The summer session of the local Court of Appeals confirmed the indictment and formal charges against three retired Carabineros, identified as allegedly responsible for the deaths of two young MIR members in 1973. The former police officers, identified as Paulino Flores Rivas, Hernán Solís Alarcón, and Rufino Rodríguez Carrillo, had already been convicted in the first instance.

Source: El Mercurio, February 19, 2002

Judges with exclusive dedication make progress in resolving cases

Former director of Intelligence of the FACh, General (ret.) Enrique Ruiz Bunger, was indicted yesterday and remains under house arrest. The former director of Intelligence of the Chilean Air Force, General (ret.) Enrique Ruiz Bunger, was placed under house arrest after the presiding judge of the Fourth Criminal Court of San Miguel, María Teresa Díaz, determined yesterday to indict him as the perpetrator of the kidnapping of Communist Party militant Alonso Fernando Gahona Chávez, which occurred in 1975.

This marks significant progress in the resolution of cases assigned to the dozen judges with exclusive dedication to cases of the forcibly disappeared, as the magistrates have in recent days resolved to prosecute former uniformed personnel and former agents of the defunct security services.

Judge Díaz, who is exclusively dedicated to clarifying four cases regarding human rights violations, had already resolved six months ago to likewise indict General (ret.) Ruiz for illicit association in the kidnapping of communist militant Víctor Vera Riquelme, a crime for which other former uniformed personnel of the so-called "Joint Command" are also charged.

Gahona Chávez, nicknamed "Yuri," a laborer and father of two, was detained on Gran Avenida on September 8, 1975, and according to the Rettig Report, he was taken to the facility known as "Nido 20," from where he disappeared.

Human rights lawyer Nelson Caucoto indicated that this resolution by the magistrate is the most palpable proof that the mechanism of designating special judges—appointed by agreement of the Supreme Court in the middle of last year—has been of vital importance in clarifying these events.

Three former Carabineros

Last Tuesday, the presiding judge of the Panguipulli Court of Letters, Héctor Hinojoza Aubel, indicted three retired Carabineros for their responsibility in the deaths of two young men in 1973. The magistrate, with exclusive dedication to investigating human rights cases, estimated that the former uniformed personnel Rufino Rodríguez Carrillo, Paulino Flores Rivas, and Hernán Solís Alarcón were the material authors of the murder of university student and MIR member Hugo Ribol Vásquez Martínez, 21, and Mario Superby Jeldrez, 23.

The event took place in the town of Choshuenco, Valdivia province, in December 1973. Judge Hinojoza said yesterday that he indicted the former police officers for premeditated homicide, after they confessed to being responsible for the crime and that there was no confrontation with the young men.

Likewise, he indicated that the defendants appealed his resolution before the Valdivia Court of Appeals. The defense, led by lawyer Claudio Aravena, is based on the claim that the crime has prescribed and will request the application of the Amnesty Law for the alleged perpetrators.

If the higher court ratifies the Panguipulli judge's sentence, he could impose a minimum sentence of 15 years and one day in prison. The former police officers are being held at the Carabineros Police Training Group facilities in Panguipulli.

Socialist militant

Added to these resolutions is the one adopted last week by the presiding judge of the Ninth Criminal Court of Santiago, Raquel Lermanda, who, as a judge with exclusive dedication, is focused on resolving six pending cases.

In one of them, which investigates the disappearance of socialist militant Víctor Olea Alegría, which occurred in 1974, she indicted former DINA agents Gerardo Urrich González and Miguel Hernández Oyarzo as perpetrators of the crime of kidnapping.

In this way, the magistrate accepted the thesis of permanent kidnapping and pointed out in her resolution that it has continued from September 11, 1974, to the present, without his whereabouts being known.

Source: El Mercurio, February 7, 2002

Supreme Court ruling on the executions of two MIR militants: Rejection of applying prescription for homicide

In a split decision, the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court declared yesterday for the first time that the homicides of two members of the MIR killed in the Tenth Region in 1973 are imprescriptible—in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The victims are Hugo Márquez Martínez and Mario Superby Jeldres, who died on December 23, 1973, at the Molco estate in the town of Choshuenco, after being riddled with bullets by the now-retired Carabineros non-commissioned officers Paulino Flores Rivas and Rufino Rodríguez Carrillo, who had been acquitted of the crime of homicide in first and second instance courts after the prescription of criminal action was applied in their favor.

But the Criminal Chamber did not think the same and accepted the appeal of the plaintiffs, who requested that it be recognized as an error to have declared a crime against humanity as prescribed. In a replacement ruling, the court sentenced the perpetrators of the crimes to five years of remitted prison.

The majority vote, signed by Justice Alberto Chaigneau, acting Justice Julio Torres, and lawyers Óscar Herrera and Domingo Hernández, recognizes, in the first place, that at the time the events occurred, "the national territory was legally in a state of internal war," which makes the regulations of International Humanitarian Law, contained fundamentally in the Geneva Conventions, applicable.

Likewise, it maintains that "International Law has elevated to the character of a principle the imprescriptibility of certain categories of heinous crimes" that appear in the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, which, although not formally incorporated into domestic law, "accounts for a universally accepted principle." The resolution cited for the first time as one of its arguments the sentence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which last September condemned the State of Chile for the application of the Amnesty Law in the case of the executed teacher Luis Almonacid. In one of its considerations reviewed by the Supreme Court, said ruling states that the prohibition of committing such crimes (crimes against humanity) "is a norm of ius cogens, and the penalization of these crimes is mandatory, in accordance with general international law." The resolution included a dissenting vote from Justice Rubén Ballesteros, who, while acknowledging that these are "serious and reprehensible" crimes, asserts that they cannot be subject to international regulations that were not in force in Chile at the time of their commission. The ruling was described as "revolutionary" by lawyer Vladimir Riesco, who represented the victims' family in the trial. Although the professional is not entirely satisfied with the penalties applied, he acknowledges that the Supreme Court's decision "brings Chile up to date in accepting international humanitarian law."

Pending rulings

There are currently at least eight pending rulings in the Supreme Court regarding Human Rights that are awaited by both human rights representatives and the defense of the accused due to the significance they may have, especially regarding the application in Chile of international treaties that declare crimes against humanity as imprescriptible and non-amnestiable.

Although yesterday's ruling was categorical in recognizing imprescriptibility in the case of executions, it was not issued by the permanent justices of the chamber. In fact, different justices and member lawyers have reviewed the appeals presented in these cases, which is why the theses and assessments could vary.

In August 2005, the Criminal Chamber, but with a different composition, applied prescription and acquitted Colonel (ret.) Joaquín Rivera, who had been sentenced to 10 years and 1 day as the perpetrator of the executions of Ricardo Rioseco Montoya and Luis Cotal Álvarez, which occurred on October 5, 1973.

Amnesty and Chamber

With the majority support of the Concertación deputies and the rejection of a large part of those from the Alianza, the Chamber approved yesterday the bill that seeks to end the application of the Amnesty Law.

The event occurs at a time when the ruling party is refining the details to reach a proposal that points to the same thing, incorporating the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In La Moneda, they have accelerated the process of finding a solution, after receiving suggestions from the government coalition parties and human rights groups.

The text approved yesterday by 44 votes in favor, 34 against, and 9 abstentions—which must now be reviewed by the Senate Constitution Committee and the chamber of the corporation—in its broad strokes, introduces an interpretation of Article 93 of the Penal Code.

With the modification, which deals with the extinction of criminal responsibility, it is established in its third point that amnesty does not apply to crimes of human rights violations. "Today we have taken a very important step, because we are fulfilling the obligation that the Chilean State has," said PS deputy Juan Bustos, one of the promoters of the initiative.

Source: El Mercurio, December 15, 2006

Supreme Court convicts former Carabineros for the homicide of MIR members

In a split decision, the court deemed that former officers Paulino Flores Rivas and Rufino Rodríguez Carrillo were responsible for the deaths of these two MIR members, sentencing them to five years in prison under a supervised release regime.

The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, in a split vote, convicted former Carabineros officials Paulino Flores Rivas and Rufino Rodríguez Carrillo as perpetrators of the qualified homicide of Universidad Austral de Valdivia students and members of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Hugo Rivol Vásquez Martínez and Mario Edmundo Superby Jeldres, in events that took place at the Molco estate in Choshuenco, Panguipulli commune, in December 1973.

With the court's sentence, the first and second instance rulings that had acquitted the accused are revoked. In the substitute sentence, the non-commissioned officers (ret.) Flores Rivas and Rodríguez Carrillo must serve a five-year prison sentence under a supervised release regime subject to the control of the Gendarmería, plus the payment of court costs.

The ruling was issued by Justices Alberto Chaigneau, Rubén Ballesteros (dissenting), Julio Torres, and member lawyers Oscar Herrera and Domingo Hernández. The resolution indicates that the events were perpetrated and consummated during the validity of Decree Law No. 5 of September 12, 1973, "that is to say, when the national territory was legally in a state of internal war.

One of the consequences of this state of internal war is to make applicable the regulations of International Humanitarian Law, contained fundamentally in the 1949 Geneva Conventions, ratified by Chile through Supreme Decree No. 732 (Foreign Relations) and published in the Official Gazette on April 17, 18, 19, and 20, 1951, and, therefore, incorporated since then into our domestic law." It adds that the court validates its sentence based on regulations established in International Law that "has elevated to the character of a principle the imprescriptibility of certain categories of heinous crimes, among which are the grave breaches enumerated in Article I of the Geneva Conventions, a declaration expressly formulated in the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1968 and in force since 1970, but not ratified by Chile." "International Human Rights Law posits the existence of peremptory norms, recognized at the level of positive law, for the first time, in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, conceptualized as those that the international community as a whole recognizes as not susceptible to agreement to the contrary and which are only derogable by another norm of the same character (Articles 53 and 64)," the text adds. It adds that "this Convention was ratified by Chile and has been in force since May 9, 1981. As the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has pointed out, the violation of these norms gravely affects the moral conscience of humanity and obligates, unlike traditional Customary Law, the international community as a whole, regardless of its rejection, recognition, or acquiescence." "Well then, although there is no treaty or declaration in International Law that casuistically enumerates the norms of peremptory law, there is a broad doctrinal consensus in order to include within its scope large-scale human rights violations or 'crimes against humanity,' a category in which the illicit in question fits, in accordance with the repeated jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights," the Criminal Chamber's ruling states. According to the Rettig Report, Vásquez Martínez and Superby Jeldres were hiding in the mountains after the Coup d'État, specifically in the Choshuenco sector, from where they would come down to the town sporadically to get food. According to press reports from the time, both had been killed during the course of an operation carried out by police officers at the place called Molco. "At the moment when Carabineros were patrolling the sector, they were attacked with gunfire by the extremists, immediately repelling the attack. During the shootout, Hugo Rivol Vásquez Martínez, 21, was killed with impacts to the thorax; he was carrying a Winchester repeating rifle. He was with another subject nicknamed 'El Braulio,' who was wounded in the legs and, while being taken to the Panguipulli Hospital, passed away on the way," it maintained. The Commission determined that the confrontation did not occur, and that the deaths of both affected individuals constituted a violation of their fundamental rights for which State agents were responsible, who, using unnecessary or excessive force, fired upon them.

Source: La Nación, December 14, 2006

New indictment issued against former RN deputy Rosauro Martínez for crimes committed in Neltume in 1981

The minister on extraordinary visit for Human Rights cases of the Temuco Court of Appeals, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued a new indictment against the former deputy of National Renewal (RN), former appointed mayor of the Chillán commune, and former Army officer, Rosauro Martínez Labbé, in the case investigating the repressive events that occurred from the middle to the end of 1981 in the town of Neltume, Panguipulli commune, Valdivia province.

The criminal acts were perpetrated by repressive units of the CNI and Army commando forces that set out to dismantle and annihilate the members of the Toqui Lautaro Guerrilla Detachment, promoted by the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), which was carrying out resistance activities against the dictatorship in the mountains of the Valdivian mountain range.

Units of the Special Forces Battalion, based in Llancahue, Valdivia, participated in the extermination operations, in particular the 8th Commando Company commanded by the then-Army captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé.

In addition, CNI units led by the Rojo group, coming from Santiago and specializing in the persecution of MIR militants, were mobilized in the annihilation operations, along with the Anti-Terrorist Unit, also from the capital.

To them were added CNI personnel from regional units in the south and Carabineros from various units located in the mountain towns. In this latest resolution, the minister indicted Martínez Labbé as the perpetrator of the crime of qualified homicide, in the nature of a crime against humanity, of MIR militants Raúl Rodrigo Obregón Torres, executed on September 13 of that year, 1981; Pedro Juan Yáñez Palacios, executed on September 16, both in the Pasas sector; and Julio César Riffo Figueroa and René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera, murdered in the Cachín Alto sector on September 21 of that year.

In the case of these last two victims, it is worth noting that they had been detained by Carabineros at the end of August, handed over to the CNI, whose criminal units subjected them to bestial torture in secret barracks in the city of Valdivia, then taken to Santiago to continue the scourges at the CNI's Borgoño barracks, and then back in the south, they were tortured in facilities at the Termas de Liquiñe, which had been converted into a clandestine center for political imprisonment and torture for the objectives of this extermination operation in the mountain zone.

The now-former right-wing deputy had already been indicted previously in this same case as the perpetrator of the qualified homicides of MIR members Patricio Alejandro Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero del Carmen Guzmán Soto, and José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval, executed on September 20 in the Remeco Alto sector.

This previous indictment was issued in September 2014 after the plaintiffs requested, and the courts of justice decreed, the stripping of the immunity of the then-sitting deputy of the right-wing political group.

For the aforementioned previous indictments, the accused Rosauro Martínez Labbé enjoys the benefit of provisional release on bail. The minister terminates this benefit and orders total house arrest for the former officer.

In the recent resolution, Minister Mesa Latorre issued an indictment against three other subjects involved in the aforementioned criminal acts. He indicted the former operational chief of the CNI's Anti-Terrorist Unit (UAT) and former Army officer Conrado Vicente García Giaier as the perpetrator of the qualified homicide, in the nature of a crime against humanity, of MIR militant Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo, committed on November 27, 1981, in the Quebrada Honda sector near Puerto Fuy.

Previous indictments also weigh against this individual in this case. He is indicted for the qualified homicides of Pedro Juan Yáñez Palacios, Patricio Alejandro Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero Guzmán Soto, José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval, Julio César Riffo Figueroa, and René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera.

As in the case of Rosauro Martínez, the minister terminated the provisional release that benefited the accused García Giaier and, in its place, ordered total house arrest. In addition, he issued an indictment against the former Army non-commissioned officer and former member of the 8th Commando group of Llancahue, Julio Mariano Araki Tepano, as the perpetrator of the qualified homicide of the victims murdered in Remeco Alto: Patricio Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero Guzmán Soto, and José Monsalve Sandoval.

Finally, the minister indicted former Carabineros non-commissioned officer Paulino Flores Rivas as the perpetrator of the qualified homicide of MIR member Miguel Cabrera Fernández, perpetrated on October 15, 1981, in the town of Choshuenco in the same mountain region.

Given certain special conditions, the minister also decreed—for now—the precautionary measure of total house arrest for these last defendants. by Darío Núñez

Source: resumen.cl, December 28, 2022

The minister for extraordinary causes for human rights violations in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, has indicted the then-Army captains Rosauro Martínez Labbé and Conrado Vicente García Giaier; retired Army Corporal Second Class Julio Mariano Araki Tepano; and retired Carabineros Sergeant First Class Paulino Flores Rivas, as authors of the crime of qualified homicide in Neltume in 1981.

The minister for extraordinary causes for human rights violations in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, has indicted the then-Army captains Rosauro Martínez Labbé and Conrado Vicente García Giaier; retired Army Corporal Second Class Julio Mariano Araki Tepano; and retired Carabineros Sergeant First Class Paulino Flores Rivas, as authors of the consummated crime of qualified homicide of Rodrigo Obregón Torres, Pedro Juan Yáñez Palacios, Patricio Alejandro Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero del Carmen Guzmán Soto, José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval, René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera, Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo, Julio César Riffo Figueroa, and Miguel Cabrera Fernández. These crimes were perpetrated in the town of Neltume, Panguipulli commune, in 1981.

In the resolution (case file 1675-2003), Minister Mesa Latorre placed the defendants under the precautionary measure of full house arrest, primarily in consideration of the age of the former uniformed personnel and the health situation currently affecting the country.

“Given the merit of the background information, from which it is clear that the freedom of the defendants constitutes a danger to the safety of society; taking into account, also, the probable legal sanction for the crimes in which they are attributed participation; and in view of the provisions of Article 363 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the benefit of provisional release will not be granted to them,” the ruling states.

During the investigation stage of the case, the visiting minister managed to gather sufficient evidence to establish the following facts:

• A) During the month of March 1979, a group of Chilean exiles belonging to the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), who were residing in Europe, decided to create a guerrilla front in the southern zone of Chile. To this end, they met in Paris at the end of 1980, traveling from Madrid to Argentina and entering our country, specifically the Neltume area, through unauthorized border crossings, creating the group called the ‘Toqui Lautaro Guerrilla Detachment.’ In this location, they began a period of logistical work and military preparation, constructing shelters for the purpose of keeping their food, weapons, and clothing protected [as stated in the declaration of Jorge Enrique Durán Delgado on page 536 (Volume I), the declaration of Jorge Antonio Acuña Reyes on page 542 (Volume I), page 1,982 (Volume V), among other evidence].

• B) Local residents noticed this situation and reported it to the Carabineros at the Neltume Station, in the current Los Ríos region. Consequently, in the month of June 1981, a group composed of personnel from the No. 8 ‘Llancahue’ Special Command Troops detachment, under the instruction of Captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé, went to that sector to verify whether the reports received were true or false.

• C) Subsequently, on June 26, 1981, this group tasked with checking the area discovered one of the camps created by the members of the aforementioned Detachment and decided to raid it. As a result of this military operation, the Detachment group split up, and the Army seized some of the belongings found in their shelters (maps, passports, food, weaponry) [according to evidence on page 1092 (Volume III), among others].

• D) From that moment, the military operation led by Captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé officially began, with the objective of annihilating the members of this group of young guerrillas. The following military and Carabineros units participated in this operation: the Rancagua Aviation Regiment; the No. 8 Special Command Troops Company; the Valdivia Carabineros Prefecture, and all its dependent units (as stated in the IV Army Division Official Letter No. 3560/112/1184, which sends the secret order on page 828 and page 829, Volume II).

• E) During the second half of August 1981, and with the objective of reinforcing the battalion led by Rosauro Martínez Labbé, the Anti-Terrorist Unit of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), composed of approximately 15 uniformed personnel and led by Captain Conrado Vicente García Giaier, arrived in the conflict zone. By this date, the Santiago and Valdivia units of the National Intelligence Center were already attached to the battalion commanded by Rosauro Martínez Labbé, as well as its ‘Red Group,’ which was under the command of Chilean Army Captain Enrique Erasmo Sandoval Arancibia (as stated in the IV Army Division Official Letter No. 3560/112/1184, which sends the secret order on page 828 and page 829, Volume II).

• F) In this context, and also having to keep in mind the inclement weather and scarce food that caused health problems for the young people belonging to the ‘Toqui Lautaro guerrilla detachment’ group, the following situations occurred:

1) On August 30, 1981, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera, while resting after being fed by locals Pedro Morales and Julia Navarro, were detained by a patrol composed of three Carabineros officers from the Malalhue Station in the Huellahue sector.

After their arrest, they were sent to Valdivia, specifically to the Las Ánimas Station. There, they were interrogated by Carabineros from the OS7 of Santiago. Subsequently, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera were transferred to the Borgoña Barracks in Santiago, belonging to the National Intelligence Center (CNI), where they were tortured and interrogated.

On September 16, 1981, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera were transported back to the conflict zone, particularly to Neltume, for the purpose of being used by the battalion under the charge of Rosauro Martínez Labbé in the search for the other guerrilla camps and their members.

Finally, on September 21, 1981, they were executed. The cause of death for René Bravo Aguilera was listed as a craniocerebral and thoracic gunshot wound, and for Julio Riffo Figueroa, a craniocerebral gunshot wound.

2) Pedro Juan Yáñez Palacios, in the course of his journey, suffered gangrene in his feet, for which he had to be left by his companions in the hollow of a tree trunk with a rifle. However, due to the strong smell of medicine he emitted, he was detected by the group of soldiers from the No. 8 Llancahue Command—which also included Conrado García Giaier—who were monitoring the area.

They killed him, his precise cause of death being a craniocerebral gunshot wound [according to death certificate page 188 (Volume I) and page 666 (Volume II); page 624 (Volume II), death report; autopsy report page 670 (Volume II); declaration of Erasmo Sandoval on page 1941 (Volume IV), among other evidence].

3) As a result of the information provided by the detainees Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera regarding the meeting place and the password, a group of soldiers, including Jerez Prussing and Enrique Sandoval Arancibia—already indicted in this case—and others from the No. 8 Llancahue Command under the command of Rosauro Martínez Labbé, managed to find and kill Raúl Rodrigo Obregón Torres on September 13, 1981, when he was on his way to meet his companions.

His precise cause of death was a cervicothoracic gunshot wound [according to death certificate page 187 (Volume I) and page 654 (Volume II); report page 624 (Volume II); autopsy report page 671 (Volume II) and 1074 (Volume III); declaration of Enrique Sandoval on page 1863 (Volume IV); page 2055 (Volume V); page 2118 (Volume V); declaration of Aquiles González on page 3887 (Volume VII), among other evidence].

4) Approximately in the middle of 1981, one of the young men, Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo, arrived at the house of a relative named Isaías Aguayo Márquez, located in the ‘Quebrada Honda’ sector, in the vicinity of the town of Neltume, Panguipulli.

He stayed in that place on repeated and discontinuous occasions, where he went to look for food on different occasions. Specifically, on November 28, 1981, a group of Army and Carabineros personnel stationed in the Neltume sector approached the aforementioned house, where, after urging the residents to leave their home, Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo left the place, where he was gunned down by a group of soldiers who fired multiple shots at him, resulting in a craniocerebral-facial gunshot wound, as well as multiple cervicothoracic gunshot wounds with rupture and bursting of organs and gunshot wounds to the lower extremities, which caused his death [according to page 848 (Volume II), report accounting for the death; page 872 (Volume II) autopsy report; page 874, 919 (Volume II), page 1274 (Volume IV), death certificate; declaration of Jorge Farías Silva on page 880 (Volume II); declaration of Rita Yolanda Jaramillo on page 988 (Volume II) and 1592 (Volume IV); of Isaías Aguayo Márquez on page 2,029 (Volume V); Carabineros official letter of January 1982, page 918 (Volume II), among other evidence].

5) Patricio Alejandro Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero del Carmen Guzmán Soto, and José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval arrived at the house of Mrs. Floridema Jaramillo, in Remeco Alto, who provided them with food and immediately took actions to report them to the Carabineros.

This was ultimately achieved by sending her son, Juan Carlos Henríquez Jaramillo, who went on horseback to the Neltume Station to report this fact. Together with Carabineros, they headed back to their home, and upon passing in front of the Remeco school, they notified soldiers who were in a camp in the area, who in turn gave notice by radio.

Upon returning to the house, there were Carabineros stationed in various places, around four, but at the same time, Captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé arrived, accompanied by at least two lower-ranking soldiers—among them Corporal 2nd JULIO ARAKI TEPANO—who, after urging the guerrillas to leave the house, fired against the building until it was practically unusable.

As a result, Patricio Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero Guzmán Soto, and José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval were killed. Subsequently, a large military contingent arrived and continued with the operation and the removal of the deceased guerrillas.

The autopsy protocols indicated the following causes of death: according to page 1075 for Patricio Calfuquir, the precise cause of death was five thoraco-abdominal gunshot wounds, complicated by rupture and bursting of organs and viscera, and the shots presented characteristics of having been fired from a long distance with automatic and large-caliber weapons; on page 1076 regarding Próspero del Carmen Guzmán Soto, the precise cause of death was twenty-eight thoraco-abdominal and extremity gunshot wounds, complicated by rupture and bursting of organs, viscera, and comminuted fractures, with the shots having characteristics of having been fired from a long distance with automatic and large-caliber weapons; on page 1079 and in relation to José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval, the precise, necessary, and immediate cause of death: (4) craniocerebral and thoraco-abdominal gunshot wounds, complicated, with rupture of organs and viscera, from shots at long distance, with automatic and large-caliber weapons.

6) Miguel Cabrera Fernández, known as ‘El Paine’ and who was the leader of the group, died in the town of Choshuenco on October 15, 1981, in an alleged confrontation with Carabineros belonging to the staff of the Station of that town.

His precise, necessary, and immediate cause of death indicates ‘Cervicothoracic gunshot wound, anteroposterior, complicated by rupture of blood vessels and left lung.’ Official letter sending the body to the morgue page 751 (Volume II); Carabineros report on death page 749 (Volume II); declaration in the prosecutor's office by Paulino Flores Rivas page 753 (Volume II); declaration in the prosecutor's office by Hernando Jara Valenzuela on page 753 (Volume II); background on Miguel Cabrera from page 830 to 841 (Volume II); autopsy report page 755 (Volume II); death certificate on page 919 (Volume II); declaration of Héctor Rivas Bravo on page 842 (Volume II); declaration of Dagoberto Pineda Troncoso from page 1055 to 1584 (Volume IV).

• G) In events 1 through 4, Rosauro Martínez Labbé participated in his capacity as Captain, who at the time of the events held the position of Commander of the No. 8 Command Company, of the ‘Llancahue’ Battalion, dependent on the IV Army Division, a company that was directing the operation in Neltume throughout the period it lasted. The aforementioned Captain Martínez was in charge of organizing the different groups that moved through the sector, providing weaponry and giving instructions, among which it was highlighted that ‘They were at war’ and that ‘upon seeing any man with the characteristics of a guerrilla, one should shoot to kill’ [according to declarations on page 3153, page 3155, page 3180, page 3182, page 3219, page 3185, page 3350, page 3355, page 3368, page 3385, page 3400, page 3478 (Volume VI), page 3616 (Volume VII) among many others; documents on page 1085 (Volume III) and following, 1286 (Volume IV) and following, 2338 (Volume V) and following].

• H) Among the members of the No. 8 Command Company who were collaborating with the operations commanded by Captain Martínez was Corporal 2nd Julio Araki Tepano, who was part of the reconnaissance group and, among his participation in the search and detention tasks of the guerrillas, was in charge of notifying the group leader, Lieutenant Iván Fuentes Sotomayor, that they had discovered a guerrilla base [page 2488 (Volume V), page 2583 (Volume VI), page 3605 (Volume VII), page 3350 (Volume VI), page 3353 (Volume VI), page 3355 (Volume VI), among other evidence].

• I) The Anti-Terrorist Unit of the National Intelligence Center (UAT), led by Captain Conrado García Giaier, also formed a fundamental part of this operation. He participated actively in the search, detention, and subsequent death of some of the aforementioned victims, which is also accredited in the indictment files on pages 2,046, 2,050, and 2,052 (Volume V) (confirmed by the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Valdivia according to page 2,169 (Volume V) [declarations of Luis Bascur Gaete on page 1500 (Volume IV); of Carlos Leonardo Ruiz Iturra on page 2,398 and page 2,431 (Volume V); of Carlos Cesar Cisternas Cofré on page 2,401 (Volume V); service record from page 2324 to 2330 (Volume V); police report page 2,387 (Volume V), among other evidence].

• J) In the event recounted in numeral 6, Carabineros from Choshuenco participated, specifically Sergeant First Class Paulino Flores Rivas and Corporal First Class Hernando José Jara Valenzuela [deceased on page 7,278 (Volume XV)], who classified the situation as a confrontation. According to what was indicated by the Carabineros report that accounts for this situation, Carabineros from Choshuenco received the report that there were 3 suspicious men, dressed in military uniform, for which they went to the sector that had been indicated to them, and upon arriving, they encountered a man wearing an olive green uniform, and further back, 2 others were walking who were dressed in the same way. Upon giving the order to stop, they did not obey, and the first of them, according to the police report on page 749 (Volume II), pulled out a pistol with which he pointed at the Carabineros personnel, firing a projectile that did not go off, at which moment the personnel took the opportunity to repel the attack by making use of their service weapons. One of the projectiles hit him in the right leg and another in the right side of the neck with an exit wound through the back, which caused his death instantaneously. The two remaining individuals fled without being caught by the personnel who went in their pursuit. However, from the study of the evidence, it is clear that such a confrontation was not effective and that such a weapon was not handed over to the respective authority [according to evidence on page 6,826 (Volume XIV), among others].

• K) In all the reports that account for the death of the members of the ‘Toqui Lautaro Detachment,’ it is mentioned that they died as a result of confrontations, which is implausible, since one cannot ignore the unequal and deteriorated condition in which the members of the ‘Toqui Lautaro’ group were, not only in terms of weaponry and preparation, but mostly in their physical conditions, remembering that the victims were in a state of malnutrition and one of them even had part of his foot amputated. The disproportion in the use of force by the State agents was evident, since they could simply have apprehended the members of the group without the need to go so far as to execute them.

Source: pdju.cl, January 16, 2023

Minister Mesa indicts two retired military personnel for qualified homicides in Neltume in 1981

The minister for extraordinary causes regarding human rights violations for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, has indicted retired Army Major Sergio María Canals Baldwin and retired Army Lieutenant Luis Arturo Sanhueza Ross as perpetrators of the consummated crime of qualified homicide against: Rodrigo Obregón Torres, René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera, Julio César Riffo Figueroa, and Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo.

These crimes were committed in the town of Neltume, in the commune of Panguipulli, in 1981.

In the resolution (case file 1675-2003), Minister Mesa Latorre ordered the preventive detention of Canals Baldwin and Sanhueza Ross, considering the nature of the crime and the sentence they face for their responsibility in this crime against humanity.

“Given the merit of the evidence, from which it is clear that the freedom of the accused constitutes a danger to the safety of society; taking into account, also, the probable legal sanction for the crimes in which they are attributed participation; and in view of the provisions of Article 363 of the Code of Penal Procedure, they will not be granted the benefit of provisional release,” the resolution states.

“Being aware that the accused are currently incarcerated in the ‘Colina I’ Penitentiary Center of the Chilean Gendarmerie, serving sentences for crimes investigated by another court, the preventive detention order is suspended until the completion of said sentence, at which time they shall be admitted,” the ruling concludes.

During the investigation phase, Minister Álvaro Mesa gathered sufficient evidence to establish the following facts:

A)

That during the month of March 1979, a group of Chilean exiles belonging to the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), who were residing in Europe, decided to create a guerrilla front in the southern zone of Chile.

To this end, they met in Paris at the end of 1980, traveling from Madrid to Argentina and entering our country, specifically the Neltume area, through unauthorized border crossings, creating the group called the “Toqui Lautaro Guerrilla Detachment.” In this location, they began a period of logistical work and military preparation, constructing shelters for the purpose of keeping their food, weapons, and clothing protected. (as stated in the testimony of Jorge Enrique Durán Delgado on page 536 (Volume I), the testimony of Jorge Antonio Acuña Reyes on page 542 (Volume I), page 1,982 (Volume V), among other evidence)

B)

That local residents noticed this situation and reported it to the Carabineros at the Neltume station, in the current Los Ríos region. Consequently, in the month of June 1981, a group composed of personnel from the No. 8 “Llancahue” Special Commando Troops detachment, under the instruction of Captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé, went to that sector to verify whether the reports received were true or false.

C)

That subsequently, on June 26, 1981, this group tasked with checking the area discovered one of the camps created by the members of the aforementioned Detachment and decided to raid it. As a result of this military operation, the Detachment group split up, and the Army seized some of the belongings found in their shelters (maps, passports, food, weaponry). (according to evidence on page 1092 (Volume III), among others)

D)

That from that moment, the military operation officially began, led by Captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé, with the objective of annihilating the members of this group of young guerrillas. The following military and Carabinero units participated in this operation: Rancagua Aviation Regiment; No. 8 Special Commando Troops Company; Valdivia Prefecture of Carabineros, and all its dependent units. (as stated in Army IV Division Official Letter No. 3560/112/1184, which sends the secret order on page 828 and page 829, Volume II).

E)

That during the second half of August 1981, and with the objective of reinforcing the battalion led by Rosauro Martínez Labbé, the Anti-Terrorist Unit of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) arrived in the conflict zone, composed of approximately 15 uniformed personnel, under the command of Captain Conrado Vicente García Giaier.

By this date, the battalion commanded by Rosauro Martínez Labbé already had the Santiago and Valdivia units of the National Intelligence Center attached to it, as well as its “Red Group,” which was under the command of Chilean Army Captain Enrique Erasmo Sandoval Arancibia.

F)

That in this context, and also having to take into account the inclement weather and scarce food that caused health problems for the young people belonging to the “Toqui Lautaro guerrilla detachment” group, the following situations occurred:

1) That on August 30, 1981, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera, while resting after being fed by locals Pedro Morales and Julia Navarro, were detained by a patrol composed of three Carabineros officers from the Malalhue station in the Huellahue sector.

After their arrest, they were sent to Valdivia, specifically to the Las Ánimas station. There, they were interrogated by the OS7 Carabineros from Santiago. Subsequently, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera were transferred to the Borgoña Barracks in Santiago, belonging to the National Intelligence Center (CNI), where they were tortured and interrogated.

On September 16, 1981, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera were transported back to the conflict zone, particularly to Neltume, to be used by the battalion under the command of Rosauro Martínez Labbé in the search for the remaining guerrilla camps and their members.

Finally, on September 21, 1981, they were executed. The cause of death for René Bravo Aguilera was listed as a craniocerebral and thoracic gunshot wound, and for Julio Riffo Figueroa, a craniocerebral gunshot wound. (as stated, among other evidence, in the testimonies of Adrián Ewaldo Porras Riffo on page 1, page 15 (Volume I), page 1292 (Volume IV); of Juan Pablo Cea Villalabeitia on page 679 (Volume II); of José Antonio Mora Sanchez on page 680 (Volume II); of Renato Cortés Muñoz on page 681 (Volume II); of José Andrés Vial Martínez on page 682 (Volume II); of Jaime Patricio Martínez Fuentes on page 687 (Volume II); of Luis Alberto Jerez Prussing from page 1024 to page 1029 (Volume III); of Renzo Eugenio Gattavara Ghillino from page 1183 to page 1184 (Volume III); Death certificate of Julio César Riffo on page 12 (Volume I), page 658 (Volume II), 1273 (Volume IV). Report on page 624 (Volume II). Death record of Julio César Riffo on page 26 (Volume I). Autopsy report of Julio César Riffo on page 674 (Volume II); Official Letter No. B-4 2114 of September 22, 1981, from page 684 to 685 (Volume II), which accounts for the death of Julio César Riffo and René Bravo; Decree 3336 of September 8, 1981, recording the arrest of Riffo and Bravo in CNI facilities on page 798 (Volume II); Decree 3370 of September 12, 1981, extending the detention of Riffo and Bravo on page 799 (Volume II); Death certificate of René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera on page 12 (Volume I), page 662 (Volume II), and page 1272 (Volume IV); death record of René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera on page 26 (Volume I); Autopsy report of René Eduardo Bravo Aguilera on page 673 (Volume II))

2) That Pedro Juan Yáñez Palacios, during his journey, suffered gangrene in his feet, for which he had to be left by his companions in the hollow of a tree trunk with a rifle. However, due to the strong smell of medicine he emitted, he was detected by the group of soldiers from the No. 8 Llancahue Commando—also including Conrado García Giaier, who was monitoring the area—who killed him.

His precise cause of death was a craniocerebral gunshot wound. (according to death certificate page 188 (Volume I) and page 666 (Volume II); on page 624 (Volume II), death report; Autopsy report page 670 (Volume II); Testimony of Erasmo Sandoval on page 1941 (Volume IV), among other evidence)

3) That as a result of the information provided by the detainees Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera regarding the meeting place and the password, a group of soldiers, including Jerez Prussing and Enrique Sandoval Arancibia—already indicted in this case—and others from the No. 8 Llancahue Commando under the command of Rosauro Martínez Labbé, managed to find and kill Raúl Rodrigo Obregón Torres on September 13, 1981, when he was going to meet his companions.

His precise cause of death was a cervicothoracic gunshot wound. (according to death certificate page 187 (Volume I) and page 654 (Volume II); report page 624 (Volume II); autopsy report page 671 (Volume II) and 1074 (Volume III); Testimony of Enrique Sandoval on page 1863 (Volume IV); page 2055 (Volume V); page 2118 (Volume V); Testimony of Aquiles González on page 3887 (Volume VII), among other evidence)

4) That around mid-1981, one of the young men, Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo, arrived at the house of a relative named Isaías Aguayo Márquez, located in the “Quebrada Honda” sector, in the vicinity of the town of Neltume, Panguipulli.

He stayed in that place on repeated and discontinuous occasions, where he went to look for food on different occasions. On November 28, 1981, a group of Army and Carabinero personnel stationed in the Neltume sector approached the mentioned house, where, after urging the residents to leave their home, Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo came out.

He was shot down by a group of soldiers who fired multiple shots at him, resulting in a craniocerebral-facial gunshot wound, as well as multiple cervicothoracic gunshot wounds with rupture and bursting of organs and gunshot wounds to the lower extremities, which caused his death. (according to page 848 (Volume II), report accounting for the death; page 872 (Volume II) autopsy report; page 874, 919 (Volume II), page 1274 (Volume IV), death certificate; testimony of Jorge Farías Silva on page 880 (Volume II); testimony of Rita Yolanda Jaramillo on page 988 (Volume II) and 1592 (Volume IV); of Isaías Aguayo Márquez on page 2,029 (Volume V); Carabinero official letter of January 1982, page 918 (Volume II), among other evidence)

5) That Patricio Alejandro Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero del Carmen Guzmán Soto, and José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval arrived at the house of Mrs. Floridema Jaramillo, in Remeco Alto, who provided them with food and immediately took actions to report them to the Carabineros.

This was ultimately achieved by sending her son, Juan Carlos Henríquez Jaramillo, who went on horseback to the Neltume station to report this fact. Together with Carabineros, they headed back to her home, and upon passing in front of the Remeco school, they notified soldiers who were in a camp in the area, who in turn gave notice by radio.

Upon returning to the house, there were Carabineros posted in various places, around four, but at the same time, Captain Rosauro Martínez Labbé arrived accompanied by at least two lower-ranking soldiers—among them Corporal 2nd Class Julio Araki Tepano—who, after urging the guerrillas to leave the house, fired against the property until it was practically destroyed.

As a result, Patricio Calfuquir Henríquez, Próspero Guzmán Soto, and José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval were killed. Subsequently, a large military contingent arrived and continued with the operation and the transport of the deceased guerrillas.

The autopsy protocols indicated the following causes of death: according to page 1075 for Patricio Calfuquir, the precise cause of death was five thoraco-abdominal gunshot wounds, complicated by rupture and bursting of organs and viscera, and the shots had characteristics of having been fired from a long distance with automatic, large-caliber weapons; on page 1076 regarding Próspero del Carmen Guzmán Soto, the precise cause of death was twenty-eight thoraco-abdominal and extremity gunshot wounds, complicated by rupture and bursting of organs, viscera, and comminuted fractures, with the shots having characteristics of having been fired from a long distance with automatic, large-caliber weapons; on page 1079, regarding José Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval, the precise, necessary, and immediate cause of death: (4) craniocerebral and thoraco-abdominal gunshot wounds, complicated, with rupture of organs and viscera, from long-distance shots with automatic, large-caliber weapons.

6) Miguel Cabrera Fernández, known as “El Paine,” who was the leader of the group, died in the town of Choshuenco on October 15, 1981, in an alleged confrontation with Carabineros belonging to the station of that town.

His precise, necessary, and immediate cause of death indicates “Cervicothoracic gunshot wound, anteroposterior, complicated by rupture of blood vessels and left lung.” (Official letter sending the body to the morgue page 751 (Volume II); Carabinero report on death page 749 (Volume II); Testimony in the prosecutor's office of Paulino Flores Rivas page 753 (Volume II); testimony in the prosecutor's office of Hernando Jara Valenzuela on page 753 (Volume II); background on Miguel Cabrera from page 830 to 841 (Volume II); Autopsy report page 755 (Volume II); death certificate on page 919 (Volume II); testimony of Héctor Rivas Bravo on page 842 (Volume II); testimony of Dagoberto Pineda Troncoso from page 1055 to 1584 (Volume IV)).

G)

That in events 1 through 4, Rosauro Martínez Labbé participated in his capacity as Captain. At the time of the events, he held the position of Commander of the No. 8 Commando Company of the “Llancahue” Battalion, dependent on the IV Army Division, a company that was directing the operation in Neltume during the entire period it lasted.

The aforementioned Captain Martínez was in charge of organizing the different groups that moved through the sector, providing weaponry and giving instructions, among which it was highlighted that “they were at war” and that “upon seeing any man with the characteristics of a guerrilla, one should shoot to kill.” (according to testimonies on page 3153, page 3155, page 3180, page 3182, page 3219, page 3185, page 3350, page 3355, page 3368, page 3385, page 3400, page 3478 (Volume VI), page 3616 (Volume VII) among many others; documents on page 1085 (Volume III) and following, 1286 (Volume IV) and following, 2338 (Volume V) and following).

H)

That among the members of the No. 8 Commando Company who were collaborating with the operations commanded by Captain Martínez was Corporal 2nd Class Julio Araki Tepano, who was part of the reconnaissance group.

Among his participation in the search and detention tasks of the guerrillas, he was in charge of notifying the group leader, Lieutenant Ivan Fuentes Sotomayor, that they had discovered a guerrilla base. (page 2488 (Volume V), page 2583 (Volume VI), page 3605 (Volume VII), page 3350 (Volume VI), page 3353 (Volume VI), page 3355 (Volume VI) among other evidence).

I)

Likewise, regarding the events indicated in point 1, that is, Julio César Riffo and René Bravo Aguilera, Army Lieutenant Luis Arturo Sanhueza Ross, dependent on the No. 8 Commando Company, participated.

He was one of the officers in charge of one of the sections that was sent to the Neltume zone (according to testimonies on page 1849, page 2,366, page 3,183, page 5,671, among other evidence). Thus, according to testimonies from conscript soldiers who were members of the squad under the command of Lieutenant Sanhueza Ross, they have indicated their knowledge regarding detained persons who were under the charge of CNI personnel, describing that they were guerrillas, with their hands tied and a stick crossed behind their backs, tied with wires at each end of the stick at the height of their wrists. They recounted how they were ordered to guard them and that subsequently, about fifty meters from where they were with Lieutenant Sanhueza Ross, these detainees were executed, and then the same conscripts were ordered to wrap the bodies in polyethylene and load them into a helicopter that transported them to the Company in Valdivia. (according to testimony on page 3,353 and page 3,473 (Volume VI), page 5,711, page 6,856 (Volume XIV), among other evidence). In the same way, regarding the events indicated in number 4, that is, Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo, Lieutenant Luis Arturo Sanhueza Ross participated in them, in that he commanded the patrol that was in the vicinity of the town of Choshuenco, and upon receiving a notice from the Carabineros of that town, he went with the patrol under his command to the house where Ojeda Aguayo was, setting up a security operation around the dwelling and participating in the events that resulted in the death of Juan Ángel Ojeda Aguayo. (according to testimonies on page 880 (Volume II), page 8,443 and page 8,580 (Volume XVIII)).

J)

That the Anti-Terrorist Unit of the National Intelligence Center (UAT), directed by Captain Conrado García Giaier, also formed a fundamental part of this operation. He participated actively in the search, detention, and subsequent death of some of the mentioned victims, which is also accredited in the indictment files on pages 2,046, 2,050, and 2,052 (Volume V) (confirmed by the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Valdivia according to page 2,169 (Volume V)) (testimonies of Luis Bascur Gaete on page 1500 (Volume IV); of Carlos Leonardo Ruiz Iturra on page 2,398 and page 2,431 (Volume V); of Carlos Cesar Cisternas Cofré on page 2,401 (Volume V); service record from page 2324 to 2330 (Volume V); police report page 2,387 (Volume V), among other evidence).

K)

That in the same way, Army Major Sergio Canals Baldwin participated actively in the events described in numbers 1 and 3, that is, Julio Riffo Figueroa, René Bravo Aguilera, and Raúl Obregón Torres. Major Canals Baldwin was part of the “Plomo Group” of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and was sent to the Neltume zone, stationing himself with his group and the other members of the CNI at the Termas de Liquiñe, occupying all the cabins during the entire time they remained in that town.

In these facilities, Julio Riffo Figueroa and René Bravo Aguilera were held, and as a result of the information provided by these detainees, it was possible to find and kill Raúl Obregón Torres, as detailed in point 3 of this indictment.

This officer performed operational and information-gathering tasks regarding activities in the area and was the highest-ranking Army officer of the group of people who made up the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and who were sent from Santiago to support the work of other branches of the Armed Forces that were in the area (according to testimonies on page 3,653, page 3,656, page 5,550, and page 8,534, among other evidence).

That in all the reports accounting for the death of the members of the “Toqui Lautaro Detachment,” it is mentioned that they died as a result of confrontations, which is implausible, since one cannot ignore the unequal and deteriorated condition in which the members of the “Toqui Lautaro” group were, not only in terms of weaponry and preparation, but mostly in their physical conditions, remembering that the victims were in a state of malnutrition and one of them even had part of his foot amputated.

The disproportion in the use of force by State agents was evident, since they could simply have apprehended the members of the group without the need to execute them.

Source: diarioelranco.cl, August 30, 2024