The visiting judge for human rights violation cases at the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes, issued an indictment against 15 retired Army members for their responsibility in the aggravated kidnapping of Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Carlos Manuel Ortiz Ortiz, and the abduction of a minor, Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz, committed between September 24 and October 6, 1973.

In the resolution (case file No. 04-02 J), Judge Cifuentes held the following individuals responsible as perpetrators of the crimes: Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, Osvaldo Andrés Magaña Bau, Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt, José Hugo Vásquez Silva, Escipión Pedro Cesar Escobar Norambuena, Mario Jesús Campos Ripley, Óscar Hernán Vergara Cruces, Roberto Arcángel Rozas Aguilera, Sergio Heriberto Ávila Quiroga, Carlos Enrique Durán Rodríguez, Carlos del Tránsito Lazo Santibáñez, Jorge Fernando Reyes Cortés, Jorge Segundo Saavedra Meza, and Víctor Reinaldo Sandoval Muñoz.

According to the evidence gathered during the investigation phase, the visiting judge established the following facts: a) That, on September 24, 1973, in the El Escorial sector of Paine, soldiers from the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, commanded by Captain Jorge Romero Campos and under the charge of Second Lieutenant Osvaldo Andrés Magaña Bau, unlawfully detained Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz, among others. b) That, following their detention, Cuadra Espinoza and Santander Albornoz were transferred to the Prisoner Camp that the San Bernardo Infantry School maintained inside Cerro Chena, under the charge of Lieutenant Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, a place where Second Lieutenant Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt also served, along with personnel from the Investigations police and Carabineros, including Mario Jesús Campos Ripley, Oscar Hernán Vergara Cruces, Roberto Arcángel Rozas Aguilera, and Sergio Heriberto Ávila Quiroga, where they were kept imprisoned. c) That, subsequently, on October 2, 1973, in the El Escorial sector of Paine, soldiers from the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, commanded by Captain Jorge Romero Campos and under the charge of Second Lieutenant Osvaldo Andrés Magaña Bau, unlawfully detained Carlos Manuel Ortiz Ortiz. d) That, likewise following his detention, Ortiz Ortiz was transferred to the aforementioned Prisoner Camp, under the charge of Lieutenant Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, where he was kept unlawfully imprisoned. e) That, finally, and inside the aforementioned location, Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Carlos Manuel Ortiz Ortiz were executed by firing squad on October 5 and 6, 1973, respectively, with the whereabouts of Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz remaining unknown to this date.

Source: infogate.cl, February 3, 2018

Judge Marianela Cifuentes sentences military personnel for the aggravated kidnapping of three farmers from Paine

The extraordinary visiting judge for human rights cases at the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes, issued a first-instance sentence in the case investigating the aggravated kidnapping of agricultural workers Manuel Ortiz Ortiz (18) and Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza (26), and the abduction of the minor Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz (17), events that occurred between September 24 and October 2, 1973, in the El Escorial sector, in Paine, San Bernardo commune.

In this manner, the magistrate sentenced Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt, and José Hugo Vázquez Silva to 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree as perpetrators of the aggravated kidnapping of Manuel Ortiz and the abduction of the minor.

Meanwhile, Escipión Pedro Cesar Escobar Norambuena was sentenced to 10 years of major imprisonment in its medium degree for said crimes. She acquitted Roberto Rozas Aguilera. Furthermore, Sergio Ávila Quiroga and Jorge Reyes Cortés were sentenced to 15 years and one day as perpetrators of the aggravated kidnapping of Ortiz and Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza, as well as the abduction of the minor Tránsito Santander.

A sentence of 10 years and one day was given to Carlos Durán Rodríguez, Carlos del Tránsito Lazo Santibáñez, Jorge Saavedra Meza, and Víctor Sandoval Muñoz. All those convicted were members of the Army, soldiers of the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School.

The second lieutenant of said military unit, retired Army Colonel Andrés Magaña Bau, passed away during the investigation in July 2021. Lawyer Nelson Caucoto, a plaintiff in the case, valued the ruling and indicated that "this case refers to the martyrdom of 3 young Chileans against whom the military acted with cruelty.

They are symbols of the brutality unleashed in Paine by the Dictatorship." Along with valuing the ruling, Caucoto highlighted the work carried out by the magistrate: "The task of Visiting Judge Marianela Cifuentes is commendable and vindicates judicial activity.

The families of the farmers from Paine cry out to heaven for justice for all their victims, and with this ruling, a transcendent step is taken in that immense task, which has not yet concluded but advances without faltering."

The facts

According to the evidence gathered by the judge, it has been established: a) That, on September 24, 1973, in the El Escorial sector of Paine, soldiers of the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, commanded by Captain Jorge Romero Campos and under the charge of Second Lieutenant Osvaldo Andrés Magaña Bau, unlawfully detained Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz, among others. b) That, following their detention, Cuadra Espinoza and Santander Albornoz were transferred to the Prisoner Camp that the San Bernardo Infantry School maintained inside Cerro Chena, under the charge of Lieutenant Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, a place where Second Lieutenant Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt also served, along with personnel from the Investigations police and Carabineros, including Mario Jesús Campos Ripley, Oscar Hernán Vergara Cruces, Roberto Arcángel Rozas Aguilera, and Sergio Heriberto Ávila Quiroga, where they were kept imprisoned. c) That, subsequently, on October 2, 1973, in the El Escorial sector of Paine, soldiers of the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, commanded by Captain Jorge Romero Campos and under the charge of Second Lieutenant Osvaldo Andrés Magaña Bau, unlawfully detained Carlos Manuel Ortiz Ortiz. d) That, likewise following his detention, Ortiz Ortiz was transferred to the aforementioned Prisoner Camp, under the charge of Lieutenant Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, where he was kept unlawfully imprisoned. e) That, finally, and inside the aforementioned location, Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Carlos Manuel Ortiz Ortiz were executed by firing squad on October 5 and 6, 1973, respectively, with the whereabouts of Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz remaining unknown to this date. by Daniela Caucoto T.

Source: piensachile.com, February 8, 2022

San Miguel Court sentences nine military personnel for abduction of minors and kidnapping in Paine case

The victims were 17, 18, and 26 years old. They were kidnapped and then executed by firing squad, but the body of the youngest of them was never found. The former uniformed officers received sentences ranging from 10 years and one day to 15 years and one day.

The Fourth Chamber of the San Miguel Court of Appeals issued a second-instance ruling in the so-called Paine case, Escorial Cerro Chena episode, which investigates the crimes committed against Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza (26 years old, agricultural worker), Ignacio Santander Albornoz (17 years old, high school student), and Carlos Manuel Ortiz Ortiz (18 years old, agricultural worker), which occurred between September and October 1973 at the hands of soldiers assigned to the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School.

Judges María Soledad Espina Otero, María Alejandra Pizarro Soto, and Celia Catalán Romero confirmed the sentences against Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, José Hugo Vásquez Silva, and Jorge Fernando Reyes Cortés to 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree; and Escipión Pedro Escobar Norambuena, Carlos Enrique Durán Rodríguez, Carlos del Tránsito Lazo Santibáñez, Jorge Segundo Saavedra Meza, and Víctor Reinaldo Sandoval Muñoz to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in its medium degree, all as perpetrators of the aggravated abduction of a minor regarding Ignacio Santander Albornoz and aggravated kidnapping in the case of Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Carlos Manuel Ortiz. According to the investigation of the case, the three victims were detained from their homes and transferred to the military unit, where they were executed by firing squad on October 5 and 6, 1973. The bodies of Cuadra Espinoza and Ortiz Ortiz were transferred to the Legal Medical Service and later buried in Patio 29 of the General Cemetery. Meanwhile, to date, the whereabouts of the body of the minor Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz remain unknown. "That the sentences of these criminals have been confirmed is a relief for the families of the victims, who have waited for justice with such effort and patience. The three victims were very young, they had their whole lives ahead of them, and it will never be understood why they were treated this way. We are satisfied with this good news regarding the last case of the Paine episode that was pending before the San Miguel Court of Appeals, and we hope that the criteria set forth in the ruling will be maintained if the case goes to the Supreme Court," states lawyer Andrea Gattini, of the law firm Caucoto Abogados, a plaintiff in the case. Last June, relatives of the forcibly disappeared and executed victims of Paine requested the president of the Supreme Court to expedite the processing of cases still pending from the different episodes of the Paine case, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the events that brought mourning to that town, this being the last case remaining in the second instance. Currently, all pending episodes of said case are awaiting resolution by the Supreme Court.

Source: elmostrador.cl, October 6, 2023