Celso Avendaño Alarcón, married, furniture maker, president of the "Los Boldos" settlement in Pitrufquén, was detained on the morning of October 16, 1973, at his home on Calle Bilbao in the town of Pitrufquén by military personnel who claimed to belong to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco.

The arrest was carried out in the presence of Celso Avendaño's neighbors, who notified his spouse, who lived in the city of Temuco. Presumably, he was transferred to that city, after which all traces of him were lost. His family made numerous inquiries to learn the fate of the affected party at the hands of his captors; none of them yielded any results.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

Ms. Esmeraldina Stancobich Meriño, the victim's spouse, filed a complaint for alleged disappearance in 1989 before the Criminal Court of Pitrufquén, in which she set forth the circumstances of her husband's arrest and subsequent disappearance.

Likewise, in August 1990, she placed these same facts on record in a sworn statement, in which she added that she had not taken action previously for fear of reprisals against herself and her family.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity

Two important elements can be highlighted regarding the repression that descended upon southern Chile, in the Araucanía region, after the 1973 coup d'état. First, the repression of men of the Church; five priests were victims of the death machine set in motion by the coup-plotting uniformed officers.

Of these five victims, two remain forcibly disappeared to this day. The other three survivors suffered torture, political imprisonment, and exile. Second, one can highlight the massive repression of Mapuche peasants who had participated actively in the Agrarian Reform process.

The recovery of their lands constitutes the Mapuche people's primary claim, which has had a historical consistency and remains valid to this day.

1.- The repression of priests and men of the Church in Araucanía. The cruelty and ferocity of the repression spared no one and excluded no one, which well illustrates the fascist character of the coup d'état of the Chilean Military Junta, headed by General Augusto Pinochet.

The sins of the priests who were victims of the repression were their ties and commitment to the poor in the shantytowns and the countryside. In a book written by Father Miguel JORDA titled "Martyrology of the Chilean Church," the cases of Wilfredo ALARCON and two secularized priests appear: Etienne PESLE (French) and Omar VENTURELLI (Italian).

State terrorism was unleashed in southern Chile, where the Agrarian Reform had advanced by leaps and bounds. The hour of bloody vengeance began with the coup d'état of September 11. And so that there would be no doubt about what they were capable of doing, the coup-plotting military published a communiqué titled: "Bando N° 30 of the Intendancy of the Province of Cautín," which in one of its points states: "...

The Armed Forces and Carabineros will be energetic in the maintenance of public order, for the sake of the tranquility of all Chileans. For every innocent person who falls, 10 undesirable Marxist elements will be executed, immediately, and in accordance with the provisions established by the Code of Military Justice in Time of War." Bando dated: "Temuco, September 17, 1973." The list of the five religious martyrs of the Catholic Church from the Araucanía region consists of: Mario NAHUELPAN, priest from the city of Ercilla and exiled in Canada.

Anselmo LEONELLI, priest from Temuco, from the Perpetual Help Parish. Wilfredo ALARCON, priest from the city of Perquenco, exiled in Argentina. Esteban PESLE, former priest, lived in Temuco. Detained and forcibly disappeared on September 19, 1973.

Omar VENTURELLI, former priest from Temuco. Detained and forcibly disappeared on October 4, 1973. In Father Miguel JORDA's book, there is an excerpt that summarizes well the situation experienced by the priest ALARCON: "Fr.

Wilfredo ALARCON was a priest in Perquenco, Diocese of Temuco, and in the days of the coup he was kidnapped and tortured. And later, like so many other peasants and townspeople, he was murdered and his body thrown into the Cautín River.

But, as God's ways are unfathomable, he can still tell the story..." This priest was saved by a miracle, as none of the bullets he received hit any vital organ. A sort of diary written by Fr. Wilfredo ALARCON, which is included in Father Miguel JORDA's book, relates that he was rescued while wounded by the Bishop of Temuco at the time, Bernardino PINERA, who managed to get him across to Argentina, along with two other survivors: the priests Mario NAHUELPAN and Anselmo LEONELLI.

The cases of former priests Omar VENTURELLI and Esteban PESLE have had a much more dramatic end to this day, since despite the search for their bodies and a multitude of attempts at justice made by their relatives, nothing has been achieved, "not even the slightest trace." The Chilean justice system, for decades, ignored the appeals for protection, habeas corpus (during the time of the dictatorship), and subsequently the lawsuits filed by the relatives of the disappeared.

They languished for years in the courts only to be rejected or dismissed, applying the Amnesty Law (of 1978). For the VENTURELLI case, four rejections, and three for Esteban PESLE. The names of a good portion of the torturers and those responsible for disappearances in the Araucanía region are known.

But the cloak of impunity continues to protect the violators of Human Rights in Chile to this day. How long will this situation of injustice be maintained? So far, no one can know... International justice has had to take charge of the cases of Omar VENTURELLI and Esteban PESLE, since in Chile, despite the various attempts made before the Chilean justice system by the victims' relatives, no lawsuit has borne fruit and all have finally been rejected.

Thus, in the year 2008, the Italian Justice system ordered the arrest and extradition of the Military Prosecutor of Temuco, Alfonso Podlech, who was arrested in Madrid. Podlech is a Prosecutor responsible for the torture and disappearance of political prisoners, who played a very important role in Temuco in the War Councils, condemning many political prisoners.

The trial in Rome lasted three years, but unfortunately, in the end, he was acquitted. Leaving the relatives of Omar VENTURELLI with a great and painful frustration at being, consequently, unable to mourn...

In France, in the month of December 2010, a major trial took place at the Cour d’Assises in Paris regarding the case of four French citizens who disappeared after the coup d'état of September 11, 1973.

Among the French disappeared was the case of Etienne PESLE. One of the members of the Death Squad that detained Esteban PESLE was the head of the Air Force command, Emilio Sandoval Poo, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.

It was a "symbolic" trial for Memory that allowed the relatives to begin their mourning... It is worth noting that among the witnesses who came to testify in favor of Esteban PESLE at the Paris court was the priest Mario NAHUELPAN, who made the trip from his country of exile, Canada, to testify that he had seen Esteban PESLE at the MAQUEHUE Air Base in Temuco, one of the major torture centers.

This center was in a sinister competition with the other center, the Tucapel Regiment, in a challenge that consisted of determining who was the most efficient in torture, disappearances, and mass detentions.

Thanks to the pressure from the French justice system, which requested the extradition of the torturer Emilio Sandoval Poo, on January 7 of this year, nine retired members of the Chilean Air Force were arrested in Santiago.

All of them are accused of being responsible for the qualified kidnapping and disappearance of the former French priest Etienne PESLE. Among those arrested is Emilio Sandoval Poo, the sinister head of the "death squad" that kidnapped the former religious figure from the offices of the Agricultural Development Institute (INDAP) of Temuco.

A small hope for the relatives of Esteban PESLE who continue to search for the truth to know where Esteban's remains are. After 40 long years of waiting, it seems the Chilean justice system is waking up.

It is not yet known if a trial will actually be opened against the uniformed officers who are being held in the Air Force facilities in Santiago... Of the five religious figures, four passed through the sinister torture and extermination center of the Maquehue Air Base.

The only one who escaped the ordeal of torture was the priest Anselmo LEONELLI, who went directly into exile in Argentina and subsequently took refuge in Canada.

2.- Massive repression of the Mapuche people in Araucanía. a.- Situation prior to the coup d'état and during the dictatorial period. The repression of the Mapuches began before September 11, 1973. A well-coordinated military operation between the Army and the Air Force was unleashed on August 30, 1973, just 10 days before the great Coup, against the Mapuche peasants of the coastal area of Temuco, known as Nehuentúe.

In an article in the magazine "Chile HOY" dated September 7, 1973, the repression in the Araucanía area is reported: "The operation of intimidation, repression, and torture began in the early hours of Thursday, August 30, in a combined operation of the N° 8 'Tucapel' Mountain Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Pablo Iturriaga, and the N° 3 Helicopter Group of the Air Force, under the command of Commander Rigoberto Pacheco, both with a known track record in the coup-plotting deliberation existing within the Armed Forces." In this same "Chile Hoy" article, the testimony of a Mapuche peasant woman, Margarita PAILLAL, is provided, who recounts what she saw and experienced that Thursday, August 30, 1973: "It was about nine in the morning when three helicopters appeared in Nehuentúe, at the Production Center (CEPRO), from which the military descended, almost flying. They ran toward the main house and toward my house, which was the closest to that main house. There were many soldiers from the FACH (Chilean Air Force), from the military, there were about 30 who got off, but then, a little while later, other Army trucks kept arriving. Those arrived from the Puerto Saavedra side." In this operation, which lasted four days, the military savagely tortured the peasants, and a group of 20 of them were transferred to Temuco and imprisoned in the city's jail. This group of peasants, mostly Mapuches, were accused of being "the guerrillas of Nehuentúe." They were held in detention, without trial, for more than three years. And in the end, they were released, as they could never be convicted because they lacked charges. The accusation of being "guerrillas" was a crude journalistic setup, framed within the campaign of terror, the famous "Plan Z." The main characteristic of the Araucanía region is its great agricultural activity. "The Araucanía region, in southern Chile, was the region where the Agrarian Reform law was advancing by leaps and bounds, reforming the entire countryside of southern Chile. The provinces of Malleco and Cautín, today the IX region of the country, were characterized by concentrating the largest number of estates and latifundios. Social relations in the countryside could be categorized, at the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s, as feudal; where the owners of the estates were masters and lords, possessors of thousands of hectares of land that contrasted with the situation of the great mass of poor peasants, and where the peasants of Mapuche origin were the most marginalized." (Source: article "Trial in Paris for the French disappeared: The case of Etienne PESLE, disappeared in Temuco, Chile, on September 19, 1973," author Carlos López). The government of President Salvador Allende (1970-1973) had as its main axis changing the situation of social injustice, deepening the Agrarian Reform Law program inherited from the Christian Democratic government of Eduardo Frei. The application and deepening of this Reform, during the Allende government, mobilized thousands of peasants who were favored by this Law and were naturally loyal militants of the set of left-wing forces that supported the Popular Unity government. The tension and social and political effervescence of the Chilean countryside sharpened social conflicts. The owners of the estates that were taken over or in the process of expropriation organized to oppose the Agrarian Reform. To do so, they used all means: legal and illegal; peaceful and violent. The landowners, at the end of the Allende government, were organized into paramilitary groups that opposed the advance of the Agrarian Reform with weapons in hand. Premonitory was the position of one of the Chilean right-wing parties. The then 'National Party' of Temuco (today 'National Renewal'), on February 12, 1972, issued a public declaration against the Agrarian Reform, in whose text it declared war and announced the terrible repression that was exercised later, throughout Chile. "Marxists, your days are numbered!" The coup d'état of Tuesday, September 11, 1973, was the day of the great vengeance and massacre. The fierce repression against the supporters of the democratic Government of Salvador Allende had no limits. The estate owners, the coup-plotting military, and the fascist groups of "Patria y Libertad" set out on a human hunt that this region of southern Chile had never known before. The prison population of the Temuco jail suddenly grew with the arrival of political prisoners. The testimony of the prison guard, Lieutenant Alfredo García, is eloquent. He tells us that from "September 11, 1973, onwards... lists of detainees arrived both night and day, for we had a population of about 200 inmates (common criminals), but later they increased to about 2,000." Information that can be easily ratified by the thousands of political prisoners who entered and left the jail during the first months of the coup. One of the characteristics that distinguished the group of political prisoners in the Temuco jail was that the majority were peasants of Mapuche origin, of all ages: children, young people, and the elderly. They were the first to arrive, even as we said previously, before September 11, 1973, and the last to leave the jail, at the end of 1976 and 1977. In the lists of detainees and those executed in the Araucanía region, approximately more than 200 people, there is an important conglomerate of Mapuche victims. And perhaps, for the first time in the history of Chile, the phenomenon occurs that among the political exiles of the dictatorial period, there are also Mapuche peasants. b.- Current situation. During these last decades, a series of serious events have taken place in the region, which has meant the militarization of the Mapuche territory, the establishment of a police regime, the murder of several community members by members of the Carabineros of Chile, and a series of hunger strikes by Mapuche political prisoners, all occurring before the indifference of the State authorities. On repeated occasions, a group of 'Chilean Historians' have issued declarations (years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013) where they have denounced the repression and the violation of the Human Rights of the Mapuche people. Likewise, the academics have delivered diverse proposals on how to respond to their demands. Other social and citizen organizations have also questioned the State authorities on the same issues. In these diverse documents, they have pointed out that this situation has a historical genesis, which starts "with the process of conquest and military occupation of the Mapuche territory by the Spanish hosts in the 16th century, thus beginning the process of usurpation of indigenous lands. Although the Mapuche resistance managed to contain the invading advance during the colonial centuries and the first republican decades, during the second half of the 19th century, as the Chilean national State consolidated, the ruling class again fixed its eyes on those territories, deploying the wrongly named 'Pacification of the Araucanía,' which culminated in the violent dispossession of the Mapuche people's lands and their confinement in reservations that have perpetuated their poverty, marginalization, and discrimination to this day." – Historical Mapuche claims. Continuity. They point out that "Since then, the struggle of the Mapuches to recover their ancestral lands has not ceased, although it has manifested itself in diverse ways and has known advances and setbacks according to historical moments. Starting with the constitution of the first Mapuche organizations (mutualist and cultural) at the beginning of the 20th century to the current land recoveries, passing through participation in political parties, the Ranquil uprising of 1934 (in alliance with poor Chilean peasants), and the 'fence-running' of the years of the Agrarian Reform; one can observe a notable historical continuity in the demands for land, justice, and freedom of this people." The Chilean State has transferred the resolution of Mapuche demands to the judicial and police spheres, criminalizing their initiatives and struggles and denying the recognition of their political autonomy as a people. The result of all this is expressed in the militarization of the Mapuche region, the application of special laws, especially the anti-terrorist law inherited from the military dictatorship, and the censorship of the media regarding the conflict being experienced in the region. The repression unleashed against the communities of the Mapuche territory has been promoted and accepted by the various levels and authorities of the Chilean State, as well as by business organizations. A large part of the media has maintained a complicit silence or has distorted the reality of the events. Recently, a portion of the Mapuche political prisoners began a new 39-day hunger strike on April 7 in the Angol prison, which is added to the others carried out previously. This movement demanded the review of the sentences of three political prisoners, the end of the application of the anti-terrorist law and the use of "secret witnesses" in judicial proceedings, as well as the fulfillment of agreements established in previous mobilizations, such as the transfer of political prisoners to the Angol Study and Work Center (CET) and compliance with international treaties such as Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO). They also demanded the pardon of a political prisoner with a terminal illness, the end of the criminalization of their struggles, and the translation into concrete facts of the "forgiveness" declarations of the regional Government representative. Finally, on May 16, 2014, the political prisoners announced the end of the strike, considering that they had achieved satisfaction for a large part of the initially demanded petition. – Proposals for conflict resolution. The previously cited academics delivered a series of proposals indicating that "only a radical change in the position of the State and of Chilean society as a whole regarding the 'Mapuche question' will be able to provide an effective solution to this conflict that is more than a century old. It is necessary to eradicate from the root the discrimination and racism of which this native people is a victim, aiming at the underlying causes of their unrest. It is necessary, in the first place, to advance toward a rapid constitutional recognition of the Mapuche people and of all the native peoples who have populated the territory of the current Republic of Chile for many centuries. It is also necessary to build, together with those peoples, a formula consensually agreed upon with the Chilean people for political autonomy within the framework of a State that must declare itself as plurinational and pluricultural. Likewise, the urgent adoption of measures is imposed that aim at the return of the usurped lands, the release of the Mapuche political prisoners, the cessation of repression against the communities, the end of the militarization of the Araucanía, and the non-application of the Anti-Terrorist Law in events produced in the context of social, protest, or national struggles, the protection of Mapuche childhood threatened by the repressive offensive of the State, the unrestricted application of the clauses of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) signed by Chile that concerns native peoples, the preservation of the Mapuche language and culture, among other measures demanded by Mapuche and Human Rights defense organizations."

OFFICIAL LIST OF VICTIMS: ARAUCANÍA REGION

1.- Aedo Hidalgo Luciano – Forcibly Disappeared – October 11, 1973 – Cunco – Shoemaker – No political affiliation. 2.- Aguayo Olavarría Héctor – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Student – Socialist Party affiliation. 3.- Aguilera Salas Hernaldo – Political Execution – October 17, 1973 – Freire – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation. 4.- Aguirre Domitila – Political Execution – October 24, 1973 – Angol – Housewife – No political affiliation. 5.- Aillañir Huenchual Carlos – Forcibly Disappeared – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Agricultural worker – Communist Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 6.- Aillon Lara Jorge – Forcibly Disappeared – September 27, 1973 – Lonquimay – Employee – Communist Party affiliation. 7.- Alamos Rubilar Salvador – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Dental mechanic – Socialist Party affiliation. 8.- Almonacid Dumenes Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – September 25, 1973 – Temuco – Student – MIR affiliation. 9.- Alvear Ortega José – Political Execution – December 9, 1973 – Temuco – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 10.- Ancao Paine Alejandro – Forcibly Disappeared – September 26, 1973 – Cunco – Small farmer – Socialist Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 11.- Aninao Morales Antonio – Forcibly Disappeared – September 24, 1973 – Milipeuco – Small farmer – Communist Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 12.- Arriagada Jerez María – Forcibly Disappeared – September 27, 1973 – Lonquimay – Teacher – Communist Party affiliation. 13.- Avendaño Alarcón Celso – Forcibly Disappeared – October 21, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Furniture maker – Socialist Party affiliation. 14.- Badilla Vassey Ambrosio – Forcibly Disappeared – September 22, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – MIR affiliation. 15.- Barriga Gutiérrez Osvaldo – Forcibly Disappeared – November 21, 1975 – Pitrufquén – Shoemaker – Socialist Party affiliation. 16.- Barriga Nahuelhual Alejo – Forcibly Disappeared – October 17, 1973 – Freire – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 17.- Bastias Riquelme Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – October 1973 – Freire – Agricultural worker – MAPU affiliation. 18.- Beltrán Curiche José – Forcibly Disappeared – December 2, 1974 – Perquenco – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 19.- Beltrán Meliqueo José – Political Execution – October 15, 1973 – Lautaro – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 20.- Bioley Ojeda Manuel – Forcibly Disappeared – November 1973 – Temuco – Conscript – No political affiliation. 21.- Bocaz Muñoz Ismael – Forcibly Disappeared – October 18, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Employee – Communist Party affiliation. 22.- Bórquez Levican José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Lumber worker – No political affiliation. 23.- Buchhorsts Fernández José – Forcibly Disappeared – September 11, 1973 – Villarrica – Conscript – No political affiliation. 24.- Burgos Muñoz Manuel – Political Execution – February 8, 1990 – Temuco – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 25.- Burgos Lavoz Osvaldo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 15, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Employee – Socialist Party affiliation. 26.- Burgos Sepúlveda Aníbal – Political Execution – September 27, 1973 – Lautaro – Employee – Communist Party affiliation. 27.- Bustos Martínez Ricardo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 25, 1973 – Temuco – Laborer – No political affiliation. 28.- Cabrera Figueroa Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Student – Socialist Party affiliation. 29.- Calderón Otaíza Jorge – Forcibly Disappeared – September 30, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Socialist Party affiliation. 30.- Calfuquir Villalón Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – September 18, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Employee – Radical Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 31.- Candia Reyes Segundo – Political Execution – February 9, 1984 – Temuco – Carpenter – No political affiliation. 32.- Canío Contreras José – Political Execution – January 14, 1974 – Temuco – Small farmer – No political affiliation. 33.- Carilaf Huenchupan Gregoria – Political Execution – November 21, 1973 – Lautaro – Housewife – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 34.- Carrero Chanqueo Ramón – Political Execution – November 21, 1973 – Temuco – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 35.- Castro López Daniel – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Merchant – No political affiliation. 36.- Catalán Escobar Hernán – Forcibly Disappeared – November 21, 1975 – Pitrufquén – Shoemaker – Socialist Party affiliation. 37.- Catalán Lincoleo Samuel – Forcibly Disappeared – June 28, 1974 – Lautaro – Agricultural technician – Communist Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 38.- Catlán Paillal Manuel – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation. 39.- Catriel Catrileo Reinaldo – Forcibly Disappeared – November 11, 1973 – Temuco – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 40.- Cayuman Cayuman Carlos – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Lumber worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 41.- Cerna Huard Osvaldo – Forcibly Disappeared – November 15, 1974 – Temuco – Accountant – Communist Party affiliation. 42.- Céspedes Pinto Alfonso – Forcibly Disappeared – September 19, 1973 – Temuco – Shoemaker – Communist Party affiliation. 43.- Chávez Rivas Juan – Political Execution – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Communist Party affiliation. 44.- Cayul Tranamil Segundo – Political Execution – June 3, 1973 – Carahue – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 45.- Cheuquepan Levimilla Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – June 11, 1974 – Lautaro – Student – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 46.- Collío Nain Heriberto – Political Execution – October 8, 1973 – Galvarino – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 47.- Colpihueque Navarrete Alberto – Forcibly Disappeared – October 1973 – Curarrehue – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 48.- Colpihueque Lican Eleuterio – Forcibly Disappeared – October 1973 – Curarrehue – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 49.- Conejeros Troncoso José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 2, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation. 50.- Contreras Plotsqui Exequiel – Political Execution – March 29, 1974 – Temuco – Student – DC affiliation. 51.- Cotal Álvarez Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – October 5, 1973 – Angol – Student – No political affiliation. 52.- Cuevas Cifuentes José – Forcibly Disappeared – November 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation. 53.- Curamil Castillo Francisco – Political Execution – September 15, 1973 – Puerto Saavedra – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 54.- Curihual Paillan Pedro – Forcibly Disappeared – September 15, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Employee – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 55.- Curiñanco Reyes Mauricio – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Carpenter – Socialist Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 56.- Curiñir Lincoqueo Nelson – Political Execution – October 5, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Communist Party affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 57.- Díaz Toro José – Forcibly Disappeared – September 28, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation. 58.- Elgueta Elgueta Gastón – Political Execution – October 26, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – Socialist Party affiliation. 59.- Eltit Spielmann Jaime – Forcibly Disappeared – October 12, 1973 – Temuco – Lawyer – MIR affiliation. 60.- Escobar Vásquez Alejandro – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Student – Socialist Party affiliation. 61.- Esparza Osorio Tomás – Political Execution – November 19, 1973 – Temuco – Laborer – No political affiliation. 62.- Espinoza Valenzuela Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Temuco – Agricultural worker – MIR affiliation. 63.- Faúndez Bustos Santiago – Political Execution – November 27, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Socialist Party affiliation. 64.- Fernández Coloma Victoriano – Political Execution – December 12, 1973 – Temuco – Tractor operator – No political affiliation. 65.- Fernández Barrera Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – October 25, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Artisan – No political affiliation. 66.- Figueroa González Eleodoro – Forcibly Disappeared – October 9, 1974 – Temuco – Small farmer – No political affiliation. 67.- Figueroa Burkhardt Raúl – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Unemployed – Socialist Party affiliation. 68.- Figueroa Zapata Carlos – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Lumber worker – Socialist Party affiliation. 69.- Flores Rivera Alejandro – Forcibly Disappeared – October 2, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – Communist Party affiliation. 70.- Fuentealba Calderón Isaías – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation. 71.- Fuentes Fuentes José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 13, 1973 – Temuco – Merchant – No political affiliation. 72.- Gamonal Suárez José – Forcibly Disappeared – December 22, 1973 – Temuco – Student – No political affiliation. 73.- García Franco José – Forcibly Disappeared – September 18, 1973 – Temuco – Student – No political affiliation. 74.- González Galeno Eduardo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 14, 1973 – Temuco – Doctor – MIR affiliation. 75.- González Ortega Hugo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Student – Socialist Party affiliation. 76.- González Ortega Elías – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Employee – Socialist Party affiliation. 77.- Gutiérrez Gutiérrez Oscar – Forcibly Disappeared – December 7, 1973 – Angol – Employee – No political affiliation. 78.- Gutiérrez Contreras Gurmencindo – Political Execution – March 20, 1981 – Lautaro – Conscript – No political affiliation. 79.- Haddad Riquelme Julio – Political Execution – September 27, 1973 – Lautaro – Merchant – Communist Party affiliation. 80.- Henríquez Aravena Hernán – Forcibly Disappeared – October 2, 1973 – Temuco – Doctor – Communist Party affiliation. 81.- Hernández Morales Gonzalo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 23, 1973 – Temuco – Driver – Radical Party affiliation. 82.- Hernández Elgueta Guillermo – Political Execution – October 15, 1973 – Toltén – Employee – No political affiliation. 83.- Hillerns Larrañaga – Forcibly Disappeared – September 15, 1973 – Temuco – Doctor – MIR affiliation. 84.- Horn Roa Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – November 27, 1973 – Galvarino – Merchant – Socialist Party affiliation. 85.- Huaiquil Calviqueo Gervasio – Forcibly Disappeared – October 20, 1975 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 86.- Huenucoi Antil Mauricio – Political Execution – September 1973 – Puerto Saavedra – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 87.- Huenul Huaiquil Domingo – Forcibly Disappeared – June 15, 1974 – Lautaro – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 88.- Huichallan Levian Samuel – Forcibly Disappeared – June 11, 1974 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 89.- Jara Ríos Eliseo – Political Execution – October 16, 1973 – Victoria – Employee – Socialist Party affiliation. 90.- Kruteler Quijada Alberto – Forcibly Disappeared – September 14, 1973 – Curarrehue – Farmer – Communist Party affiliation. 91.- Lagos Torres Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Lumber worker – Socialist Party affiliation. 92.- Leal Arratia Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – November 22, 1973 – Temuco – Farmer – Radical Party affiliation. 93.- León Espinoza Sergio – Political Execution – April 24, 1974 – Temuco – Traveling salesman – No political affiliation. 94.- Lepin Antilaf Segundo – Political Execution – October 8, 1973 – Galvarino – Small farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 95.- Levio Llaupe Segundo – Political Execution – October 2, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 96.- Lizama Cariqueo Manuel – Political Execution – November 8, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 97.- Llabulen Pilquinao José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 11, 1973 – Lautaro – Small farmer –

Communist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin.

98.- Llancaqueo Millan Segundo – Political Execution – April 5, 1975 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 99.- Llanquen Tropa Víctor – Political Execution – October 8, 1973 – Galvarino – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 100.- Llaulen Antilao José – Forcibly Disappeared – June 11, 1974 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 101.- Lobos Barrientos Gastón – Forcibly Disappeared – October 5, 1973 – Temuco – Deputy – Radical Party membership. 102.- Loncopan Caniuqueo Mariano – Forcibly Disappeared – October 1973 – Curarrehue – Small-scale Farmer – Communist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin. 103.- Maldonado Ávila Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – September 1973 – Temuco – Student – Socialist Party membership. 104.- Mardones Jofré Pedro – Political Execution – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Communist Party membership. 105.- Marilao Pichun Moisés – Political Execution – April 19, 1985 – Temuco – Unemployed – Communist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin. 106.- Mateluna Gómez Daniel – Political Execution – October 2, 1973 – Temuco – Paramedic – Socialist Party membership. 107.- Meliquen Aguilera José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 4, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 108.- Milla Montuy Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – November 8, 1973 – Lautaro – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 109.- Millalen Huenchuñir Pedro – Forcibly Disappeared – September 29, 1973 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – Communist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin. 110.- Miranda Vivar Héctor – Political Execution – December 21, 1987 – Victoria – Merchant – No political affiliation. 111.- Molina Zambrano Anastasio – Political Execution – October 11, 1973 – Puerto Saavedra – Small-scale Farmer – Socialist Party membership. 112.- Molina Ruiz Alberto – Political Execution – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Worker – Communist Party membership. 113.- Monroy Seguel Leomeres – Political Execution – October 17, 1973 – Freire – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 114.- Montero Mosquera Amador – Political Execution – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Communist Youth membership. 115.- Mora San Juan Luis – Political Execution – September 15, 1973 – Lautaro – Tractor Operator – No political affiliation. 116.- Morales Jara Rubén – Forcibly Disappeared – October 4, 1973 – Temuco – Teacher – MIR membership. 117.- Morales Bañares Mario – Forcibly Disappeared – October 14, 1973 – Melipeuco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 118.- Moreira Bustos Segundo – Political Execution – October 3, 1973 – Galvarino – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation. 119.- Moyano Valdés Nicanor – Forcibly Disappeared – November 10, 1973 – Gorbea – Merchant – Socialist Party membership. 120.- Muñoz Apablaza Pedro – Political Execution – October 27, 1973 – Victoria – Student – No political affiliation. 121.- Muñoz Concha José – Forcibly Disappeared – September 25, 1973 – Temuco – Worker – Socialist Party membership. 122.- Nahuel Huaiquimil Juan – Political Execution – October 8, 1973 – Galvarino – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 123.- Nahuekcoi Chihuaicura Bernardo – Political Execution – October 1973 – Puerto Saavedra – Agricultural Worker – Socialist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin. 124.- Navarrete Leiva Arturo – Forcibly Disappeared – October 11, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – No political affiliation. 125.- Navarro Mellado Sergio – Political Execution – February 3, 1976 – Angol – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 126.- Navarro Schifferli Sergio – Forcibly Disappeared – October 4, 1973 – Lautaro – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation. 127.- Hehgme Cornejo Jecar – Political Execution – October 26, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – Socialist Party membership. 128.- Ñancufil Reuque Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – September 21, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Worker – Socialist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin. 129.- Ñiripil Paillao Julio – Political Execution – October 8, 1973 – Galvarino – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 130.- Obreque Obreque Domingo – Forcibly Disappeared – November 3, 1973 – Gorbea – Employee – Socialist Party membership. 131.- Olivares Pérez Bruno – Political Execution – June 1, 1974 – Temuco – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 132.- Ortigosa Ansoleaga José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 2, 1973 – Temuco – Farmer – No political affiliation. 133.- Paine Liil Julio – Forcibly Disappeared – October 16, 1976 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 134.- Palma Palma Fermín – Forcibly Disappeared – July 30, 1974 – Lautaro – Merchant – No political affiliation. 135.- Palma Arévalo Juan – Political Execution – October 10, 1973 – Carahue – Worker – No political affiliation. 136.- Pesle de Menil Etienne – Forcibly Disappeared – September 19, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – Socialist Party membership. 137.- Pizarro San Martín Gabriel – Forcibly Disappeared – September 1973 – Perquenco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 138.- Ponce Arias Eligen – Political Execution – September 27, 1973 – Lautaro – Employee – MIR membership. 139.- Poo Álvarez Benedicto – Forcibly Disappeared – October 20, 1973 – Lautaro – Small-scale Farmer – Communist Party membership. 140.- Porma Cheuquecoy Francisco – Political Execution – October 22, 1973 – Puerto Saavedra – Agricultural Worker – Socialist Party membership – Of Mapuche origin. 141.- Quezada Yañez Marco – Political Execution – June 24, 1989 – Curacautín – Student – Party for Democracy membership. 142.- Ramírez Zurita Manuel – Political Execution – January 18, 1987 – Reinaco – Merchant – No political affiliation. 143.- Ramos Jaramillo José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 14, 1973 – Melipeuco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 144.- Ramos Huina Gerardo – Forcibly Disappeared – October 14, 1973 – Melipeuco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 145.- Ramos Huina José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 14, 1973 – Melipeuco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 146.- Reinante Raipan Alberto – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 147.- Reinante Raipan Modesto – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 148.- Reinante Raipan Ernesto – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 149.- Retamal Cornejo Dixon – Forcibly Disappeared – October 3, 1973 – Temuco – Student – MIR membership. 150.- Ríos Castillo Pedro – Political Execution – October 2, 1973 – Temuco – Engineer – Socialist Party membership. 151.- Rioseco Montoya Ricardo – Political Execution – October 5, 1973 – Angol – Student – No political affiliation. 152.- Riquelme Riquelme Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – December 1973 – Temuco – Teacher – No political affiliation. 153.- Rivas Sepúlveda Patricio – Forcibly Disappeared – December 3, 1973 – Angol – Detective – No political affiliation. 154.- Rivera Concha Waldo – Political Execution – April 30, 1974 – Temuco – Worker – No political affiliation. 155.- Rivera Catricheo Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 156.- Rodríguez Escobar Juan – Forcibly Disappeared – October 2, 1973 – Lautaro – Timber Worker – No political affiliation. 157.- Ruiz Mancilla Juan – Political Execution – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Student – Communist Party membership. 158.- Saavedra Vergara José – Forcibly Disappeared – April 8, 1976 – Renaico – Small-scale Farmer – No political affiliation. 159.- Saldías Cid Diego – Forcibly Disappeared – November 1973 – Temuco – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 160.- Salinas Martínez Gabriel – Political Execution – August 31, 1975 – Cunco – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 161.- San Martín Julio – Forcibly Disappeared – September 29, 1973 – Curacautín – Shoemaker – Communist Party membership. 162.- San Martín Benavente José – Forcibly Disappeared – September 19, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – Communist Party membership. 163.- San Martin Lizama Jorge – Political Execution – July 18, 1976 – Curacautín – Unemployed – No political affiliation. 164.- Sarabia Fritz Arsenio – Political Execution – October 11, 1973 – Carahue – Shoemaker – No political affiliation. 165.- Schmidt Arriagada Ricardo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Student – Socialist Party membership. 166.- Schmidt Arriagada Carlos – Forcibly Disappeared – September 13, 1973 – Villarrica – Student – Socialist Party membership. 167.- Seiffert Dossow Nolberto – Political Execution – August 8, 1975 – Temuco – Employee – No political affiliation. 168.- Sepúlveda Contreras Daniel – Forcibly Disappeared – September 20, 1973 – Toltén – Student – No political affiliation. 169.- Sepúlveda Montanares Alfonso – Forcibly Disappeared – July 10, 1974 – Lautaro – Merchant – No political affiliation. 170.- Sepúlveda Torres Cardenio – Forcibly Disappeared – September 20, 1973 – Cunco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 171.- Sepúlveda Torres Osvaldo – Forcibly Disappeared – September 20, 1973 – Cunco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 172.- Soto Chandía Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – September 11, 1973 – Melipeuco – Tractor Operator – No political affiliation. 173.- Soto Valdés Rubén – Forcibly Disappeared – September 1973 – Perquenco – Traveling Salesman – No political affiliation. 174.- Stepke Muñoz Walter – Forcibly Disappeared – September 15, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Farmer – No political affiliation. 175.- Tenorio Fuentes Einar – Forcibly Disappeared – September 15, 1973 – Pitrufquén – Teacher – Socialist Party membership. 176.- Torres Antinao Luis – Political Execution – September 25, 1973 – Temuco – Small-scale Merchant – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 177.- Toy Vergara Jorge – Political Execution – September 22, 1973 – Victoria – Street Vendor – No political affiliation. 178.- Tracanao Pincheira Alejandro – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 179.- Tracanao Pincheira Eliseo – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 180.- Tracanao Pincheira José – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Timber Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 181.- Tralcal Huenchuman Juan – Political Execution – September 10, 1975 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 182.- Troconso Pérez Guido – Political Execution – October 2, 1973 – Temuco – Mechanic – Socialist Party membership. 183.- Urrutia Sepúlveda Luis – Forcibly Disappeared – September 1973 – Perquenco – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation. 184.- Valenzuela Velásquez Víctor – Political Execution – November 10, 1973 – Temuco – Employee – Communist Party membership. 185.- Velásquez Mardones Héctor – Forcibly Disappeared – November 3, 1973 – Villarrica. 186.- Venturelli Leonelli Omar – Forcibly Disappeared – October 4, 1973 – Temuco – Teacher – MIR membership. 187.- Vera Contardo Bernarda – Forcibly Disappeared – October 10, 1973 – Villarrica – Teacher – MIR membership. 188.- Yaufulen Mañil Ceferino – Forcibly Disappeared – June 11, 1974 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 189.- Yaufulen Mañil Miguel – Forcibly Disappeared – June 11, 1974 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 190.- Yaufulen Mañil Oscar – Forcibly Disappeared – June 11, 1974 – Lautaro – Agricultural Worker – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin. 191.- Zuñiga Llanquilef Ariel – Political Execution – February 12, 1990 – Pitrufquén – Mechanic – No political affiliation – Of Mapuche origin.

Source: piensachile.com, June 1, 2014

Date: 06-01-2014

Temuco: Lawsuit filed for the kidnapping of a social leader during the dictatorship

This Monday, a lawsuit was filed at the Temuco Court of Appeals against those found responsible for the qualified kidnapping of Celso Avendaño Alarcón, a member of the Radical Party and president of the Los Boldos settlement.

The event occurred in October 1973 in the commune of Pitrufquén. Celso Avendaño, married, a furniture maker and president of the Los Boldos settlement in Pitrufquén, was detained on October 16, 1973, at his home on Calle Bilbao in the communal capital by military personnel who claimed to belong to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, stated lawyer Sebastián Saavedra on behalf of the Human Rights Program.

The arrest was reportedly carried out in the presence of Celso Avendaño's neighbors, who notified his spouse, who lived in the city of Temuco. He was presumably transferred to the regional capital, after which his trail was lost.

The judge of the Temuco Court of Appeals, Alvaro Mesa Latorre, oversees nearly 60 cases of human rights violations that occurred during the military dictatorship, with a high percentage of forcibly disappeared persons—cases to which he is dedicated alongside a team composed of PDI agents. See comments

Source: biobiochile.cl, December 10, 2012

Date: 12-10-2012

Pinochet also commanded a Caravan of Death, ordered murders in Temuco and Pitrufquén

27 years after the homicide of Socialist leader Jecar Nehgme Cornejo, father of MIR spokesperson Jecar Nehgme Cristi—who was himself assassinated in 1989—a lawsuit was filed before Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia, sponsored by lawyer Nelson Caucoto, against Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse, and those found responsible for the crimes of illegal detention, torture, and kidnapping resulting in homicide.

The treacherous crime against Nehgme Cornejo was one of the consequences of the visit to the south by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and President of the Military Junta, Augusto Pinochet, and his own "Caravan of Death," just over a month after the coup d'état.

"In the Los Lagos area, there are extremists left; that is why I have come to assess whether there is a need to reinforce the troops or order another operation to exterminate them," declared Pinochet on Friday, October 26, 1973, in Temuco. He thus explained the nature of his visit to the region, even though his men had already murdered and imprisoned a large portion of those who opposed the coup.

In fact, in the first days of October, Sergio Arellano Stark had already left his trail of death in the area. Journalistic anticipation remained high in Temuco from the afternoon of the previous day, when three helicopters flew over the city and it became known that they were escorting Pinochet.

That morning, the caravan had descended in Concepción to be briefed on the situation in the province, and during the afternoon, it flew over the current capital of the IX Region while heading to Valdivia.

It was 18:10 hours when Pinochet's helicopter landed at the Cazadores Regiment. He was awaited by the commander of the Cavalry Division and head of the zone under a state of siege, General Héctor Bravo Muñoz, and commanders Santiago Sinclair, Gerónimo Pantoja, and Patricio Bravo Peralta, of the Cazadores, Maturana, and Membrillar units.

After General Bravo Muñoz detailed the "normality and tranquility" being experienced in the area, Pinochet warned publicly: "If the extremists do not surrender, they will have to die in combat. If they surrender, they will be subjected to war tribunals." Immediately afterward, he went with General Bravo to the division command to meet with officers and members of the general staff to be briefed on the situation in the zone.

The delegation spent the night in Valdivia. A few kilometers away, in Temuco, a group of soldiers entered the home of Jecar Nehgme Cornejo around 1:30 a.m. on October 26, 1973. "They asked for Juan Vera.

Upon seeing that he did not live there, they left. A minute later, they returned and asked for Jecar. 'Ma'am, he has to be detained,' they told me," recounted Manuela Cristi, his wife. They immediately took him away in a patrol vehicle, just as they did with his friend Gastón Elgueta Elgueta, a militant of the Socialist Party and leader of the National Federation of Health Workers (FENATS).

It was 6:00 a.m. when Manuela went to the Tucapel Regiment No. 8, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse. She insisted on knowing about her husband, but there was no response. "If you want to take the corpse, be quiet, and remember that you have children," a soldier told her.

Her three children were at school, and they were picked up to be told that their father had died. Without knowing how, they arrived at the morgue. "There was no one there; my mother was not there. She arrived soon after and, apparently, walked alone from the regiment to the morgue," recalls his daughter Fahra, who was 9 years old at the time.

Threats loomed over the Nehgme Cristi family, so they decided to leave Temuco. They took the coffin, gathered some belongings, and in an old vehicle, they began—along with their father and companion—a long and painful journey to Santiago.

At the Temuco airport, General Pinochet and his delegation stepped off helicopter No. 256 when the clock struck 11:27 hours. He was received by the members of the province's military junta: the Intendant Colonel, Hernán Ramírez; the commander of the Tucapel Regiment, Pablo Iturriaga; the commander of Helicopter Group No. 3, Andrés Pacheco; and the Prefect of Carabineros, Gregorio San Martín.

Faced with the interest of the journalists, Pinochet explained: "I come rather as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. We are acting in an operation throughout the zone, and I have come to personally inform myself of all the activities being developed." From the Commander-in-Chief's point of view, the "normality of the zone" was not guaranteed; pockets of resistance still existed.

The "extremists" to whom Pinochet referred were Mapuches, members of leftist parties, social leaders, and people who, even if they did not have any of those characteristics, were also brutally murdered.

BLACK BERET PATROL

Jecar Nehgme Cornejo and Gastón Elgueta Elgueta were not the only victims of Pinochet's visit to the south. On October 25, 1973, in Pitrufquén, Luis Anselmo Fernández Barrera and Celso Avendaño Alarcón were detained under similar circumstances. Their families were informed that they had been transferred to the Temuco jail, but they never appeared.

Two days later in Toltén, Communiqué No. 87 of the Cautín Military Intendancy announced that at the Carabineros station, "the activist Guillermo Hernández Elgueta, former sub-delegate of Cunco, was being interrogated, who (...) taking advantage of the fact that the door to the facility was open, surprisingly fled, not obeying the order of detention, upon which the personnel made use of their firearms, and he was discharged [killed]."

On October 16, 1973, Socialist Party militant Eliseo Segundo Jara Ríos was detained in Victoria and taken to jail. On October 27, he was taken out in very poor condition. That same day, Pedro Muñoz Apablaza was detained in that city by an army Black Beret patrol that arrived by helicopter on a special mission.

The commandos executed the two detainees at the "California" estate, on the road to Curacautín.

In Puerto Saavedra, Francisco Segundo Curamil Castillo, Mauricio Huenucoi Antil, and Bernardo Nahuelcoi Chihuaicura were detained the night a contingent of soldiers from Temuco arrived in that town. Their lifeless bodies were abandoned and found by their relatives with numerous bullet wounds.

In sum, there were ten victims during Pinochet's visit to the area: eight political executions and two cases of the forcibly disappeared. These murders, the dictator's visit to the headquarters of the III and IV Army Divisions (Concepción and Valdivia) in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and the accounts recorded in the Rettig Report regarding a military patrol on a special mission, confirm the "operation" to which Pinochet referred in his statements.

He traveled to the zone to personally order the kidnappings and executions of his opponents. And those who were in charge of the military units (see box), who were his subordinates, were not oblivious to these events.

In the case of Elgueta and Nehgme, it was Commander Iturriaga Marchesse himself who signed the communiqué announcing their deaths, so he could not have been unaware of the circumstances in which these events occurred.

"I KNEW THEY COULD KILL HIM"

The Nehgme family had lived in Temuco for six years. While a student at the Normal School for Teachers, Jecar Nehgme Cornejo joined the Socialist Youth. In 1960, at age 18, he married 16-year-old Manuela Cristi. From that marriage, Jecar, Milagros, and Fahra were born.

As a teacher, Nehgme specialized in health and worked for the National Health Service, which transferred him to Temuco in 1967. There, he served as head of the Health Education Department and as a professor at the Training Center of the National Health Service Directorate. Shortly after, he joined the University of Chile as a professor and head of the Technical Sanitation degree program.

His social and political commitment was expressed not only through active militancy but also in various organizations, from rehabilitation centers for alcoholics and Mapuche communities to the National Federation of Health Workers (FENATS). "Since Allende took office, the family dedicated itself to the work of the Popular Unity.

The children participated in volunteer work. Our life was very beautiful, and we all participated," Manuela noted.

Two days after the coup, Jecar Nehgme was summoned via a military communiqué and informed that he could not leave Temuco. Days later, he was forced to sign his resignation from his job.

"I knew they could kill him. He even prepared me; he told me that I was going to experience fascism, that it would be worse than in Franco's Spain," his son Jecar recalled a decade later in Análisis magazine.

On October 28, 1973, Manuela and her children were already in Santiago. That day, El Diario Austral of Temuco published Communiqué No. 12 of the Garrison Command, which provided the official version of the deaths of Jecar Nehgme and Gastón Elgueta: "By order of the Military Prosecutor's Office, the citizens Jecar Nehgme Cornejo and Gastón Elgueta, proven terrorists, were arrested on the 25th (of October) at 22:30 hours.

During the transfer from the place of detention to the Tucapel Mountain Infantry Regiment No. 8, they tried to attack the patrol and seize the sentry's weapon, for which they were discharged [killed]. Signed: Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse, Colonel, Commander of the Temuco Military Garrison." Once again, shock struck the family.

Why did they change the date of detention and death? Manuela Cristi had to wait a long time to declare the true version of her husband's assassination, which she finally did before the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation.

Today, although there is more hope for achieving justice, lawyer Nelson Caucoto states that it will depend on the resources available to Judge Guzmán for the investigation. "He works in precarious conditions," he comments. "To investigate all the cases he handles, he should have at least 200 detectives, but he has 15, at most."

However, it is expected that the Nehgme Cornejo case will advance quickly due to the strength of the evidence it contains. For Nelson Caucoto, the fact that the dictator was in the area is not minor. "Pinochet declared openly that he was there as Commander-in-Chief and to exterminate opponents.

As Commander-in-Chief, he assumes command of the zone and its troops. And it turns out that it is his troops who exterminate opponents. Furthermore, he promises trials to those who surrender, and he does not comply. Perhaps today he would like to deny these statements because of the virulence they provoke."

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

"Stated with great honesty, since I was a child, I have believed that these coups are meant to destroy us. One must have the capacity to keep living, to demonstrate in that way that there is no way they can make us change our course," Jecar Nehgme Cristi noted years later, remembering his father's death. And that is what he did.

In 1979, Jecar began studying History at the Pedagogical Institute, where he met his partner, Agueda Sáez, and joined the MIR. Along with many other students, he promoted the creation of the National Union of Democratic Students (UNED), of which he was a leader.

These were the times when massive popular protests to overthrow the dictatorship were beginning. "El Turco," as they called Jecar, was detained for the first time on August 25, 1982, and tortured by the CNI.

However, his work did not stop. In 1984, he was actively participating in the Popular Democratic Movement (MDP). In that group, he was detained along with other people and relegated to Puerto Cisnes. Later, he participated in the United Left (IU), where he held the position of vice president.

On September 4, 1989, when the country was preparing for the first presidential elections, Jecar Nehgme Cristi was assassinated. He had left his party office at Moneda 2423 around 21:20 hours to meet Agueda Sáez, the mother of his son Jecar.

In front of number 14 on Calle Bulnes, "unknown persons" riddled him with twelve bullets. He was only 28 years old.

The news shocked public opinion, which condemned the CNI. The case, in the hands of visiting minister Alfredo Pfeiffer, remains pending. On May 30 of this year, Milagros and Fahra Nehgme, along with Agueda Sáez, requested that this judge recuse himself.

Manuela Cristi died in early 1996, at age 51, after dedicating her life to her children. Despite the pain of not seeing the crimes against her husband and son clarified, she died with the conviction that, if she could go back, she would not have changed anything: "I would look for the same partner and I would raise my children exactly the same, as honest and fighting men and women.

If I could change something, it would be to be a little more political to avoid these crimes," she said.

ANA MARIA OLIVARES

Military authorities of the IV Army Division,

headquartered in Valdivia, in 1973

(Jurisdiction in the provinces from Malleco to Llanquihue) Division Command: General Héctor Bravo Muñoz Chief of Staff: Colonel Carlos Paulsen Baeza

Operational Units

Tucapel Mountain Infantry Regiment No. 8, Temuco. Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse. 2nd Commander: Major Luis Jofré Soto Sangra Infantry Regiment No. 12, Puerto Montt. Commander: Colonel Rubén Rojas Román La Concepción Infantry Regiment No. 10, Lautaro.

Commander: Colonel Hernán Ramírez Ramírez Cazadores Cavalry Regiment No. 2, Valdivia. Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Santiago Sinclair Oyaneder. 2nd Commander: Major José Feliú Madinagiotía Húsares Cavalry Regiment No. 3, Angol.

Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Alejandro Morel Donoso. 2nd Commander: Major Patricio O'Ryan Munita Miraflores Artillery Regiment No. 4, Traiguén. Commander: Colonel Elio Bacigalupo Sorucco Maturana Motorized Artillery Regiment, Valdivia.

Commander: Colonel Héctor González Membrillar Telecommunications Regiment No. 4, Valdivia. Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Patricio Bravo Pantoja Arauco Motorized Engineering Regiment No. 4, Osorno. Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Lizardo Abarca Maggi. 2nd Commander: Major Antonio Ramírez Parga Logistics Battalion No. 4, Victoria. Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Luis René Vega Fonseca

Source: puntofinal.cl, October 6, 2000

Date: 10-06-2000

Retired Carabinero sentenced to 16 years in prison for kidnapping during dictatorship in Pitrufquén

A 78-year-old retired Carabinero was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the kidnapping of two agricultural leaders and a Cautín Governorate official in 1973. He already has other convictions for crimes against humanity.

Minister Álvaro Mesa Latorre, visiting judge for human rights violation cases with jurisdiction between Temuco and Coyhaique, sentenced the former lieutenant, Carlos Hernán Moreno Mena.

This was for the crime of aggravated kidnapping of agricultural leaders Celso Avendaño Alarcón and Luis Anselmo Fernández Barrera, and official Ismael Rolando Bocaz Muñoz. The acts were perpetrated starting in October 1973 in Pitrufquén.

Minister Mesa Latorre granted the claim for compensation for damages filed. Therefore, he ordered the State, with costs, to pay the sum of 1.5 billion pesos to the victims' families for moral damages.

In the 294-page sentence, the minister identified Lieutenant Moreno Mena, at the time of the events, as the perpetrator of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping as a crime against humanity.

Source: biobiochile.cl, 3/9/2025

Former Carabinero officer sentenced for crimes in Pitrufquén in 1973

The visiting minister for human rights violation cases in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, sentenced former Carabinero officer Carlos Hernán Moreno Mena to 16 years in prison for his responsibility in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of peasant settlement leaders Celso Avendaño Alarcón and Luis Anselmo Fernández Barrera, and Cautín Governorate official Ismael Rolando Bocaz Muñoz.

The crimes were perpetrated starting in October 1973 in the commune of Pitrufquén.

In the ruling (case file 29.875), the visiting minister sentenced the former officer to the aforementioned prison term, plus the legal accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification from public office and political rights, and absolute disqualification from professional practice for the duration of the sentence, in his capacity as the perpetrator of the crime.

In the resolution, Minister Mesa Latorre establishes that after September 11, 1973, the 5th Carabineros Precinct of Pitrufquén increased its staff with smaller units that retreated to that facility from minor outposts, such as the Lastarria and Galpones outposts, among others. All these units slept in that police barracks, as a superior order forced them to remain in a state of confinement.

In command of this reinforced unit was the then-captain Ramón Sergio Callis Soto (deceased), who organized and coordinated a special group of Carabineros composed of officials from the unit under his command for the control and detention of people for political reasons in Pitrufquén and surrounding localities such as Toltén, Hualpín, Lastarria, Comuy, Los Boldos, Queule, Quitratué, and Los Galpones.

This special patrol group was directed by the then-lieutenant Carlos Hernán Moreno Mena, who was second in command to Callis Soto; Sergeant Major Reinaldo Alberto Lukowiak Luppy, third in the hierarchy; as well as Carabineros Germán Fernández Torres, Domingo Antonio Silva Soto (deceased), Hernán Mella Lagos (deceased), and about twenty other uniformed officers.

These officials, under the orders of the aforementioned officer, proceeded to detain people who had political or social ties considered to be in opposition to the military regime. The arrested persons were taken in private pickup trucks provided for those purposes by the repressive police to the facilities of the 5th Carabineros Precinct of Pitrufquén.

At that police barracks, the detainees were entered through a "false" door, not being registered in the guard books, to be immediately taken to the second floor of the unit's stables. In that facility, the political detainees were tied up, gagged, and blindfolded, to then be physically tortured through the application of kicks, punches, and electric shocks to different parts of their bodies.

Many of those detained were able to confirm that the facility was set up for those purposes and, furthermore, could perceive the presence of other detainees in the same conditions, because, although they were blindfolded, they could hear the noises they made and the screams of pain resulting from the torture to which they were subjected.

Only members of this special group, of higher rank and in the confidence of Captain Callis, had access to this facility of kidnapping and torture, and the whereabouts of many of those detainees remain unknown to this day.

Under these circumstances, Celso Avendaño Alarcón, a furniture maker and leader at the Los Boldos settlement, 47 years of age, who had been detained after the military coup, was detained again on October 25, 1973, by officials of the 5th Precinct of Pitrufquén, who put him in a pickup truck where he was seen by witnesses. From that moment, his trail has been lost to the present day.

On the same day as the detention of Celso Avendaño Alarcón, Luis Anselmo Fernández Barrera, 32 years old, a merchant, artisan, and leader at the Los Boldos settlement, was detained. Detainee Fernández Barrera was taken from his home by officials of the 5th Precinct of Pitrufquén, with his family and neighbors being eyewitnesses to this event, who recognized Carabineros Reinaldo Lukowiak Luppy and Octavio Castillo among the captors.

He was immediately put into a pickup truck by the officials, where they also saw Celso Avendaño Alarcón and other people detained. Since that day, the whereabouts of Luis Anselmo Fernández Barrera have been unknown.

Meanwhile, Ismael Rolando Bocaz Muñoz, 31 years old, a former official of the Governorate, after his home was raided three times and he was sought by officials of the 5th Precinct of Pitrufquén, presented himself voluntarily on October 18, 1973, at the facilities of the aforementioned precinct.

Notwithstanding the above, and despite his family's efforts to find him, the whereabouts of detainee Ismael Bocaz Muñoz have been unknown since that day.

Source: resumen.cl, 3/5/2025