravo under torture consisting of beatings and the application of electric current.

After that period, he was again transferred to the Victoria jail and subsequently subjected to a War Council (according to p. 48, 148, 153, 266, among other evidence).

E.-

That Omar Enrique Cuevas Gajardo, in 1973, worked as an official for Sermena in the commune of Traiguén. On September 13, 1973, he voluntarily presented himself to the Traiguén Military Prosecutor's Office, as he had been informed that he had to appear there.

There, he was received by Military Prosecutor Bravo and taken to a cell located inside the military unit. After two or three days of his arrival at the Regiment, he was taken again before the Military Prosecutor, to a small office adjacent to a hall, where he observed several detainees lying on the floor, one next to the other, recognizing among them Jaime Sperberg, Carlos Pino, Segundo Trangolao, and Juan Curín, among others.

Once interrogated by Captain Bravo, he was sent to the Traiguén jail in incommunicado status. After a few days, he was transferred to the common cells where he shared confinement with several of the people he had already seen at the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén.

During this period, he was taken out on several occasions to the Regiment to be interrogated, and on one occasion, under torture consisting of fist blows and the application of electricity. The above is corroborated by the testimonies on p. 148 (vol. I) and 482 bis (vol. II), among other evidence.

F.-

That Luis Alberto Collao Montalva, an agricultural worker, was detained on October 27, 1973, by a military patrol that arrived at his home. He was beaten by the military officials and transferred to the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén.

There, he was taken into a hall and again subjected to physical coercion, consisting of kicks, fist blows, and blows with the butts of weapons. He was there for about a week, being interrogated daily, and was then transferred to the Traiguén Public Jail, where he remained detained until 1974.

Like others, while he was confined in the Traiguén jail, he was periodically taken to the Regiment to be interrogated by Captain Jorge Bravo. His fellow prisoners included, among others, Omar Enrique Cuevas Gajardo, a person surnamed Curín, Carlos Pino, and a doctor surnamed Vinet (according to p. 482 bis, among other evidence).

G.-

That Rinaldo Torres Zapata, a Social Worker and member of the Socialist Party, was detained in October 1973 by personnel of the Investigative Police of Angol. He was taken to the police unit and, on the same day, admitted as a detainee to the Húsares Regiment of Angol.

Subsequently, on November 15, 1973, he was transferred to the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén, where he stayed for about one day and one night, before being taken to the Traiguén Public Jail, remaining there until the end of November of the same year, when he was transferred again to the Angol Public Jail.

While at the Traiguén Regiment, he was subjected to interrogations with the application of physical coercion, consisting of beatings, the application of electric current, and submersion in water and excrement, among others.

All these actions were directed by Captain Bravo. During his time at the Miraflores Regiment, he witnessed the detention of Enrique Cuevas and Hugo Vera. In addition, he was able to recognize Antonio Inostroza Segura, Hugo Vera, Enrique Cuevas, Juan Vera Ibáñez, a person surnamed Ibacache, Dagoberto Cerna, Juan Cerna, Ignacio Curín, a doctor surnamed Vinet, and a pharmaceutical chemist named Sperberg, among many others, as detainees in the Traiguén Public Jail [as stated on p. 148, 263 (vol.

I), 675 (vol. II), among other evidence].

H.-

That Carlos Silva Riffo, a former regional leader of the Socialist Party, was detained in September 1973 by personnel of the Investigative Police of Angol and transferred to the public jail of that commune.

At the beginning of October 1973, he was taken to the Húsares Regiment of Angol, remaining as a detainee in tents designated for that purpose. In the same month, October 1973, he was taken, along with other detainees including Roberto Amaya, Sepúlveda, Boris Salazar, Romilio Osses, and Óscar Retamal, to the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén and admitted into a large hall where he observed about 80 detainees.

There, he was subjected to interrogations and torture by a Captain surnamed Bravo and a Corporal surnamed Díaz, who was distinguished by being a Black Beret. He remained in that place for about 3 days, before being transferred again to the Angol jail.

During his confinement at the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén, he was able to recognize Antonio Inostroza Segura, Carlos Poblete Salazar, Boris Salazar, Rinaldo Torres, Enrique Cuevas, and Jaime Sperberg, among other people [as stated on p. 153, 263 (vol. I), p. 675 (vol. II), among other evidence].

I.-

That Jaime Pablo Sperberg Cristia, a Pharmaceutical Chemist, worked in September 1973 at the Traiguén hospital and was the head of the Clinical and Bacteriological Laboratory of that health center. He was detained around September 15, 1973, by Traiguén Carabineros personnel along with the doctor Jaime Vinet and a person surnamed González, the son of a shoemaker from that commune.

They were taken and admitted as detainees to the Traiguén public jail. He was detained there for approximately 11 days, being taken out in the early hours of the morning by a military patrol that led him to the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén.

They took him to an office where he was interrogated by the Army Captain surnamed Bravo, the Military Prosecutor, especially regarding his political activities and the hiding of weapons, accusing him of manufacturing bombs for a paramilitary group.

Subsequently, he was released, but 2 or 3 weeks later he was detained again and transferred to the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén. He was led to a large room, observing dozens of detainees lying on the floor, among them Carlos Pino, Armando Jara, and Segundo Trangolao, who were in very poor physical condition.

He was again interrogated and tortured by Captain Bravo and other military personnel who supported him, also witnessing the torture of other detainees, which included beatings and forced body positions, among them a young man surnamed Catrilao, Farid Sacca, Enrique Cuevas, and Víctor Valenzuela, among many others (as stated on p. 271 (vol. I), among other evidence).

J.-

That finally, to this date, no public official of the Chilean Army, Carabineros de Chile, or any other branch of the Armed Forces and/or Order and Security who served at the time of the events has provided any information to the respective authority regarding what happened to Antonio Inostroza Segura, Omar Enrique Cuevas Gajardo, Luis Alberto Collao Montalva, Rinaldo Torres Zapata, Carlos Silva Riffo, and Jaime Pablo Sperberg Cristia, maintaining to this day the concealment of all types of information regarding the events mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.”

Source: pjud.cl, November 9, 2022

Case File No. 24.428: Unlawful coercion against Antonio Inostroza Segura and others

A.1

ANTONIO INOSTROZA SEGURA

(32 years old at the time of the events), who testified on p. 3 to p. 4, p. 5 to p. 7, p. 48 to p. 50 (vol. I), and p. 779 (vol. III). In his judicial statement on p. 3 to p. 4 (Vol. I), he disclosed that he knew Mr.

Eliseo Jara Ríos personally and that they worked together for several years in political activity, both being part of the Unidad Popular leadership in Victoria. When he was admitted as a detainee to the Victoria Public Jail in the first days of October 1973, Eliseo Jara had already been imprisoned since September 12.

He was taken from prison to be interrogated at the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén, where he spent a dozen days that he described as horrible. Upon returning to prison around October 25, he detailed the horrendous torture to which he was subjected: electric shocks and prolonged hanging, only to be thrown into a drum of water where they kept him until he was almost drowned, reviving him afterward to repeat the operation over and over again.

He recounted that these tortures were carried out personally by Captain Bravo of that unit, who simultaneously acted as Military Prosecutor. He was convinced they were going to execute him.

One Saturday, perhaps October 27, he was taken out early by military personnel. They said goodbye to him and wished him good luck, but he reiterated that he would not return alive and hugged each one of them, about twenty prisoners in the same courtyard No. 5 of the jail.

That same day, they heard helicopters flying over the city, which, according to radio news, corresponded to special forces under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nilo Floody, responsible for "Operation Peineta," to rid the entire south of the country of extremists.

The newspapers of the time reported the execution of Eliseo Jara Ríos for an attempted escape, although his physical state, broken by the torture in Traiguén, and the handcuffs with which he left the jail make such a claim by the information provided by the Governorate ridiculous.

A.2

JORGE BRAVO VERGARA

(32 years old at the time of the events), who testified on p. 10 to p. 12, p. 310 to p. 312 (vol. I), and p. 367 to p. 368 (vol. II). In a judicial statement dated July 31, 2012, on p. 10 to p. 12 (Vol.

I), he stated that he arrived at the "Miraflores" Regiment of Traiguén at the end of 1972 or the beginning of 1973, remaining until the end of 1974, when he was assigned to Calama. The Commander of the Miraflores Regiment was Elio Bacigalupo Soracco, with Major Patricio O'Ryan serving as second-in-command.

He was assigned to the Headquarters Battery as Commander, but after September 11, he was appointed Military Prosecutor reporting to the IV Military Court of Valdivia.

After September 11, 1973, the Military Prosecutor's Office was created in Traiguén, and he took charge of this office. A Sergeant, apparently named Jorge Espinoza Véliz, worked with him, although he is not very sure.

He remembers that an Army Colonel, apparently an auditor, went from Valdivia and gave him instructions to take statements and make the prosecutor's office function. In addition, there was a lawyer, whose name he does not remember, but who was a UDI Deputy for a period, who collaborated in this activity as an advisor.

When asked, as a prosecutor, his job was to summon and interrogate civilians recognized as militants of political parties in Traiguén or those who threatened the security of the state. He was supported in the summons by Carabineros and the Traiguén Investigative Police.

He remembers Captain Valderrama of the Carabineros among the collaborators. When asked if there were detainees for political reasons in Traiguén who remained in the city's jail, he stated that the detainees were interrogated in the unit's casino facilities.

When asked if he ever had to interrogate people who were detained in Victoria, he said no. Regarding the facts of this investigation, he exclaimed that he did not find out about the death of two people in Victoria.

The names of Pedro Muñoz Apablaza and Eliseo Jara Ríos are not familiar to him. When asked if he remembers the presence of special forces in the area in 1973, he said yes, because a friend of his named Gerardo Huber, who was an intelligence Captain, came to greet him one day.

However, he did not tell him what he was doing or with whom. When asked, according to the information provided to him, he believes that Lieutenant Pereira was the intelligence officer of the Miraflores regiment.

When asked if it could be that there was unlawful coercion at the Miraflores regiment of Traiguén, he stated this is because military forces are not police forces and are not prepared for interrogations and do not have the psychology or instruction for the treatment of detainees.

When asked if it could be that in some interrogations he practiced, he hit a detainee, he replied: These were fist blows only and not violent. He also applied low-voltage electricity to some detainees, using a telephone dynamo. This was not a usual activity nor did it threaten their health, applying it only to detainees who were aggressive and uncooperative.

The Court read him the statement of Antonio Inostroza Segura, on p. 148 to p. 150. The deponent stated: I do not remember the person whose statement has been read to me. It is possible that what this person says is true.

There were so many detainees that the jail was full and they had to keep the detainees in the regiment's officers' casino. In addition, some had relationships with others and they separated them so they would not make contact with each other.

It is also true, as he said, that they applied unlawful coercion to these detainees without seriously affecting their health or physical integrity, but I could not specify the details of the torments. It is also possible that Lieutenant Pereira helped me in my task with the detainees.

Regarding the part of the statement that indicates that I tortured Eliseo Jara Ríos in Traiguén, he expressed that this is false. In the first place, I do not remember that person. In the second place, we never applied torture consisting of hanging any person or simulating drowning them in a drum of water.

Finally, he clarified that in Traiguén there were no civilian deaths, no forcibly disappeared persons, and no bloodshed, so he is very calm regarding his actions in that place. He expressed his total repentance for the facts I have detailed.

Source: Judiciary, October 31, 2023

Former Army "Black Beret" condemned for torture of political prisoners in Traiguén in 1973

The minister for extraordinary causes regarding human rights violations for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, condemned the former Army non-commissioned officer for his responsibility in the crimes against humanity of unlawful coercion of political prisoners committed between September and December 1973, at the Miraflores Regiment of Traiguén.

In the ruling (case file 24.428), the visiting minister condemned the then-corporal Gabriel Humberto Díaz Morales to a sentence of 10 years of effective imprisonment and the legal accessories of absolute perpetual disqualification from public offices and political rights, and absolute disqualification for professional titles for the duration of the sentence, as the perpetrator of the crimes.

In the resolution, Minister Álvaro Mesa established that after the military coup of September 1973, a military prosecutor's office was organized at the "Miraflores" Regiment of Traiguén, led by the then-captain Jorge Bravo Vergara (deceased), which had the purpose of detaining and interrogating civilians recognized as militants of leftist political parties or supporters of the government of Salvador Allende, especially those who held positions in the deposed public administration, a task in which the military had the support of Carabineros and Investigative Police personnel.

Most of the detainees for political reasons remained in the Traiguén jail. The detainees were transferred, on repeated occasions and at any time of the day or night, from the Traiguén public jail to the "Miraflores" Regiment and vice versa, as they were located across from each other.

At the Regiment, the detainees were taken to facilities located in the Officers' Casino; in an adjacent room, the group of interrogators led by Captain Bravo Vergara, Lieutenant Pereira (deceased), and Corporal Gabriel Díaz Morales operated. Díaz held the specialty of paratrooper (Black Beret) and, after the military coup, was specifically designated to work in that unit and function.

These detainees were kept face down and, on some occasions, blindfolded. According to the statements of Captain Bravo Vergara himself, when interrogated, they were beaten with fists, and on occasions, low-voltage electricity was used, among other evidence.

There were numerous detainees brought from the Traiguén jail and led to the aforementioned Casino; to them are added some who were transferred from other penitentiary facilities, such as the jails of Angol and Victoria.

Among them are the plaintiffs Antonio Inostroza Segura, a teacher and regional secretary of the Communist Party, who was detained in September 1973 in Temuco and transferred to the commune of Victoria.

Subsequently, he was taken to the Victoria jail. In October 1973, he was transferred to the Traiguén Regiment and led to the aforementioned torture facility. He remained for about 13 days in that place, being interrogated by Captain Bravo under torture consisting of beatings and the application of electric current.

After that period, he was again transferred to the Victoria jail and subsequently subjected to a War Council.

Omar Enrique Cuevas Gajardo, in 1973, worked as an official for Sermena in the commune of Traiguén. On September 13, 1973, he voluntarily presented himself to the Military Prosecutor's Office at the "Miraflores" Regiment of Traiguén, as he had been informed that he had to appear there. Once interrogated by Captain Bravo, he was sent to the Traiguén jail in incommunicado status.

Luis Alberto Collao Montalva, an agricultural worker, was detained on October 27, 1973, by a military patrol that arrived at his home, being beaten by the military officials and transferred to the "Miraflores" Regiment.

He was there for about a week, being interrogated daily, and was then transferred to the Traiguén Public Jail, where he remained detained until 1974. Like others, while he was confined in the jail, he was periodically taken to the Regiment to be interrogated by Captain Jorge Bravo.

Rinaldo Torres Zapata, a Social Worker and member of the Socialist Party, was detained in October 1973 by personnel of the Investigative Police of Angol, transferred to the police unit, and on the same day admitted as a detainee to the "Húsares" Regiment of Angol.

Subsequently, on November 15, 1973, he was transferred to the Traiguén Regiment, and then taken to the local jail, where he remained until the end of November, when he was transferred to the Angol Public Jail.

While at the Traiguén Regiment, he was subjected to interrogations with the application of physical coercion, consisting of beatings, the application of electric current, and submersion in water and excrement, among others. All these actions were directed by Captain Bravo.

Carlos Silva Riffo, a former regional leader of the Socialist Party, was detained in September 1973 by personnel of the Investigative Police of Angol and transferred to the public jail of that commune. In the same month, he was taken to the "Miraflores" Regiment of Traiguén. There, he was subjected to interrogations and torture by Captain Bravo and Corporal Díaz.

Jaime Pablo Sperberg Cristia, a pharmaceutical chemist, worked in September 1973 at the Traiguén hospital and was the head of the Clinical and Bacteriological Laboratory of that health center. He was detained on September 15, 1973, by Traiguén Carabineros personnel and admitted to the public jail of that city.

From that place, he was taken out by a military patrol that led him to the "Miraflores" Regiment; they took him to an office where he was interrogated by Captain Bravo.

by Darío Núñez

Source: resumen.cl, November 8, 2023