Celindo Catalán Acuña, 20 years old, unemployed, with no known political affiliation, was detained in the first days of March 1978 by officers of the Carabineros from the Zañartu neighborhood station in Chillán, after leaving his parents' home, located in the Población Luis Cruz Martínez of that city, at nightfall.

As recounted by Celindo Catalán Catalán, the victim's father, the affected individual had arrived at his home that day. Since the declarant was not there, the victim waited for him until nightfall, at which time he decided to leave for his own home.

However, he never arrived. Days later, the witness learned that he had not returned that night to his home located in the Población Santa Elvira, and he then visited hospitals, clinics, the Investigaciones (detective police), and the Legal Medical Institute, all without results.

Celindo Catalán Acuña had already been detained days earlier by the Carabineros and had been mistreated, as he himself told his relatives; on that occasion, he had been accused of assaulting the Carabineros, but he was released the following day without charges. Unfortunately, he did not tell his relatives at which Carabineros station he had been held.

His fate remains unknown since he was detained by the Carabineros of the Zañartu neighborhood station in Chillán.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

For years, the family, due to a lack of resources and support, did not take any judicial action. Only in 1990, before the First Criminal Court of Chillán, was a complaint filed for the presumed misfortune of the victim.

Source: Vicaría de la Solidaridad

He was detained in the month of March 1978. He was leaving our house when he was detained by a Carabineros patrol that apparently was waiting for him. Since then, I have not known anything more about him.

Celino, my dear son, was unemployed at the time of his detention; he was 33 years old. He was the one who helped the most around the house when he had work. He was very hardworking, of a very humble and diligent character.

I suffered a lot looking for him; I was asking around in Tomé, Ranguelmo, Portezuelo, Guacalmo, Chillán, and other places.

I remember that I would go out in the wind, cold, and rain to inquire, to ask. I wanted to find him alive; that is how the days, the months, and the years passed. My heart would shrink with grief every night, waiting for his return. We all missed him very much and prayed to God that they would return him alive to our house.

Today we are still waiting; we want to find him, alive or dead, but we want to find him.

Luisa Acuña and Celindo Catalán C.

HIS PARENTS

Source: (Extracted from the book Memoria Histórica de los Detenidos Desaparecidos de Ñuble)

The book "Breaking the silence of children and adolescents who were political executions victims during the civil-military dictatorship 1973-1990" incorporates testimonies, photographs, letters, and other documents that families and friends provided or wrote specifically to be published.

The work was carried out by the Association of Relatives of Political Executions Victims (AFEP) with the support of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, through the Culture, Memory, and Human Rights Unit, and the Human Rights Chair of the University of Chile.

The publication, based primarily on the report of the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (1991) and the report of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (1996), seeks to reconstruct each of the victims' lives and stories in a comprehensive and careful manner.

During the investigation, the archive of the Association of Relatives of Political Executions Victims was accessed, where documents that families have preserved over the years are kept. Illustrations by Álvaro Gómez were also included.

The creation process was a complex challenge that involved combining delicacy, respect, and methodological rigor to state a painful and inescapable truth in this work.

Source: cultura.gobierno.cl 20/4/2023