On March 6, 1974, agents of Investigaciones arrested Bernardino RODRIGUEZ CORTEZ in Quillota in the presence of his partner and his children. The victim had served as a bodyguard for several PC candidates during the last parliamentary elections.

His wife was arrested the following day. Both were held at the Investigaciones barracks in Quillota, where they were jointly subjected to torture.

During a visit to the region, this Commission was able to reliably verify the physical scars that remain on his partner from the torture.

Bernardino Rodríguez disappeared from the Investigaciones barracks in Quillota. There has been no further news of him since. The Commission is convinced that his disappearance was the work of State agents, who thereby violated his human rights.

Bernardino Rodríguez Cortez, a father of 3 children, a saddler, and a member of the Communist Party, was detained on March 6, 1974, inside a leather shop on Calle O'Higgins in Quillota, at approximately 11:00 in the morning. The detention was carried out by officials from the Quillota Investigations unit, including Sub-inspector Omar Mercado and detectives Juan González and Hugo Olivari.

The events took place in the presence of Elena Julia del Carmen Garabito Durán—the mother of the victim's three daughters—and the owner of the "Santiago" leather shop. The detectives handcuffed Bernardino Rodríguez and walked with him to the Governor's Office.

Elena Julia Garabito followed them the entire way, and when they arrived at the Governor's Office, the Investigations officials prevented her from entering. She remained on the street and, after a while, saw them bring the victim out, place him into a military jeep, and transport him to the Investigations Barracks, located on Calle Condell in the city of Quillota.

The woman followed the military vehicle and saw them take the victim into the police facility. She asked about him, and the detectives told her not to interfere and to return the following day at 19:00 hours.

Elena Julia Garabito did indeed return to the Investigations Barracks on March 7, 1974. She was received by the officer on duty. As she was making inquiries, Sub-inspector Omar Mercado appeared and told her, "I wanted to see you here." He immediately handcuffed her to a wooden sofa before taking her to a large room lined with sandbags on all sides.

There, he forced her to undress and, along with other detectives, tied her to a table. They immediately began applying electric shocks to various parts of her body, questioning her about alleged weapons she supposedly possessed.

During the course of this torture session, they brought Bernardino Rodríguez into the room. Although she could not see him because she was blindfolded, she clearly heard his voice as he begged the detectives not to hurt him. She also heard Sub-inspector Mercado tell the victim, "We have your woman here." In the early hours of March 8, she was released after being kicked and burned.

On Thursday, March 9, Elena Julia Garabito saw the victim in public inside a green pickup truck that bore a logo on both doors reading "Fiscalía Militar" (Military Prosecutor's Office). The vehicle was parked at the corner of Calle San Martín and Chacabuco.

The victim appeared to be in poor physical condition; his face was swollen and bruised, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was handcuffed and tied to a spare tire carried by the truck. She could not speak with him, as the Investigations officials guarding him prevented it.

The following day, March 10, 1974, at approximately 8:00 in the morning, about six men in civilian clothes broke into the home and proceeded to raid it. They claimed to be looking for Bernardino Rodríguez because he had escaped. To this date, Bernardino Rodríguez remains one of the forcibly disappeared.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

Upon her release, Elena Julia Garabito went to the relevant Court in Quillota and managed to have the Magistrate accompany her to the Investigations Barracks. Upon leaving, the Magistrate informed her that he regretted it, but that the victim was being processed by the Military Prosecutor's Office. He told her he had seen him in the cell in poor condition.

That same day, March 9, she went to the Military Prosecutor's Office, where Prosecutor Carlos Varas gave her money to buy "Molka," a medicine for cleaning wounds; he told her that a long time would pass before she saw the victim again and gave her a paper to admit her eldest daughter to an institution. That same afternoon, she saw Bernardino Rodríguez inside the green pickup truck.

Some time before he disappeared, and starting on September 11, 1973, Bernardino Rodríguez had been detained on more than one occasion and subjected to torture.

Although there is no further background information on the matter, it is known that on August 23, 1990, Elena Julia Garabito filed a complaint for the presumed death of the victim at the 2nd Criminal Court of Quillota. In it, the witness stated that she had not initiated judicial proceedings earlier out of fear.

To this day, nothing further has been learned about Bernardino Rodríguez Cortez.