On October 16, 1973, fifteen people who were being held as prisoners at the La Serena Prison were executed by firing squad at the Arica Regiment in that city: Oscar Gastón AEDO HERRERA […] Carlos Enrique ALCAYAGA VARELA, 38 years old, bricklayer, Regional Secretary of the Central Workers' Union (CUT), Governor of Vicuña, and a member of the Movement of Unitary Popular Action (MAPU).

He was arrested on September 12 by Carabineros of Vicuña and taken to the police station in that city, from where he was transferred to the La Serena Prison. José Eduardo ARAYA GONZALEZ […] Marcos Enrique BARRANTES ALCAYAGA […] Jorge Abel CONTRERAS GODOY […] Hipólito Pedro CORTES ALVAREZ […] Oscar Armando CORTES CORTES […] Víctor Fernando ESCOBAR ASTUDILLO […] Roberto GUZMAN SANTA CRUZ […] Jorge Mario JORDAN DOMIC […] Manuel Jachadur MARCARIAN JAMETT […] Jorge Ovidio OSORIO ZAMORA […] Jorge Washington PEÑA HEN […] Mario Alberto RAMIREZ SEPULVEDA […] Gabriel Gonzalo VERGARA MUÑOZ […] The Military Command (Jefatura de Plaza), through the press, issued an official statement which noted: "The public is informed that today, October 16, at 16:00 hours, the following persons were executed in accordance with the provisions established by Military Tribunals in times of war..." Regarding Mario Ramírez, Jorge Peña, Marcos Barrantes, and Jorge Osorio, it was stated that: "they had participated in the acquisition and distribution of firearms and in paramilitary training and organization activities with the intent to attack the Armed Forces and Carabineros and individuals in the area." Regarding Oscar Aedo Herrera, Víctor Escobar, José Araya, and Jorge Contreras, it was stated that: "they were part of a terrorist group that had planned for September 17 to seize the Carabineros barracks in Salamanca, kill the personnel and their children over 8 years of age, and physically eliminate a group of 30 people in the city, whose names it is not appropriate to disclose for obvious reasons." Regarding Hipólito Cortés Alvarez, Jorge Jordán, Gabriel Vergara, and Oscar Cortés, it was stated that they had: "hidden underground a large quantity of fifteen weapons, abundant ammunition, and explosives, with the intention of attacking the Carabineros of Ovalle on September 17." It was further noted that they had "participated as guerrilla instructors in the area." Regarding Carlos Alcayaga, it was stated that he had been executed by firing squad for: "stealing explosives by force from the powder magazine of the Contador mine, in Vicuña, on September 11, 1973, explosives which were found hidden underground and ready to be used" and that "he was an instructor in the handling of explosives at a Guerrilla School that operated in Vicuña." Regarding Manuel Marcarian, it was stated that he was executed for: "having been found in possession of explosives to assault the Los Vilos sub-prefecture barracks, ignoring the Edicts and the warnings made personally by Carabineros." Regarding Roberto Guzmán, it was stated that his execution was: "for inciting the miners of the Desvío Norte Camp and its surroundings to seize the powder magazines and offer armed resistance to the Government Junta." The bodies were not returned to the families for burial. The official information provided by the military authority of the zone reports the holding of a War Council on October 16, which allegedly ordered the death sentences of the fifteen prisoners; and that the sentencing tribunal had "come especially from Santiago." This Commission confirms the presence in the area of a special delegation that arrived from Santiago, with the authority to review the situation of the detainees in the area. Credible testimonies have been received regarding the lists of those arrested by the military authorities of said delegation, and the selection they made of the individuals whose situations were to be reviewed. In relation to all these deaths, the Commission received abundant and qualified testimonies that are consistent on certain facts: the fifteen prisoners identified above were executed outside of any legal process by State agents. This conviction is supported by the following evidence: – Credible testimonies regarding the sequence of events that led to the death of the fifteen detainees, as there was almost no time between the review of the cases and the execution, which makes it impossible for a War Council adhering to the Law to have taken place in that interval. – The fact that, had the alleged War Council been held, there was no right to defense for the accused, since there were no lawyers present nor any possibility of presenting a defense. Furthermore, Roberto Guzmán, as previously noted, had already been sentenced by a War Council to a five-year term, which was reduced in 1975 to 541 days. Despite the repeated requests and inquiries of the Commission, it was not possible to obtain a copy of a judicial sentence or any procedural document referring to the trial that had allegedly been conducted against the fifteen executed individuals. Therefore, and considering that the accused lacked any possibility of defense, and the charges do not appear to be substantiated in any document to which this Commission has had access, this Commission has formed the conviction that the fifteen executions constitute a violation of human rights attributable to State agents.