• Isaías José FUENTEALBA CALDERON, 29 years old, Area Head of the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex at the Trafún estate, member of the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR). He was detained in Liquiñe while heading to his home;
• Luis Armando LAGOS TORRES, 50 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, member of the Socialist Party, detained in Carranco;
• Alberto Segundo REINANTE RAIPAN, 39 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, member of the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR), detained in Trafún;
• Ernesto Juan REINANTE RAIPAN, 29 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, member of the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR), detained in Trafún;
• Modesto REINANTE RAIPAN, 18 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, member of the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR), detained in Trafún;
• Luis RIVERA CATRICHEO, whose identity was confirmed by witnesses, 54 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, with no known political affiliation, detained in Paimún;
• Alejandro Antonio TRACANAO PINCHEIRA, 22 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, linked to the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR), detained in Trafún;
• José Miguel TRACANAO PINCHEIRA, 25 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, linked to the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR), detained in Trafún;
• Eliseo Maximiliano TRACANAO VALENZUELA, 18 years old, timber worker at the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex, linked to the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR), detained in Trafún;

It is reasonable to presume that Bernarda Rosalba VERA CONTARDO, 27 years old, a teacher at the Puerto Fuy school (part of the "Panguipulli" Timber and Forestry Complex) and a member of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), was also detained with this group in Trafún.

According to accounts from other witnesses, she had been in hiding somewhere within the Timber Complex, as she was being intensely sought by military authorities. Her relatives had been informed that she had been sentenced to death in absentia during proceedings allegedly initiated due to the assault on the Neltume Police Station, in which she was accused of having participated.

It has been established that the detentions were carried out by uniformed personnel who carried a list of the detainees' names, which had been prepared by civilians who also participated in the operation.

The apprehending agents were guided through the sector by several Carabineros officers from the Liquiñe Police Station. The military personnel wore combat uniforms and identified themselves as "military" to the relatives, stating that the detainees would return home as soon as they provided some statements.

Testimonies received by this Commission suggest that the uniformed personnel belonged to the No. 3 "Maquehua" Helicopter Group based in the city of Temuco and were members of the Air Force. They moved in a private vehicle, a pickup truck belonging to the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG), a police vehicle, and the ambulance from the Liquiñe Police Station; they also had the support of a helicopter.

They acted in several groups, which gathered at the Coñaripe junction, near all the locations where the detentions took place. From there, they took the road to Villarrica, and at the bridge over the Toltén River, located at the entrance to the city, they killed them and threw their bodies into the water. Two of them were recognized by locals before they submerged permanently in the river.

The Commission is convinced that the sixteen individuals mentioned were executed outside of any legal process by State agents who violated their right to life and subsequently hid their bodies, preventing their families from giving them a dignified burial. This conviction is based on the following evidence:

• The detention of the aforementioned individuals was confirmed;
• Investigations conducted by this Commission reliably confirm that all of them disappeared after their detention, with all traces lost. Added to this is the fact that none of the detainees has made contact with their families, carried out administrative procedures before State agencies, or registered entries or exits from the country, or deaths, subsequent to their detentions;
• Multiple credible and consistent testimonies received by this Commission report hearing gunshots at the Villarrica Bridge over the Toltén River around 02:00 hours on October 11, and seeing traces of blood on it the following day;
• The existence of witnesses who declare having recognized at least two of the bodies found in Villarrica as belonging to two of the forcibly disappeared persons from Liquiñe.
• The Commission's attempts to obtain official information regarding the case from military authorities and the officials who should have provided an explanation were unsuccessful.

Source: (Rettig Report)

Carlos, of Mapuche origin, was 31 years old at the time of his detention.

He was married to Herminda Arauco Jaramillo, 28 years old, and they had five children: Hemelda, six; José Aliro, four; Carlos Luís, three; Juana del Carmen, one year old; and Luisa Sandra, three months old.

Currently, Herminda lives in Santiago and is in constant contact with us. She has told us episodes of her life with Carlos: "He was raised by an aunt, as his mother died when he was small. There were two brothers.

They grew up next to seven cousins on the Llonquén estate, adjacent to the Trafún estate. The aunt says he was a quiet person. He studied for one or two years at the school on that estate. Since the family had no money, he could not continue studying and began working by collecting milk and going out to sell it himself.

He was almost illiterate, barely able to do the math for his work; but since he was intelligent and always wanted to know more, he taught himself to read and write." "I lived on the Trafún estate. Carlos worked as a laborer, opening paths into the mountains.

He was 21 or 22 when we became friends. He was chubby, round-faced, of medium height, with light eyes. He was a bit moody. Sometimes he would get bad-tempered, but he always respected me a lot. He was never mean to me and never hit me." "He was sturdy, he had a large mole on his right shoulder, and I always told him that if he ever got lost, I would recognize him by that mole.

He was very kind and affectionate; the six years we lived together passed like three days. When they took him, he was warming his feet, with Juanita in his arms, and we were drinking mate." "Everyone knew him as 'Calbún,' which was his surname from before, but when he requested his papers to marry me, they arrived as Cayumán." "Carlos participated in all the activities that took place in the Complex and attended meetings in Sector I of the Trafún estate.

At that time, he joined the Revolutionary Peasant Movement (MCR) as a militant, and in that capacity, he participated in the land occupations."

Herminda says

"I didn't understand anything because when you don't have an education, you don't know what's happening in the world, and you're like a little animal (...) he wanted a better life, but he wasn't very involved; he was in the union, but everything was to live better, to give us a better life." The eldest daughter, Hemelda, who is now 23 years old, is married and lives in Valdivia, has many memories of her father: "He liked to go out with everyone, even though us kids were always making a mess, but he was happy.

He always had a very good sense of humor; I never saw him angry (...) he never hit us; he was a very focused person: according to him, children didn't understand slaps, but words. My dad made us sing; he would lift us up onto a table and we would sing there.

He liked us to dance; he almost always chose me (...) we had a radio (...) I was his favorite. When he went to buy things in Panguipulli, he would take me. Around 6 in the morning, he would wrap me in a sheet and we would leave: at the junction, he would change my clothes and say: 'My daughter, are you ready?' My mom said he spoiled me too much because he would leave with me and buy me dresses." "My mom was also his favorite (...) He helped her with everything because my mom was quite sickly and would spend two or three months in bed when a baby was born.

He dedicated himself to taking care of her, left everything clean, washed diapers, everything, and on top of that, he would go to his work, then return in the afternoon to do the same again (...)" Regarding Carlos's political activities, Hemelda told us: "I think the meetings were on Thursdays; they would gather in a room, there were about twenty of them.

I would always sneak in, and my dad would say that since I was a girl, I wouldn't understand much. I remember they would spend time on long speeches (...) some newspapers (...) each one was given a sheet and they would start to discuss.

At that time, I didn't know Allende existed; I never understood that, but the thing is that my dad detested the 'milicos' (military) and every time they came around, he would always fight with them. When they left, the argument would continue between my dad and my mom. What my mom wanted most was for him to leave it all. He said no, because he had already committed himself to the workers."

Hemelda ends by saying

"My mom burned all the papers. She asked me where they were, because they never let her enter the room. I showed her a board on the floor that could be removed and put back, and that's where the papers were."

Source: unidadmpt.wordpress.com 1/9/2017 Date: 09-01-2017

Court confirms longer sentence for human rights violations during the dictatorship

The Santiago Court of Appeals confirmed this Friday an 18-year prison sentence against retired Colonel Hugo Alberto Guerra Jorquera for the kidnapping of 11 peasants who were executed in 1973 but whose bodies were never found, judicial sources reported.

The peasants were from the town of Liquiñe and worked at a timber complex in the area. The appeals court rejected an appeal filed by Guerra Jorquera to invalidate the sentence imposed by Judge Alejandro Solís in January 2006, which is currently the harshest sentence handed down for human rights violations.

The retired Army colonel was also ordered to pay 250 million pesos (about 480,000 dollars) in compensation, pursuant to a civil lawsuit filed against him by five relatives of the victims. According to the Rettig Report, which documented human rights violations during the regime of the late dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), the agricultural workers were detained in a joint operation by the Carabineros police from the Liquiñe station, Army personnel, and civilians.

The peasants were taken to the Villarrica bridge over the Toltén River, where they were executed and their bodies were never found. Among the executed are the brothers Modesto, Ernesto, and Alberto Reinante Raipán, all three workers and members of the Panguipulli timber complex union.

The plaintiff lawyer, Nelson Caucoto, celebrated the ruling because, as he said, it confirms the crimes and establishes exemplary punishments for the accused.

Source: August 3, 2007 El Mostrador Date: 08-03-2007

Judge Solís handed down the highest penalty to date in human rights cases

The magistrate sentenced a retired Army lieutenant colonel to 18 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree for the qualified kidnapping of 11 peasants in Liquiñe. Minister Alejandro Solís handed down this Thursday the highest penalty known for a case linked to human rights violations during the military regime led by General (R) Augusto Pinochet.

The magistrate sentenced retired Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Alberto Guerra Jorquera to 18 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree as the perpetrator of repeated crimes of qualified kidnapping in the so-called "Liquiñe episode." The ruling is based on the repression suffered starting on October 10, 1973, by a group of 11 peasants who sympathized with the Popular Unity (UP) in the foothills sector of the Tenth Region of Los Lagos.

Among the victims are Salvador Álamos Rubilar, José Héctor Bórquez Levican, Daniel Antonio Castro López, Carlos Alberto Cayuman Cayuman, Mauricio Segundo Curiñanco Reyes, Carlos Figueroa Zapata, Isaías José Fuentealba Calderón, Luis Armando Lagos Torres, Ernesto Juan Reinante Raipan, Modesto Juan Reinante Raipan, and Luis Alfredo Rivera Catricheo.

The retired Army officer was also ordered to pay a total sum of $250 million as compensation, pursuant to a civil lawsuit filed against him by five relatives of the deceased. The beneficiaries, with $50 million each, will be Miguel Ángel and Isaías Julián Fuentealba Lagos, as well as Héctor Hernán, Hugo Raúl, and Didier Antonio Figueroa Arraigada.

Additionally, the owner of the Liquiñe Hot Springs, a civilian identified as Luis Osvaldo García Guzmán, was convicted as the perpetrator of the qualified kidnapping of Luis Armando Lagos Torres and received a sentence of five years and one day.

Source: January 26, 2006 El Mostrador Date: 01-26-2006