The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Temuco Court of Appeals, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, in a ruling issued this month, sentenced the following former army officials to 13 years in prison: Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Manuel Reinaldo Canales Valdés, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, and Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, as perpetrators of the qualified homicide of Arturo Alejandro Navarrete Leiva, committed in the regional capital of La Araucanía on October 11, 1973.

Minister Mesa definitively dismissed the charges against Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce for this same crime. In the investigation, Minister Álvaro Mesa established: «A.- That immediately after the events of September 11, 1973, the armed forces and security forces took control of the city of Temuco, with Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse, Commander of the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of this city, establishing himself as Governor of Temuco, and also remaining as Chief of the Temuco Garrison.

B.- Within the aforementioned military unit, a special group called "Patrulla Brava" (Brave Patrol) or "Patrulla Chacal" (Jackal Patrol) was formed, composed of enlisted soldiers and conscripts from the Second Hunters Company, under the orders of Second Lieutenant Manuel Espinoza Ponce, who in turn received orders from the Lieutenant in command of the Company.

This group was responsible, among other duties, for conducting patrols within the city of Temuco, as well as guarding the detainees held in the facilities of the "Tucapel" regiment in Temuco. C.- That Arturo Alejandro Navarrete Leiva, single, 21 years old at the time of his detention, a railway worker, was detained on October 11, 1973, around 8:45 PM, on Calle Basilio Urrutia, in the Railway Station sector, in front of the "Diana" soda fountain in the city of Temuco.

His detention was witnessed by numerous witnesses who saw the military personnel put him, along with another person, into the vehicle they were using. He was taken to the banks of the Cautín River in the Población Amanecer sector of the city of Temuco, where the group of soldiers, in a firing squad formation, under the command and by order of Second Lieutenant Manuel Espinoza Ponce, proceeded to shoot and kill him, subsequently throwing his body into the waters of the aforementioned Cautín River.

D.- The day after the events, his mother, Magdalena Leiva Fritis, informed by one of the witnesses of his detention, went to the Tucapel Regiment, the FACH Air Base in Temuco, and the city's public jail, being informed in all these places that her son was not in the detainee records. All subsequent efforts made by his family to learn the fate of Arturo Navarrete Leiva yielded no results.»

Source: resumen.cl, February 23, 2017

El Polvorín Case: Minister Álvaro Mesa sentences retired military personnel and Army collaborators for the homicides and torture of seven victims

In the civil aspect, the visiting minister accepted the filed lawsuit and ordered the state to pay a total compensation of $2,780,000,000 (two billion seven hundred eighty million pesos) for moral damages to the victims' families.

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases for the jurisdictions of the Courts of Appeals of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued sentence number 78 on the matter, and sentenced 23 retired military personnel and Army collaborators for their responsibility in the qualified homicides and torture of Florentino Alberto Molina Ruiz, Juan Antonio Chávez Rivas, Víctor Hugo Valenzuela Velásquez, Juan Carlos Ruiz Mancilla, Amador Francisco Montero Mosquera, Pedro Juan Mardones Jofré, and Carlos Aillañir Huenchual, committed in the commune of Temuco in November 1973. In the sentence (docket 113.089), Minister Mesa Latorre sentenced: Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud to life imprisonment for his responsibility as the perpetrator of the 7 qualified homicides and 10 years in prison for his responsibility as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of torture against the seven victims. Meanwhile, Daniel San Juan Clavería, Omar Burgos Dejean, Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra, Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, Orlando Moreno Vásquez must serve a life sentence as accomplices to the 7 qualified homicides and a 10-year prison sentence as perpetrators of torture. The accused Juan Guillermo García Covarrubias, Pablo Domingo Gran López, Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, Carlos Eduardo Oviedo Arriagada, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Norberto Francisco Uribe Moroni, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, Juan Bautistas Labraña Luvecce, will serve life sentences as accomplices to the 7 qualified homicides and 427 days in prison as accomplices to the 7 counts of torture. Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán will serve a life sentence as the perpetrator of the 7 qualified homicides. Additionally, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos will serve a life sentence as accomplices to the 7 qualified homicides. Arnoldo Aedo Matus will serve a 20-year prison sentence as an accomplice to the 7 homicides. Libardo Hernán Schwartenski Rubio will serve a 10-year prison sentence as the perpetrator of 7 counts of torture. Finally, José Raúl Inzunza Reyes was sentenced to 427 days in prison as the perpetrator of 7 counts of torture. In the sentence, Minister Mesa Latorre established the following facts: A.- That, immediately after the military coup of September 11, 1973, the armed forces and security forces took control of the city of Temuco, with the Colonel Commander of the "La Concepción" Regiment of Lautaro, Hernán Jerónimo Ramírez Ramírez (deceased, as recorded on page 6,060 of volume XVII), establishing himself as Intendant; and Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased, as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), Commander of the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of this city, establishing himself as Governor of Temuco, and also remaining as Chief of the Temuco Garrison. B.- That on the same day, September 11, 1973, Temuco lawyer Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, who was also a Reserve Lieutenant in the Chilean Army, was called to collaborate with the new regime to support the work of the Military Prosecutor's Office that operated inside the unit and was in charge of the Second Commander, Major Luis Jofré Soto (deceased, as recorded on page 1,295, volume IV). This officer, however, had to assume greater duties as Second Commander of the Tucapel regiment shortly thereafter. From that day forward, civilians began arriving at the regiment after being called to appear before the Military Prosecutor's Office via communiqués published in the written press and on the radio, or who were brought in as detainees from different parts of the region by police and military patrols. Given the high number of detainees and people called to testify, the Military Prosecutor's Office was reinforced to carry out its work with Judiciary officials who were requested from the Temuco Court of Appeals by the aforementioned lawyer Podlech Michaud, who, acting as Ad-Hoc Prosecutor, made a presentation to the Plenary of the Court of Appeals (Minutes on pages 3010 to 3011, volume IX), after which some clerks from different courts and a Court Reporter were assigned on special duty. Due to a lack of knowledge in criminal procedural matters, added to his weak character and his work as Second Commander of the regiment, Major Luis Jofré Soto began delegating functions as Military Prosecutor to the lawyer Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, advisor to the Prosecutor's Office, who began to hold the position of de facto Prosecutor, to the point that he conducted jail visits and lawyers, family members, and even ecclesiastical dignitaries consulted him regarding the fate of the detainees. However, Major Jofré Soto continued to sign administrative documents most of the time and participated in some interrogations of detainees. C.- That the people called to appear before the Military Prosecutor's Office and those brought in as detainees were kept in facilities located next to the guardhouse and in the large gymnasium. Once interrogated by Military Prosecutor's Office personnel, by detectives Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased, as recorded on page 3,800, volume XI), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra of the Investigative Police attached to the regiment, or by the officers themselves who participated in these activities—among whom were Jaime Guillermo García Covarrubias, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Pablo Domingo Gran López, Mario Hernán Arias Díaz (deceased, as recorded on page 7,531, volume XXI), Carlos Eduardo Oviedo Arriagada, Norberto Francisco Uribe Moroni, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz—and non-commissioned officers, among whom were Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce, Orlando Moreno Vásquez, Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, some were released, others were sent to their homes under house arrest, and others were taken to the public jail where they remained while their procedural situation was resolved. D.- That also by September 1973, in the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of Temuco, there was a Second Section of Information and Intelligence that was in charge of Captain Nelson Manuel Uldaricio Ubilla Toledo (deceased, as recorded on page 1,296, volume IV), under whose command some non-commissioned officers of that institution also performed duties, among whom were Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce, Orlando Moreno Vásquez, and Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías. This work was reinforced after September 11, 1973, with the addition of Investigative Police officials Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased, as recorded on page 3,800, volume XI), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra, mentioned above, and Carabineros, among whom was Omar Burgos Dejean, who provided political information to the aforementioned officer regarding all those persons subject to an investigation by the Military Prosecutor's Office. Likewise, some officers, including Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, enlisted soldiers, and conscripts of the regiment joined the intelligence tasks. As the days went by, the Military Prosecutor's Office and the Second Intelligence Section began to work together to interrogate the detainees, as in this case, who remained imprisoned in the jail or in some facility of the Tucapel regiment. To coordinate this work, two locations were set up in the military unit, one located between the Headquarters Company and the Mortar Company, and another in an old, disused gymnasium located next to the conscript soldiers' "mess hall." In this way, detainees were taken back and forth from the jail to the regiment by military personnel of the Second Section, being interrogated at the Military Prosecutor's Office and physically tortured in one of the aforementioned facilities to "soften them up" before or after these interrogations, as in this case. In both interrogation and torture rooms, there were implements to tie up the detainees and apply electricity to different parts of the body, in addition to applying other types of torment such as kicks and punches, as in this case. Conscript soldiers participated in this task, among whom were Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Juan Humberto Carrillo Rebolledo, Libardo Schwartenski Rubio, and José Raúl Inzunza Reyes, and a Carabinero, Omar Burgos Dejean, who collaborated with Captain Nelson Ubilla Toledo and the Investigative Police detectives who were there, Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased, as recorded on page 3,800, volume XI), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra. Most of the officers of the "Tucapel" regiment and some enlisted soldiers from the Headquarters and Services Companies, including José Raúl Inzunza Reyes, from the Mortars, Hunters, and Second Section, also participated in the interrogation and/or torture sessions of detainees in those places, all of whom entered these facilities at different times. E.- That within the aforementioned military unit, a special group called "Patrulla Brava" or "Patrulla Chacal" was formed, composed of enlisted soldiers and conscripts from the Second Hunters Company, among whom were Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Juan Humberto Carrillo Rebolledo, and Libardo Schwartenski Rubio, under the orders of Second Lieutenant Manuel Espinoza Ponce (deceased, as recorded on page 1,299, volume IV), who in turn received orders from Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, who was in command of the Company. This group was responsible, among other duties, for guarding the detainees held in the facilities of the "Tucapel" regiment in Temuco. F.- That during the days following September 11, 1973, a significant number of people were killed or disappeared in the IX region, with several of these deaths being explained by regional military authorities through the publication of communiqués issued either from the Intendancy or the Temuco Military Garrison. The communiqué that explained the events subject to this investigation, in light of the evidence gathered in this process, provides an implausible version of how the events of the night of November 10, 1973, unfolded, taking into consideration the statement of Manuel Ángel Fernández Carranza (page 222), who, after the events of November 10, 1973, and upon returning from a mission he was entrusted with toward the Pucón sector in search of guerrillas, was summoned by the then-commander of the No. 8 Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased, as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), to inform him that the assault on the ammunition dump had not been such, but rather an execution carried out at the shooting range, information he gave him personally so that he would not find out through rumors. G.- That Florentino Alberto Molina Ruiz, member of the Central Committee and Regional Secretary of the Communist Party, was detained and taken from his home on Monday, November 5, 1973, by two Carabineros members of the Civil Commission, who transported him in a red pickup truck to the Second Police Station of Temuco, where he spent the night in a cell. The following morning, he was transferred to the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco by order of the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco, remaining imprisoned there until the night of November 10, 1973. During that period, his wife went daily to drop off clothes and food, which were channeled through the guards at the entrance of the military facility. In turn, Molina Ruiz would send her his used clothing as a sign that he was still being held there. Molina Ruiz, who was missing an arm due to a work accident, was seen as a detainee inside the aforementioned military facility by Hermán Carrasco Paúl, who was also in the same condition, who stated that both were victims of torture. He was also recognized due to his disability by some conscripts who guarded them. H.- That Juan Antonio Chávez Rivas, a student at the State Technical University, Regional Secretary, and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth, was detained on November 6, 1973, by two Carabineros members of the Civil Commission, who transported him in a red pickup truck to the Second Police Station of Temuco, where he spent the night. The following day, he was transferred to the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco. Relatives of the detainee approached the military unit to ask about him, where they were told he was not there, despite the fact that he was seen in the courtyard of the military facility heavily guarded and in very poor physical condition. I.- That Víctor Hugo Valenzuela Velásquez, a public employee and propaganda secretary of the Communist Youth of Cautín, was detained on November 7, 1973, around 10:00 AM, at the Real Estate Registrar of Temuco, where he worked. The arresting personnel, who were dressed in civilian clothes, belonged to the Army Intelligence Service, one of them being a Sergeant from the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco. Relatives of the detainee went to the "Tucapel" Regiment, where they confirmed the detention and for three days delivered clothes and blankets for him at the guardhouse. J.- That Juan Carlos Ruiz Mancilla, a Civil Construction student at the State Technical University and member of the Communist Youth, traveled to the city of Punta Arenas, where his parents lived, after September 11, 1973. He was detained there on November 7 of that same year and transported by plane to Temuco, where he was taken to the "Tucapel" Regiment. K.- That Amador Francisco Montero Mosquera, an Electrical Engineering student at the State Technical University and member of the Communist Youth, was detained at his home on November 7, 1973, by personnel from the Carabineros Civil Commission and transported to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco. Relatives went to that place to inquire about his situation and to deliver food and clothing. L.- That Pedro Juan Mardones Jofré, a student at the State Technical University, was detained at his home and transported to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco. The conscript soldier of the 2nd Section of the 2nd Hunters Company, Luis Humberto Llamunao Huaiquinao (pages 1234 to 1235 and 1323 to 1324), stated that it was his duty to bring water to Mardones Jofré, who was being held in a storage room located inside a mechanical workshop. At that moment, he noticed that the detainee had a very badly injured hand, making it impossible for him to hold the glass offered to him. M.- That Carlos Aillañir Huenchual, a farmer and supporter of the Unidad Popular government, was detained on November 6, 1973, by a military patrol moving in an institutional 3/4-ton truck. The detention took place in the rural sector of Pelales, in the town of Quepe, where the house of a brother of the detainee was located. The soldier in charge of the patrol indicated that the detainee was going to be taken to the Tucapel regiment of Temuco. N.- That at the end of the day on November 10, 1973, while the aforementioned detainees were being held in the "small" gymnasium of the Tucapel regiment of Temuco, guarded by conscript soldiers of the 2nd Hunters Company belonging to the "Chacal patrol," Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, Commander of the aforementioned company, and Second Lieutenant Espinoza (deceased, as recorded on page 1,299, volume IV) appeared, accompanied by other military personnel from the regiment. In addition, an institutional truck pulled up and backed into the entrance of the facility where the victims were being held. Due to its characteristics, said vehicle was recognized as the one usually used to transport meat and bread, and on some occasions, to transport conscripts for guard duty shifts. Immediately afterward, Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán instructed the subordinate personnel to have the detainees board the truck with them. The truck with the detainees, plus the officers and their companions, then left the scene. Regarding this same truck, the following day its cleaning was ordered, among others, to conscript soldier Héctor Florentino Navarrete Leiva, who stated that it was full of human flesh and brain remains (page 2150). Ñ.- That minutes later, sentries at the guard post located at the entrance to the military facility known as "Isla Cautín" saw a caravan of institutional vehicles enter the site, composed of at least one Toyota jeep and the truck indicated in the previous paragraph. O.- That in the final hours of November 10, 1973, the aforementioned detainees were taken from the Tucapel regiment of Temuco, loaded into the aforementioned military vehicle, and transported to the shooting range sector of the "Isla Cautín" military facility by the officers and their companions. In that place, the victims were tied to stakes that had been arranged in a row. Shortly thereafter, Captain Rodolfo Vargas Campos (deceased, as recorded on page 1,297, volume IV), Sergeant Hernán Rodrigo Santiesteban Domínguez (deceased, as recorded on page 4,953, volume XV), Sergeant Anacleto Aguirre Rivera (deceased, as recorded on page 10,240, volume XXIX), all from the 1st Hunters Company, plus Sergeant José Gajardo Gajardo (deceased, as recorded on page 4,954, volume XV) from the 2nd Hunters Company, joined the group of military personnel present in that sector. Second Sergeant Arnoldo Aedo Matus of the First Hunters Company was also part of this entourage. P.- That once the patrol commanded by Captain Vargas arrived at the scene, he ordered its members to position themselves behind the detainees who were tied to the stakes, with the exception of Second Sergeant Arnoldo Aedo Matus of the 1st Hunters Company, whom he told to move to another, distant location and proceed to fire shots toward the trees located in a specific sector of Isla Cautín. This Sergeant Aedo Matus was able to see that the regiment's Commander, Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased, as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), was present at the scene, accompanied by an officer of medium-tall height, and that two civilians were also witnessing the maneuvers in the same sector, recognizing one of them as the advisor lawyer to the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco, Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud. Q.- That subsequently, the detainees in those conditions were executed on the spot one by one and finished off with bursts of gunfire, after which their bodies were sent to the morgue of the regional hospital of Temuco, where the required autopsy was performed, determining the causes of death as follows: Molina Ruiz, cranial-encephalic explosion, multiple contusive gunshot wounds; Chávez Rivas, cranial-encephalic explosion, multiple contusive gunshot wounds; Valenzuela Velásquez, cranial-encephalic attrition, multiple contusive gunshot wounds; Ruiz Mancilla, shock, comminuted fracture of the pelvis and right femur, multiple gunshot wounds; Montero Mosquera, cranial-encephalic attrition, multiple contusive gunshot wounds; Mardones Jofré, cranial-encephalic attrition, multiple contusive gunshot wounds; Aillañir Huenchual, primary shock, multiple contusive transfixing gunshot wounds to the thorax, abdomen, and limbs. Finally, a military communiqué was drafted to be published in the press the following day, reporting an attempted assault on the Isla Cautín ammunition dump by a group of extremists. R.- That the day after these events occurred, news appeared in the local written press indicating that an assault had occurred on the Isla Cautín ammunition dump of the Tucapel Regiment, in which an undetermined number of extremists had participated, news that was ratified by Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased, as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), which must be contrasted with the statement of Manuel Fernández Carranza, who, after the events of November 10, 1973, and upon returning from a mission he was entrusted with toward the Pucón sector in search of guerrillas, was summoned by the then-commander of the No. 8 Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased, as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), to inform him that the assault on the ammunition dump had not been such, but rather an execution carried out at the shooting range, information he gave him personally so that he would not find out through rumors. During the following days, details continued to appear in the press about how these events had allegedly occurred and the way in which military personnel had repelled said attack and subsequently gone out in search of the supposed extremists who were not killed in the confrontation and who managed to flee the scene. In the civil aspect, the visiting minister accepted the filed lawsuit and ordered the state to pay a total compensation of $2,780,000,000 (two billion seven hundred eighty million pesos) for moral damages to the victims' families.

Source: pjud.cl, September 21, 2023