The so-called Joint Command (CC) was an intelligence group that operated approximately between late 1975 and the end of 1976, and whose main objective was the repression of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth.

During this period, according to the Rettig Report, it was responsible for the disappearance of nearly 30 people. Other sources cite more than 70. The CC was formed mainly by agents belonging to the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (DIFA) and later counted on significant participation from personnel of the Carabineros Intelligence Directorate (DICAR).

It also relied, to a lesser extent, on the participation of agents from the Naval Intelligence Service (SIN) and some personnel from the Army Intelligence Directorate (DINE). In addition, members of the Chilean Investigative Police and civilians from Patria y Libertad collaborated with this Command.

BARRACKS OF HORROR

Among the first torture centers, even before being called the Joint Command, was the Air War Academy (AGA), which operated from late 1973 until late 1974, formally under the charge of the Aviation Prosecutor's Office, which in practice coordinated closely with the Air Force Intelligence Service (SIFA).

General Bachelet and many FACH officers were tortured in its basement. Jose Luis Baeza Cruces, a member of the PC Central Committee who is currently forcibly disappeared, was also there. Fernando Matthei, the Director of the AGA at the time, has been summoned to testify regarding this case.

In January 1975, when the SIFA vacated the AGA, it transferred the detainees to a house in Santiago, located in the Apoquindo sector, about two blocks from the Las Condes Municipality. This property was used as a secret detention center until March 1975 and was in charge of agents from the recently created DIFA.

After that date, the DIFA offices moved to Juan Antonio Rios No. 6, while the detainees were distributed between the Colina Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment ("Remo Cero") and a hangar inside the Cerrillos airport.

Another clandestine torture center is the one known as "Nido 20," located at Santa Teresa 037, near the 20th stop of Gran Avenida, in Santiago. As a result of the torture inside, Alonso Gahona Chavez, now a forcibly disappeared person, died.

Humberto Castro Hurtado was also beaten to death here. Today, the house hosts the National Corporation of Laryngectomees (patients operated on for laryngeal cancer).

The facility known as "Nido 18" was used exclusively for practicing torture. It is a location situated at Peru 9053, in the La Florida commune in Santiago, near the 18th stop of Vicuña Mackenna. In this center, according to witnesses, Arsenio Leal Pereira took his own life under the pressure of the torture to which he was being subjected.

In "Remo Cero," alongside FACH agents, members of the Naval Intelligence Service and some Army agents operated. The contingent from the Carabineros Intelligence Directorate was more numerous. Civilians from Patria y Libertad also acted here.

Several detainees were reportedly taken from there by helicopter to be thrown into the sea, among them Humberto Fuentes Rodriguez and Luis Moraga Cruz. There are also witnesses who state that Ricardo Weibel Navarrete, Ignacio Gonzalez Espinoza, Miguel Rodriguez Gallardo, and Nicomedes Toro Bravo were taken from here to be murdered and buried on the military grounds of Peldehue.

Some detainees died in this facility as a result of torture, including Jose Sagredo Pacheco. This facility was frequently visited by a doctor who treated several detainees and supervised the torture.

A facility located at Dieciocho No. 229, which had been occupied by the newspaper El Clarin and passed into the hands of the Carabineros, was known as "La Firma." The Carabineros Intelligence School was installed there, some of whose professors were members not only of DICAR but also of the Joint Command.

Adjacent to this building is another property connected to it, in the rear of which the Joint Command operated. In this second property, various PC prisoners were kept in secret detention, including Carlos Contreras Maluje, Juan Rene Orellana, Luis Emilio Maturana, and Juan Antonio Gianelli, who were taken from that place to be murdered and buried clandestinely at Cuesta Barriga, and Jose Weibel Navarrete, who was subsequently murdered in the Cajon del Maipo sector.

In 1985, it would be used to kidnap a dozen teachers and the three communist professionals who would later appear with their throats slit on a rural road in Quilicura.

Other properties used by the SIFA or the Joint Command, where detainees were held temporarily, included a property in the Bellavista neighborhood, where single members of the CC lived, as well as the Las Tranqueras Police Station, used while a United Nations human rights delegation was visiting, so that such detainees could not be located in the better-known detention centers.

AGA: THE PREDECESSOR

Witnesses who survived the torture at the Air War Academy remember their captors and torturers, among others, as General Orlando Gutierrez Bravo; commanders Sergio Lizasoain, Edgar Ceballos Jones, Jaime Lavin, Juan Bautista Gonzalez, and Humberto Velasquez Estay; captains Leon Duffey, Juan Carlos Sandoval, Jaime Lemus, Florencio Duble, Contreras, and Fullogher (permanent guard chief); lieutenants Juan Carlos Sandoval, Luis Campos, Matig, and Perez; Sergeant Hugo "chuncho" Lizana, Corporal Eduardo Cartagena, and Corporal 2nd Class Gabriel Cortes (who changed his name).

"The torturers at the Air War Academy were almost all from the Aerophotogrammetry Specialty, both officers and non-commissioned officers. They belonged to the courses that graduated in 1967 and subsequent ones.

They were directly under the command of Commander Otaiza, also called 'pata de oso' (bear paw). Also interrogating were those from the military instructor course of the School of Specialties who graduated in 1968, the same year as my graduation.

Subsequently, in mid-1974, I was also taken to the Air War Academy from the Public Jail. There I was able to verify that Colonel Matthei directed and selected those who had to be tortured and interrogated.

He, along with a lieutenant nicknamed 'el loquillo' (the crazy one), beat two prisoners who were standing and blindfolded. 'El loquillo' also hit me with the butt of a rifle. From the AGA, I was taken to the Polytechnic Academy for 24 hours; during this journey, there was fear of the application of the so-called 'law of flight' (execution from behind and abandonment in some vacant lot).

From the APA, I was transferred back to the AGA, and finally, I was transferred to the Public Jail." (Sergio Lontano Trureo. 51 years old. ID 57.88167-4. Domiciled at 290 South Lambeth Road, London SWB.1 JUG, England. Legal Executive. As of September 11, 1973, he held the rank of Corporal 1st Class).

PROSECUTED AND RESPONSIBLE

The commanders and agents involved in the actions of the Joint Command are: Manuel Barra Von Kretschmann (ID 1.614.559-9), head of the Naval Intelligence Service in the Intelligence Community (Jose Antonio Rios 6).

Frigate Captain at the time of the coup d'état, part of the DINA leadership in 1974 and deputy director in 1975. In 1976, he became part of the CNI. He was prosecuted as an accomplice to criminal conspiracy and the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira by Judge Cerda.

Luis Rolando Pacheco Valdes, Colonel (ret.) of the FACH. Head of the Colina Air Base at the time the "Remo Cero" torture center operated inside it. Prosecuted by Judge Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy.

Ruben Samuel Romero Gormaz, General (ret.) of the Carabineros, head of the DICAR at J.A.R. 6. Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Freddy Enrique Ruiz Bunger, General (ret.) of the FACH. Head of the DIFA at J.A.R. 6. Prosecuted as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira. He is currently being prosecuted by the judge of the 25th Criminal Court of Santiago for the kidnapping of Victor Vega.

Mario H. Vivero Avila, General (ret.) of the FACH, Aviation judge and commander of the Santiago garrison in 1976. Prosecuted as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy by Carlos Cerda. Currently, Judge Hazbun of the 25th Criminal Court is prosecuting him as a cover-up for criminal conspiracy and the disappearance of Victor Vega.

Edgar Benjamin Ceballos Jones, Colonel (ret.) of the FACH. Director of the DIFA and later of the SIFA, torturer at the Air War Academy and boss of Roberto Fuentes Morrison in the CC. Alias "Inspector Cabezas." Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Carlos Arturo Madrid Hayden, Commander (ret.) of the FACH. Vice-commander of the Colina Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment where the "Remo Cero" torture center operated. Prosecuted by Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy, while Judge Hazbun considers him an accomplice to the kidnapping of Victor Vega.

German Alfredo Esquivel Caballero, Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) of the Carabineros, in charge of counterintelligence at DICAR. Prosecuted as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Daniel Luis Enrique Guimpert Corvalan, Lieutenant (ret.) of the Navy (ID 4.638.149-1). Prosecuted as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira. He is currently being prosecuted by Judge Carlos Hazbun for the kidnapping of Victor Vega.

Jorge Rodrigo Cobos Manriquez, FACH reserve lieutenant. Alias "Kiko" or "Elefantito" (ID 5.890.505-4). Prosecuted by Judge Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira. Judge Hazbun subjected him to prosecution for the disappearance of Victor Vega.

Jorge Arnoldo Barraza Riveros, Commissioner (ret.) of the Investigative Police. Alias "El Zambra." Prosecuted as an accomplice to criminal conspiracy.

Pedro Ernesto Caamaño Medina, Sub-officer (ret.) of the FACH. Alias "Peter" (ID 7.024.319-9). Operational agent at the "La Firma" torture center. Prosecuted by Judge Carlos Hazbun for the kidnapping of Victor Vega.

German Enrique Pimentel Ceballos, Commander (ret.) of the FACH. Prosecuted by Judge Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edras Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Luis Enrique Campos Poblete, Commander (ret.) of the FACH. Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy. Manuel Agustin Muñoz Gamboa, Major (ret.) of the Carabineros. Alias "El Lolo." He stood out for his cruelty in the CC, where he participated in dozens of kidnappings, acts of torture, and disappearances, returning with the rank of captain to the Carabineros to continue being linked to the repressive apparatuses.

In the DICOMCAR, he shared duties with his "colleague" from the CC, Miguel Estay Reino. In this organization, he appears involved in the murder of Juan Antonio Aguirre Ballesteros in 1984. He was prosecuted by Judge Cerda, subsequently sentenced to 5 years and one day for his participation in the murder of Jose Manuel Parada, Manuel Guerrero, and Santiago Nattino.

Today he is being prosecuted for the kidnapping and disappearance of Alonso Gahona, in the 4th Criminal Court of San Miguel, and in the case led by Judge Hazbun for the kidnapping and disappearance of Victor Vega.

Eduardo Enrique Cartagena Maldonado. Alias "Lalo." ID 5.083.760. Sub-officer (ret.) of the FACH. Agent of the CC since 1975, participating in kidnappings, torture, and disappearances of numerous communist leaders between that year and 1976.

After the dissolution of this organization, he joined the Air Force Intelligence Service (SIFA). He is being prosecuted in the 4th Criminal Court of San Miguel for the kidnapping and torture that caused the death of Alonso Gahona Chavez, missing since September 8, 1975.

He also appears indicted in the case opened by the judge with preferential dedication Carlos Hazbun, head of the 25th Criminal Court, regarding the kidnapping and disappearance of Victor Vega Riquelme that occurred on January 3, 1976.

His last known address is Del Rey 394, Maipu. Miguel Arturo Estay Reyno. Alias "El Fanta." Former communist militant, he went from informant to agent after being detained in 1975 by members of the Joint Command.

Knowledgeable about the internal structures of the Communist Youth and the PC, he was a vital piece in the formation of the organizational charts that led to the detention of its main leaders, among whom were Carlos Contreras Maluje, Jose Weibel, Fernando Ortiz, and Waldo Pizarro.

He participated in the kidnapping of his former comrade Manuel Guerrero, who was one of the few who managed to escape the clutches of the CC, but in 1985 he kidnapped him again, this time with the agents of the DICOMCAR, to finally slit his throat along with Jose Manuel Parada and Santiago Nattino.

Prosecuted by Judge Cerda and amnestied by Silva Ibañez, today he is serving his life sentence in Colina for the murder of the three communist professionals and is being prosecuted for the disappearance of Victor Vega.

Cesar Luis Palma Ramirez. Alias "El Fifo." ID 6.387.372-1. As a militant of Patria y Libertad, he participated in numerous terrorist attacks against the UP government; he was detained in August 1973 for his participation in the homicide of presidential aide-de-camp Arturo Araya, amnestied after the coup d'état by Admiral Adolfo Waulbaum.

A friend of Fuentes Morrison, who brought him to the CC, he became his right-hand man in the execution of repressive tasks. According to CC defector Andres Valenzuela, "El Fifo" participated directly in the murders of Jose Weibel Navarrete, Miguel Rodriguez Gallardo, Humberto Fuentes Rodriguez, and agents of the same organization Carol Flores and Guillermo Bratti, all of whom are missing to this day.

He is also named among those who executed communist leaders Lincoyan Berrios, Fernando Navarro, Fernando Ortiz, Waldo Pizarro, Luis Lazo, Juan Gianelly, Horacio Cepeda, Hector Veliz, and Reinalda Pereira, who was in an advanced state of pregnancy, at Cuesta Barriga.

Prosecuted by Judge Cerda, he appears today in the cases of Alonso Gahona and Victor Vega. His last known address is El Quilo 5535, Quinta Normal, where the cooling equipment factory FRIGOMET LTDA. operates; they claim not to know him, however, his phone-fax 7738010 continues to be in the name of Palma Ramirez.

Roberto Alfonso Flores Cisterna. Alias "El Huaso." ID 7.767.975-8. Soldier (ret.) of the FACH. On September 11, 1973, as a FACH soldier at the El Bosque Air Base, he participated in interrogations and torture of detainees.

Because of his "ability," he was sent to continue his work at the Air War Academy under the command of Edgard Ceballos. In 1975, he became part of the CC, being responsible for the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of communist militants.

Until the mid-90s, he continued in active service in the SIFA; today he appears working in the commercial sector. His last known address is Villa Tantauco, Block 10282, Apt. 31, San Bernardo.

Alejandro Jorge Forero Alvarez. Cardiologist. Medical College Registry 9580-K. Squadron Commander and doctor who was working at the FACH Hospital at the time of the coup d'état. In 1976, he provided services as a second-class soldier at the El Bosque Air Base and at the Colina Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.

In this place, he participated in the CC, supervising torture and drugging the prisoners who were taken out to be made to disappear. He was subjected to prosecution by Judge Carlos Cerda during the dictatorship and today is once again required by Judge Hazbun in the Victor Vega case.

He was the first person to be "funado" (publicly shamed) in Chile, on October 1, 1999, at his office in the INDISA Clinic. He is a member, among other organizations, of the Chilean Society of Intensive Medicine, where he is listed with the INDISA address, and of the Chilean Society of Cardiology, in which he appears with his private practice: Av.

Apoquindo 6275, office 116, and the email address forero@entelchile.net. His last known address is Camino La Brisa 14.199-2, Lo Barnechea, telephone 2161253.

Juan Francisco Saavedra Loyola. Alias "Jano." ID 4.124.917-K. Officer (ret.) of the FACH. On September 11, 1973, he was serving as a group commander at the Air War Academy, where he was in charge of the interrogation and torture of his comrades-in-arms loyal to the constitutional government, among them Alberto Bachelet.

In 1976, he was appointed Director of the Colina Air Base and joined the CC, replacing Edgard Ceballos in the position. In 1977, he moved to the Intelligence Community that operated at Juan Antonio Rios 6 (Alameda with Santa Rosa).

Until the early 90s, he was active in the FACH with the rank of colonel. He was prosecuted by Judge Carlos Cerda and today is required by Judge Hazbun in the case of the disappearance of Victor Vega.

Otto Silvio Trujillo Miranda. Civilian agent. DC militant in his youth, he later joined Patria y Libertad where he met "Wally," who would take him to the CC and save his life in a dispute between this organization and the DINA when, together with Carol Flores and Guillermo Bratti, they provided information to Contreras's men.

Since before the coup d'état, he belonged to the Military Intelligence Service (SIM), then he was called by Fuentes Morrison to be part of the security team of the Ministry of Agriculture and the CC. He participated in the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of left-wing militants until his expulsion due to the incident with the DINA.

His "contacts" allowed him to take charge of a security company in southern Chile, after which he was involved in numerous lawsuits for fraudulent check issuance. He is on the list of those prosecuted by Carlos Cerda and in the cases opened for the disappearance of Alonso Gahona and Victor Vega.

Guillermo Antonio Urra Carrasco. Alias "Willy." ID 6.687.227-0. Corporal 2nd Class (ret.) of the FACH. Operational agent of the CC since its formalization in 1975. He was prosecuted by Judge Carlos Cerda for his participation in the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of left-wing militants.

According to direct witnesses, he is responsible for the execution of prisoners in the Cajon del Maipo (among them Jose Weibel and agents Carol Flores and Guillermo Bratti), in Cuesta Barriga (among others Horacio Cepeda, Fernando Ortiz, and Reinalda Pereira), and in the throwing of others into the sea off the coast of Quintero.

Today he is being prosecuted again, this time for the Victor Vega case. His last known address is Santa Blanca 1990, Las Condes.

Roberto Fuentes Morrison. Alias "Wally." During the Unidad Popular, he stood out in the paramilitary groups of Patria y Libertad, where he met several of those he would later take to the CC. As a FACH Squadron Commander, he joined this criminal conspiracy, becoming one of the operational chiefs recognized as one of the cruelest torturers.

He was prosecuted by Carlos Cerda due to his participation in dozens of kidnappings, acts of torture, executions, and disappearances of MIR and PC militants. In mid-1989, he was riddled with bullets outside his house.

Fernando Patricio Zuñiga Canales. Alias "Chirola." Sub-officer (ret.) of the FACH. As a soldier at the El Bosque Air Base, on September 11, 1973, he participated in the torture of his comrades-in-arms.

He was then transferred to the Air War Academy to fulfill the same functions and from there went on to be part of the DIFA. In 1975, he joined the CC, in which he participated in the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of left-wing militants, among them Victor Cardenas, Carlos Duran, Luis Maturana, Humberto Castro, and David Urrutia.

He was also present at the execution of Bratti and Flores. He belonged to the Air Force Intelligence Service (SIFA) at least until the early 90s. He was prosecuted by Judge Cerda and today appears in the cases of Alonso Gahona and Victor Vega.

His last known address is Pasaje Simon Bolivar 1298, San Bernardo. Alex Damian Carrasco Olivos, FACH official, escort for Leigh, Fernando Matthei, and Ramon Vega. Alias "Loco Alex" (ID 6.243.426-7). Operational agent of the Joint Command.

Juan Arturo Chavez Sandoval, Corporal (ret.) of the FACH. Alias "Peque," "Rucio," or "Pol." Torturer at the AGA and CC operative. Prosecuted for the kidnapping of Victor Vega.

Marco Alejandro Cortes Figueroa, Inspector (ret.) of the Investigative Police. Alias "Yoyopulus." Prosecuted as an accomplice to criminal conspiracy in the Cerda case.

Raul Horacio Gonzalez Fernandez, official (ret.) of the FACH. Alias "Rodrigo" or "Wally Chico." Witnesses state that he participated in the detention of Jose Weibel. Prosecuted as an accomplice to the illegal detention of Amanda Velasco Pedersen in the 25th Criminal Court.

Viviana Lucinda Ugarte Sandoval, retired soldier of the FACH, assigned to the DIFA and the Comando Conjunto. Alias "La Pochi." Prosecuted by Judge Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and an accomplice to the disappearance of Reinalda Pereira and Edras Pinto.

Pablo Arturo Navarrete Arriagada, retired colonel of the Carabineros assigned to DICAR. Prosecuted as an accomplice to criminal conspiracy by Judge Cerda. Antonio Benedicto Quiros Reyes, retired colonel of the FACH and head of the Counterintelligence Department during the years of the CC.

Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy. Andres Pablo Potin Lailhacar, civilian agent of the CC. Alias "Yerko." A member of Patria y Libertad, arrested in August 1973 for his participation in the homicide of presidential aide Arturo Araya.

Prosecuted by Judge Hazbun as a participant in the kidnapping of Victor Vega. Today, he is listed as a businessman in the computer sector with an office at Americo Vespucio Norte 2506. Manuel Antonio Salvatierra Rojas, retired sub-prefect of the Investigative Police.

Alias "Negro" (I.D. 6.195.828-2). Prosecuted by Judge Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy. Robinson Alfonso Suazo Jaque, retired soldier of the FACH. Alias "Jonathan." A torturer at the AGA.

Prosecuted in the 25th Criminal Court for the kidnapping and disappearance of Victor Vega. Humberto Villegas, retired second sergeant of the Carabineros. Alias "Don Beto." Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the perpetrator of criminal conspiracy and an accomplice to the disappearance of Reinalda Pereira and Edras Pinto.

Pedro Juan Zambrano Uribe, FACH official. Alias "Chino." Prosecuted by Judge Hazbun as the perpetrator of the kidnapping of Victor Vega. Others prosecuted by Judge Carlos Cerda were Gustavo Leigh and Julio Benimelli Ruiz, who died under various circumstances.

Indicted as accomplices to the CC are retired Carabineros colonels Italo Astete Sermini, Gonzalo Jimenez Huerta, Raul Enrique Montt Carvajal, and Federico Luis Smith Ibarra. Also, lieutenant colonels Graciano Bernales Perez, Juan Bezzemberger Schwarz, and Luis Humberto Villagra Rebeco.

Indicted as accessories to the kidnappings of Reinalda Pereira and Edras Pinto were retired Investigative Police sub-commissioner Federico Infante Lillo and officer Jorge Mondaca Gonzalez. In the proceedings opened by Carlos Hazbun, Carlos Pascua Riquelme, Juan Chavez Sandoval, and Alejandro Saez Mardones (who is serving a life sentence for the "degollados" case) were indicted.

By Julio Oliva Garcia

Source: lafogata.org, January 20, 2002

Clarín, the DINA, the Casona de Volpone, and a Central Bank lawyer

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has just ruled in favor of the Chilean State, denying compensation to Spanish-Chilean citizen Víctor Pey for the usurpation of his assets during the dictatorship, among them the legendary newspaper Clarín.

This is a story in which a popular newspaper, a former president, a press legend, agents of the military dictatorship's repression, and the solemn Central Bank of Chile are intertwined in a novelistic fashion.

Payday. In an office on Calle Nueva York in the heart of Santiago, as every month, the line of DINA agents, mostly civilians, waits for the envelopes containing their salaries. The payment is secure. The times they are living in are, too.

For them. The employer's iron fist protects them from harm. Among those who arrive is the beautiful nurse Carlota Bolumburu Taboada, "The Lady of Pentothal," known as such for the overdoses she injects into prisoners at the Santa Lucía and London clinics.

Alejandra Damiani Serrano also waits for payment. She is the right hand of the "gringo" Michael Townley, the DINA "engineer." He was the assembler of the bomb that killed General Carlos Prats and his wife Sofía Cuthbert in 1974 in Buenos Aires.

The chief's mistress also receives her remuneration. Nélida Gutiérrez Rivera, Manuel Contreras's secretary. In the end, Nélida stayed by his side until today, in times of suffering. Elissalde & Poblete y Cía.

Limitada is the paying company. Its corporate name is elegant and unmistakable: "DINA Service." On November 24, 1974, "DINA Service" changed "owners" and went from "Servicios Industriales Villar y Reyes Ltda." to Elissalde & Poblete, who acquired all rights and remained as the sole partners.

They are retired Army colonel Alberto Elissalde Müller and lawyer Miguel Ángel Armando Poblete Rodríguez. The other two were Lautaro Villar Requena and Leonardo Reyes Herrera. These are times when DINA lawyers have plenty to do.

Among other issues, they must cover the usurped movable and immovable assets with a legal mantle. They belong to those who are now imprisoned, exiled, or have already been murdered. It costs little to legalize the "war trophies" of the victors.

It is enough for them to slip into a pocket during a raid, or to draft a simple decree when it comes to properties. This is the fate of the "Casa de Piedra" in the Cajón del Maipo. Its owner is nicknamed Volpone, like the theatrical comedy by Ben Jonson.

Since before the 1973 military coup, Darío Saint-Marie Soruco, Volpone, has been a good friend of Salvador Allende. Saint-Marie is the owner of the Consorcio Publicitario y Periodístico S.A. and the Empresa Periodística El Clarín.

Clarín was the newspaper that sold the most copies per day in the history of Chilean journalism. Over 300,000. Acidic. Piercing. Irreverent. Snake-tongued. Leaning toward crime, police stories, scandalous love affairs, of a popular nature.

With Allende's victory in 1970, it turned into a political newspaper that supported the Unidad Popular government. After the military uprising of September 11, 1973, both the consortium and the newspaper Clarín were dissolved, and all of Saint-Marie's assets were confiscated and passed into the hands of the State.

Among them, the Casa de Piedra. Decree 165 of the Ministry of the Interior, signed by General Augusto Pinochet in his capacity as "President of the Republic" and César Benavides as Minister of that portfolio, whitewashed the seizure.

Allende is dead and Volpone is in Spain. Of the glory days of Clarín, only the memory remains. The "Handover Act" The Casa de Piedra was occupied by the DINA a few weeks after the coup. But the "official" transfer from the Army to the organization did not arrive until 1977, a few months before it was dissolved and replaced by the Central Nacional de Informaciones (CNI).

Decree 56 of the Ministry of Lands and Colonization of February 3, 1977, signed by Pinochet and the Minister of that portfolio, Luis Beytía, allocated the spacious property nestled in the beautiful landscapes of the foothills to the DINA "for its own purposes." The person who received the mansion as "Head of Infrastructure" for the repressive organ is the same lawyer from Elissalde & Poblete y Cía.

Ltda., Miguel Ángel Armando Poblete Rodríguez, RUT 3.688.003-1, born on May 23, 1948. The "Handover Act" has no date. Curiously, Poblete appears in the reception act as "Head of Infrastructure" for the CNI, when the mansion was transferred to the DINA.

Poblete Rodríguez's signature is adorned with a CNI stamp. Since September 11, 2000, and until today, this lawyer has been part of the Central Bank's Legal Department team, with an indefinite contract.

His date of entry into the issuing institution is paradoxically coincident with the beginning of his history, 37 years earlier. The person who received the mansion as "Head of Infrastructure" for the repressive organ is the same lawyer from Elissalde & Poblete y Cía.

Ltda., Miguel Ángel Armando Poblete Rodríguez, RUT 3.688.003-1, born on May 23, 1948. The "Handover Act" has no date. In it, Eduvigis Gajardo Pinilla, head of the Department of National Assets of the Ministry of Lands and Colonization, hands over the property to lawyer Poblete Rodríguez, who signs as "Head of Infrastructure." Curiously, Poblete appears in the reception act as "Head of Infrastructure" for the CNI, when the mansion was transferred to the DINA.

Poblete Rodríguez's signature is adorned with a CNI stamp. Since September 11, 2000, and until today, this lawyer has been part of the Central Bank's Legal Department team, with an indefinite contract.

His date of entry into the issuing institution is paradoxically coincident with the beginning of his history, 37 years earlier. Allende and Clarín The history of the Casa de Piedra is intertwined between good times and storms.

Between friendship, family life, suffering, and crime. A report by the Money Laundering Investigation Brigade (Brilac), by inspector Carlos Quijada Fuentes, investigated in 2007 for Judge Alejandro Madrid the different times of the mansion and other assets that belonged to Volpone.

The investigation concluded that in 1972, during the height of the socialist government, President Salvador Allende bought the Consorcio Publicitario y Periodístico and the Empresa Periodística El Clarín from Darío Saint-Marie.

According to the background information collected by this report, Allende allegedly made the acquisitions through his personal friend Víctor Pey Casado, to make them available to the political process that his government was developing.

The money for the purchase, the police report maintains, had its origin "among others, in the transfer of US$ 780,000 on September 26, 1972, from the National Bank of Cuba to the Bank für Handel und Effekten in Zürich, to account 11.235 of Víctor Pey Casado, an intimate friend of Allende." According to the Brilac document, the information about this acquisition has its origin in a report that the president of the State Defense Council, Lorenzo de la Maza Rivadeneira, made on October 3, 1974, for the Justice Advisor of the Ministry of the Interior, Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo Avello Concha.

However, Víctor Pey, who has now lost the litigation against the Chilean State for the ownership of the newspaper El Clarín, told El Mostrador that "that is an absolutely false assertion; Allende never asked me to buy the newspaper for him, even though I had a close relationship with him." What Pey does acknowledge is that he bought the newspaper from Saint-Marie and admits that the transaction with Volpone—who had already settled in Madrid in 1972—"was done through banks that would give us more security that there would be no infiltration by the CIA.

Indeed, that account in Zürich was mine." Pey maintains that "surely the report by Mr. De la Maza on which the police document you speak to me about was based, wanted to tarnish the name of Allende, which was what interested them most." Another person who denies that alleged covert operation by Allende is journalist Alberto Gamboa, who was the director of Clarín during the Unidad Popular government. "I am absolutely unaware of that; I never knew of anything like that," he stated.

After the military coup, the dictatorship decreed on February 10, 1975, the dissolution of CPP.SA and the Empresa Periodística El Clarín. Furthermore, it resolved that both the assets of Saint-Marie and Pey Casado would pass into the domain of the State, as they were in the situation of Decree 77 of December 13, 1973.

This decree declared political parties illegal, confiscating all their assets, including the societies or companies that "directly or through third parties, belong to or are directed by them." In the family The steps of the current lawyer for the Central Bank's Legal Department, Miguel Ángel Poblete Rodríguez, in financing the repressive services of the dictatorship come and go.

From paying the salaries of the DINA's civilian agents and signing the receipt of Volpone's Casa de Piedra, his tracks advance toward the 1980s. On October 8, 1984, according to a public deed, Poblete registered in the Santiago Commercial Registry the "Sociedad Administradora de Servicios de Personal Limitada," with the trade name "Asper Ltda." His partners?

Germán Alfredo Esquivel Caballero and Mario Zamorano Monreal. Esquivel Caballero, an agent of the Comando Conjunto, retired lieutenant colonel of the Carabineros, and prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

Asper Limitada, formerly called Boxer & Asper, continued to pay the salaries of the CNI civilians. As the deed was modified, CNI agent Ernesto Darío Zamorano Barrueto, who joined in October 1985, also acted as a partner of Asper.

Another CNI agent, a currently retired Army colonel, César Atilio Risi Vignolo, became a partner starting in December 1987. In June 1989, reinforcements arrived in the form of Major Luis Isaac Contreras Prieto.

He is one of the pilots of the Puma helicopters of the Army Aviation Command, used to throw the bodies of prisoners into the sea. No stranger. Everything stayed in the "family" of lawyer Poblete. The modifications to the master deed were made with another "man of the house." The DINA notary Hernán Blanche Sepúlveda, who still practices as a notary in Santiago today.

After the dictatorship was defeated in the 1988 plebiscite, on March 8, 1990, Asper was dissolved. "I was never a DINA agent," lawyer Poblete told El Mostrador, but he admitted that the Poblete of "Elissalde & Poblete" is indeed him.

However, he explained that "I did not know that those salaries that were being paid were for DINA or CNI agents; I found that out much later." He maintained that "I did indeed do freelance work for the CNI" and assured that "the reception act for that house," referring to Volpone's Casa de Piedra, "I signed it only in a hurry," implying that things were done "disorderly." A clear "patron" The military agents' salaries were paid by their respective institutions.

There was a budget for that. But the civilians' salaries, who paid them? Neither Villar, nor Reyes, nor Elissalde, nor Poblete—shell companies—were millionaire patrons. Some businessmen who were friends and beneficiaries of the regime did it.

So far, only the name of Ricardo Claro Valdés, who did have a lot of money, has been established. There are no signed documents. But his participation in the financing of organized crime is supported by different voices that indicate as much.

Former agent Eduardo Cabezas Mardones, who was part of the unknown Economic Brigade of the DINA in late 1976, as he relates in a judicial statement. Former agent Arturo Ramírez Labeé, head of that brigade.

And former agent Jorgelino Vergara Bravo, better known as El Mocito, as he told for the book La Danza de los Cuervos by journalist Javier Rebolledo. Deception of the Rettig Commission The Casa de Piedra was a prized booty for the military.

A temporary detention and torture barracks for the DINA. An Intelligence School for the training of agents. A vacation center for its officers and their families. A place for parties and celebrations. And a place for receiving important friends like Ricardo Claro.

The historic meeting between Augusto Pinochet and the clandestine secretary-general of the Communist Party, Víctor Díaz López, took place there after he was arrested. According to a judicial statement by the second-in-command of the Delfín Group that operated at the Simón Bolívar barracks, Ricardo Lawrence Mires, at that meeting, Díaz told Pinochet that "trying to exterminate the Communist Party is like emptying the sea with a bucket." It was in that mansion that the episode of the DINA's false martyr was gestated, with which the Army deceived the Rettig Commission in 1990.

On the morning of September 20, 1974, the agent, non-commissioned officer, and specialized commando Carlos Labarca Sanhueza shattered the head of his comrade of the same rank and training, José González Ulloa, with bullets.

Both were instructors of agents at the National Intelligence School that the DINA temporarily installed in the mansion. Both were also part of Pinochet's Security Advance Guard since November 1973. Two elite men who even instructed officers.

It was never known why Labarca killed González. The second-in-command of the DINA, Pedro Espinoza Bravo, did not tell Judge Alejandro Solís, to whom he judicially recounted this crime in early 2004, within the framework of the investigation into the assassination of General Carlos Prats and his wife in Buenos Aires.

The Army presented González's case to the Rettig Commission as a "victim of extremism." The Commission believed it without investigating. In its report on González Ulloa, the Commission established: "He died on September 20, 1974, in a confrontation with unknown armed groups inside the Cajón del Maipo" who "presumably acted for political motives." It added that the Commission "formed the conviction that the victim's death was a violation of human rights." These are shreds of a history that today is part of the collective memory of a large part of Chilean society.

And Clarín became an unforgettable myth, amidst the bullets and the blood that flowed in torrents through the streets of Chile starting from the military uprising of 1973.

Source: elmostrador.cl, January 3, 2013

Judge Carroza sentences retired Carabineros for the qualified kidnapping of a young merchant in 1974

The minister on extraordinary visit for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Mario Carroza, sentenced two retired members of the Carabineros for their responsibility in the crime of qualified kidnapping of Gastón Eduardo Cifuentes Norambuena, who was detained on December 3, 1974, and held in the underground of the Plaza de la Constitución, in front of La Moneda Palace, from where his trail is lost.

In the ruling (case file 334-2012), the visiting minister sentenced Manuel Agustín Muñoz Gamboa to 5 years and one day in prison and the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for public offices and political rights and absolute disqualification for professional titles for the duration of the sentence, as the perpetrator of the crime; and José Luis Contreras Valenzuela to 3 years and one day in prison, with the benefit of supervised release, as an accomplice.

During the investigation stage of the case, Judge Mario Carroza managed to establish the following facts: «1.- That the Carabineros Intelligence Service Section (SICAR), after September 11, 1973, functioned as an intelligence and repression service, with an organized, hierarchical structure, its own means, and clandestine detention centers or facilities to carry out tasks restricting the rights of those who were not supporters of the Military Government.

This organization maintained a structure that allowed it to maintain contact and permanent information channels with its superiors, to whom it had to report its work. The tasks carried out by the SICAR were developed by four groups or work teams, two of which were operational: 'Operations' and 'Counterintelligence,' and in turn, two administrative: 'Analysis' and 'Archive and Kardex'; 2.- That, starting from that date, the aforementioned service began to carry out procedures outside its institutional duties; in effect, among these was the aforementioned role of persecuting militants of the opposition to the Military Government, for which the operational groups were in charge of carrying out surveillance, raids, detentions, interrogations, and in some cases, executions; 3.- That among the places used for its illicit activities in 1974 was the well-known 'Barracks No. 1,' which received the name 'El Hoyo' (The Hole), located in the underground of the Plaza de la Constitución; 4.- That, as things were, on December 3, 1974, around noon, the citizen Gastón Eduardo Cifuentes Norambuena was inside the commercial establishment located at Avda. Brasil 52-A in the Santiago Commune, in the company of his brothers Heriberto Antonio and José Efraín, both Cifuentes Norambuena, as well as the secretary Yenny Patricia Ugalde Sáez and the client Pedro Enrique Durán Cerón, along with an unidentified third party, when four men dressed in civilian clothes burst into the place, asked for him, and when Gastón Eduardo answered affirmatively, they immediately proceeded to detain him and threw him into a vehicle, then left for an unknown destination; they also detained the other people who were in the premises, who were interrogated and subsequently released; 5.- That the efforts of his relatives to locate Gastón Eduardo Cifuentes Norambuena were unproductive; his trail was lost and he has not been seen alive since December 3, 1974, when he was illicitly deprived of his personal liberty by State agents of the Carabineros Intelligence Service; 6.- That the group that acted in said operation is the one called 'Counterintelligence,' which at that time was directed by Captain Germán Alfredo Esquivel Caballero, currently deceased, and integrated exclusively by police personnel».

Source: Adprensa, January 4, 2019