On July 14, 1974, Artemio Segundo GUTIERREZ AVILA and Francisco Javier FUENTEALBA FUENTEALBA were arrested at their workplace in downtown Santiago, apparently linked to the MIR. The detainees were forcibly disappeared, and there is evidence indicating that they were held at the Londres 38 facility.

In the case of Artemio Gutiérrez, the Ministry of the Interior acknowledged his arrest, indicating that he was at the Cuatro Alamos facility. Later, in January 1975, his name appeared in a news report published in the newspaper La Segunda, which listed individuals authorized to leave the country for Mexico.

The detainee's relatives found no evidence to confirm this information. Much later, in 1985, the victim's name appeared on a list of people authorized to enter the country. The various official reports regarding Artemio Gutiérrez's departure from the country are not credible, as they are not supported by any reliable documentation, do not provide precise details regarding the date of the alleged departure or the route by which it would have taken place, and to date, there is no evidence to support that version.

The Commission is convinced that both detainees were forcibly disappeared by agents of the State, who thereby violated their human rights.

Source: (Rettig Report)

I would like to contribute my somewhat blurred memories of two comrades who fell in the unequal struggle against the fascist dictatorship of Pinochet and his cowardly "men." Their names: Francisco Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba and Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Avila. "Pancho" and "Gustavo," respectively.

Both were captured in July 1974 and are currently forcibly disappeared. At the time I am referring to (1974), I could not fully confirm that they were militants of the MIR, since for security reasons, we never discussed the subject.

But regarding "Pancho," whom I met in 1966, I knew that he sympathized with the Movement during those years. "Pancho" studied at the Theater School of the Catholic University, where other friends of mine also studied, and I met him through them.

Pancho was a pleasant and cordial person. Authentically simple and very friendly. I still remember his wide, somewhat mocking smile and his sense of humor. He was rather short in stature, thin, with broad shoulders; his hair was black, straight, and he parted it on the left side; his nose was slightly aquiline.

He spoke slowly and radiated tranquility. Our contact over the years was rather sporadic. But we always considered each other good friends. I remember seeing his identity card on one occasion, but I do not remember his place of birth exactly, perhaps Illapel.

But what I do remember is that he was from the north. Regarding his family, I knew he only had his mother. It was during the Unidad Popular government that Pancho appeared one day at my apartment, bringing me a cigar and a couple of bottles of Cuban rum as a gift.

Without commenting on the origin of the gifts, Pancho told me that he had traveled abroad, without mentioning any countries. Pancho was a good cook, and several times we enjoyed his culinary skills among friends.

When the dark night of the dictatorship fell over Chile, I remember that one day Pancho returned to my apartment looking for a place to sleep. And so, a few weeks passed. Later, Pancho told me that he had found another place, and we said goodbye.

Months passed, and the first rumors about arrests and executions began to circulate. I thought of him, as well as other friends with defined militancy, fearing that they would become victims of Chilean military terrorism.

And one afternoon, some months later, the doorbell of my apartment rang, and upon opening the door, I found Pancho and his smile. This time he was accompanied by a tall boy, Gustavo. We hugged with joy and talked for a long time.

Gustavo did not speak much, but his eyes were lively and cheerful. He was very respectful and perhaps a little naive. Pancho told me that they needed a place to sleep again, and even though the apartment where I lived with my wife and daughter was very small, we accommodated them somehow.

At those moments, I did not think about the risks, and in some way, we all naively thought of a quick return to democracy. We had to organize the hours of departure and return so as not to arouse suspicion.

Days passed, and we decided that both would start working in the jewelry workshop owned by my family. After a few weeks, Pancho told me that they had found a house where they could set up a workshop and continue their work there.

And the fateful month of July 1974 arrived. My family and I had traveled outside of Santiago to visit some friends for a week. They continued working in the workshop, fulfilling their new trade as jewelers.

When I returned to Santiago, the workshop manager informed me about the arrest of my friends. A group of armed men dressed in civilian clothes had appeared on the morning of July 13, 1974, asking for them, saying they had come to look for them and that they were members of the SIFA, the Air Force Intelligence Service.

The surprise was great among all the staff. My father went out to ask what it was about, arguing that they were friends of mine, and received questions from the one who appeared to be the leader: "Friends of your son?

And where is your son?" My father was struck dumb and watched as Pancho and Gustavo were handcuffed and quickly taken from their workplace. When the workshop manager finished his story, I felt fear. I would be the next to be arrested, but nothing happened.

Some time later, a lady appeared at the workshop asking for me. Very nervous and distressed, she told me she was the mother of Artemio, Pancho's friend. That was the first time I heard Gustavo's real name.

Worried and terrified as I felt, I could only suggest that she go to the Vicaría de la Solidaridad to ask for support, and that I could not do more. I still had the hope that both would be detained and that they would be tried by some military tribunal, just as had happened with another friend some time ago, who was now free after having served a 2-year sentence in prison.

Time passed, and I always had the hope of seeing my friends again one day, just as had happened once before, but I only found out about their possible death a few years later. I think my friends denied any link to me other than formal friendship.

Pancho suffered from a stomach ulcer, which possibly worsened under torture. Gustavo was a young and strong boy; he possibly resisted more. It has taken me many years to be able to write this account. Every time I tried, grief overcame me, just as it does now.

Nearly 29 years have passed, and the pain of having lost my two good friends remains alive. I eternally curse their murderers and all their kin. I will not forget and I will not forgive. When I think of them, my eyes still fill with tears, but their smiling faces also appear before me. Their eternal young faces as true fighters, who fell fighting for justice and for the people.

Source: By Enrique Trebitsch

Dear comrades: After much inquiry and after 3 years, I managed to obtain a digitized photo of my dear friend Francisco Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba, "Pancho." This corresponds to a frame from a film in which Pancho appeared as an extra. A fraternal greeting.

Source: Enrique Trebitsch

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Leopoldo Llanos, issued a sentence in two proceedings for human rights violations committed by retired members of the Navy and former members of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA).

In the first case, the magistrate issued a sentence for the torture applied by members of the Navy—currently retired—against Haydeé Oberreuter Umazabal, a crime perpetrated between December 1975 and February 1976 at the so-called Silva Palma barracks.

In the resolution, Minister Llanos sentenced the former Navy members Juan de Dios Reyes Basaur, Juan Jorquera Terraza, and Valentín Riquelme Villalobos to 4 years in prison, without benefits, for their responsibility in the torments applied to the woman.

In the civil aspect, he accepted the lawsuit against the State, ordering the payment of the sum of $80,000,000 (eighty million pesos) to the victim for the responsibility of State agents in the commission of the crime.

According to the evidence gathered in the investigation, Minister Llanos managed to prove that: "To the 'Silva Palma' barracks of the Chilean Navy, which before September 11, 1973, was destined exclusively for the detention of Navy officials accused of military crimes, political prisoners began to arrive, as a result of the investigations carried out by the Intelligence teams of the so-called SICAJSI and, subsequently, the CIRE, installed at the Naval War Academy.

In this place, they were kept in cells and daily interrogated and subjected to physical and psychological duress of different natures by Marines who depended on the orders of their superiors." In said facility, it continues, "(...) officials operated who, holding various levels of hierarchy in the command, ordered some and executed others to capture people who were militants or sympathizers of political parties or leftist movements, whom they illegally locked up in said place, breaking them under physical torments of various kinds in order to make them provide information about other people of the political left in order to also apprehend them." One of those cases corresponds to that of "Haydee Melania del Carmen Oberreuter Umazabal; in 1973, she was a History student at the University of Chile, Valparaíso campus, and representative of her School in the FECH; and after the coup of September 11, the Military Interventor informed her that she was forbidden from entering the University to continue her studies. From 1973 to 1975, she dedicated herself to organizing aid for the victims of the repression. A group was formed with people from all political parties, and at the end of 1975, members of the group began to be apprehended by the repressive apparatuses, with Haydee Melania del Carmen Oberreuter Umazabal being the last person to be kidnapped in Santiago from a house in Quinta Normal, in December 1975, by a group of civilians who identified themselves according to their military rank and took her to the Tacna Regiment; there she remained until the late afternoon and was taken to Valparaíso by the same group that had arrested her and that belonged, as she was able to deduce, to the Naval Intelligence Service; they took her clandestinely to the 'Silva Palma' barracks. Some time later, she was taken back to Santiago, remaining in the 'Cuatro Álamos' and 'Villa Grimaldi' facilities, and back to 'Cuatro Álamos', until, in February 1976, they took her to 'Tres Álamos'. In parallel, they kept her mother and her young daughter, who was born in January 1974, deprived of their liberty and they were transferred to the aforementioned barracks. She was tortured during her stay at the 'Silva Palma' barracks, suffering wounds on her body that left scars on her abdomen and that were subsequently treated with reconstructive surgeries." Victims of Londres 38 In the second case, the magistrate issued a sentence in the investigation into the aggravated kidnappings of Artemio Gutiérrez Ávila, Francisco Fuentealba Fuentealba, and Abundio Contreras González, committed between July 13 and 14, 1974, and who were held in the clandestine detention center of Londres 38. In the sentence, Minister Llanos condemns the former DINA members Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, and Marcelo Moren Brito as responsible for the crimes to 20 years in prison. In addition, Basclay Zapata Reyes to 15 years and one day in prison. In the civil aspect, the State was ordered to pay the sum of $50,000,000 (fifty million pesos) to Sergio Gutiérrez Ávila—son of Artemio Gutiérrez—; $100,000,000 (one hundred million pesos) to Pablo Contreras Guzmán—son of Abundio Contreras—, and $50,000,000 (fifty million pesos) to the siblings of Abundio Contreras: Héctor and Julia Contreras González. In this proceeding, the following facts were established: a) That "Londres N°38" was a secret detention and torture center of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA). It was located in downtown Santiago and operated from late 1973 until approximately the last days of August 1974. It held numerous detainees, who were interrogated and tortured with different types of flagellation. They were also taken out of the place to cooperate in other arrests. b) That Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Ávila, 23 years old, jeweler, single, militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), was arrested jointly with Francisco Javier Eduardo Fuentealba Fuentealba, 26 years old, jeweler, militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), by DINA agents on July 13, 1974, while they were at the "Platinol" jewelry store located at Calle Santo Domingo N° 573, Apartment 33, Santiago commune, to be taken to the clandestine detention center known as "Londres 38," where they were seen by witnesses, with all credible traces regarding them being lost to date, without them having made contact with their relatives, nor having carried out procedures before State agencies; without registering entries or exits from the country, and without their death being recorded; c) That Abundio Alejandro Contreras González, 28 years old, married, father of two children, employee of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA) and militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), was arrested on July 14, 1974, at his home in the La Cisterna commune by members of the National Intelligence Directorate. He was seen at "Londres 38" and "Cuatro Álamos" by various witnesses, and from there all traces of him are lost to date, without him having made contact with his relatives, nor having carried out procedures before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without his death being recorded (...) the facts described above constitute separate crimes of aggravated kidnapping, which is contemplated in Article 141, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Penal Code; and they are qualified by the time the action was prolonged, that is, more than 90 days, and by the consequences of the same, as it resulted in serious damage to the person or interests of the victims. Such a situation occurs in the case files, since the whereabouts of ARTEMIO SEGUNDO GUTIERREZ AVILA, FRANCISCO FUENTEALBA FUENTEALBA, and ABUNDIO CONTRERAS GONZÁLEZ are still unknown, as it has been established in the case that the aforementioned victims were held against their will starting from July 13, 1974 (regarding the first two) and from the 14th of the same month and year (regarding the last one), depriving them of their freedom of movement, a state that continues to this day, as the whereabouts of the kidnapped are unknown."

Source: elclarin.cl 11/08/2014

Date: 11-08-2014

Contreras, Krassnoff, and Moren Brito face new accusation for human rights violations

Minister Leopoldo Llanos filed charges for the aggravated kidnapping of four victims in 1974.

The visiting minister Leopoldo Llanos issued an indictment against former members of the dissolved National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) involved in two cases of human rights violations, which involve four victims of aggravated kidnapping, crimes perpetrated starting in July 1974.

In the first case, the magistrate filed charges against the former head of the defunct DINA, Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, and former agents Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko and Marcelo Moren Brito, to whom he attributed responsibility as authors of the aggravated kidnappings of Artemio Gutiérrez Ávila, Francisco Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba, and Abundio Contreras González; meanwhile, Basclay Zapata was only held responsible for the kidnapping of the three.

In the indictment, Llanos established the following facts: "That Londres 38 was a secret detention and torture center located in downtown Santiago, it operated from late 1973 until approximately the last days of September 1974, it came to have up to sixty detainees who remained blindfolded, gathered in a large room that had chairs during the day and mattresses at night.

From that common room, the detainees were continuously taken to other rooms to be interrogated and tortured, as well as to be taken to carry out other arrests." He adds in his findings that "Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Ávila, 23 years old, jeweler, single, militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement, MIR, was arrested jointly with Francisco Javier Eduardo Fuentealba Fuentealba, 26 years old, jeweler, militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement, MIR, by DINA agents on July 13, 1974, while they were at the 'Platinol' jewelry store located at Calle Santo Domingo N° 573, Apartment 33, Santiago commune, to be taken to the clandestine detention center known as 'Londres 38,' where they were seen by witnesses, with all credible traces regarding them being lost to date, without them having made contact with their relatives, nor having carried out procedures before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without their death being recorded." Likewise, the judge points out that "Abundio Alejandro Contreras González, 28 years old, married, father of two children. He worked at the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA) and was a militant of the MIR. He was arrested on July 14, 1974, at his father's house by members of the National Intelligence Directorate. He was seen at Londres 38 and Cuatro Álamos by various witnesses, and from there all traces of him are lost to date, without him having made contact with his relatives, nor having carried out procedures before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without his death being recorded." Meanwhile, in the investigation into the kidnapping of Jaime Cádiz Norambuena, which occurred on July 17, 1974, the minister filed charges against Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Marcelo Moren Brito, and Basclay Zapata Reyes. In this case, it was determined that: "Londres N°38 was a secret detention and torture center located in downtown Santiago, it operated from late 1973 until approximately the last days of August 1974, it held about sixty detainees, who remained blindfolded, with their hands tied, all gathered in a large room, from where they were continuously taken to other rooms to be interrogated and tortured with different types of flagellation, including the application of electric current in the so-called 'grill' (parrilla). They were also taken out of the place to cooperate in other arrests. Jaime Cádiz Norambuena, 23 years old, militant of the MIR, was arrested, without any judicial order, on July 17, 1974, in the José María Caro neighborhood by unidentified agents. He disappeared from the DINA facility at Londres 38, a place where he was seen by witnesses, without him having made contact with his relatives, nor having carried out procedures before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without his death being recorded."

Source: lasegunda.com 03/19/2014

Date: 03-19-2014

Francisco Javier FUENTEALBA FUENTEALBA - MIR (CHILE)

Francisco Javier Eduardo Fuentealba Fuentealba, jeweler, former student of the Austral University of Valdivia, militant of the MIR, was arrested by 4 DINA agents on July 13, 1974, around 10:30 AM, together with his friend Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Avila, also a militant of the MIR, at his workplace located at Santo Domingo 573, Apt. 33, in the presence of his boss, Mr.

Enrique Trevich, and his secretary. Francisco Fuentealba was known at his work by the name Francisco Leiva Campos. The two young men were taken to a secret DINA detention center located at Londres 38, where they were seen by other prisoners, among them, Cristián Esteban Van Yurick Altamirano, who was arrested on July 12 by a group of agents among whom he identified Osvaldo Romo Mena and Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko.

Cristián Van Yurick states in his testimony that after being captured, he was taken to the Londres 38 facility, being violently interrogated with the application of electricity and beatings of all kinds; in that facility, he noticed the presence of Francisco Fuentealba and Artemio Gutiérrez Avila, who fell prisoner directly linked to him, due to information found in his house; they worked in a workshop (jewelry) and in that place, they confronted him with Francisco Javier Fuentealba, whose political name was "Bototo." For her part, Ms.

Erika Cecilia Hennings Cepeda, a former detainee of Londres 38, also states that she saw Artemio Gutiérrez Avila in that facility. Various efforts were made to find his whereabouts without any result, except for the situation produced in the amparo (habeas corpus) appeal filed in favor of Artemio Gutiérrez Avila and Francisco Leiva Campos (political name of Francisco Fuentealba), in which the Ministry of the Interior informed the Court that both protected persons were detained in places that are not prisons by virtue of Decree N° 248 of that Ministry; only to later, in a subsequent report, point out that a mistake was made with Francisco Leiva Campos and he is not detained, ratifying that Artemio Gutiérrez Avila is detained at the 4 Alamos Camp and that he will soon be moved to 3 Alamos so that he can receive visits. However, both Fuentealba and Avila Gutiérrez are in the status of forcibly disappeared, and the fate they met at the hands of the DINA is still unknown.

Source: Thanks goodness for facebook.com

For the aggravated kidnapping of three victims of "Londres 38" - 20-year prison sentences ratified for former DINA members

Prison for the former agents: Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, and Marcelo Moren Brito. The Santiago Court of Appeals ratified the first-instance sentence, issued on October 24, 2014, against those responsible for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Artemio Gutiérrez Ávila, Francisco Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba, and Abundio Contreras González, perpetrated starting in July 1974.

Victims taken to the clandestine detention center of Londres 38. In a unanimous ruling, the First Chamber of the appellate court—composed of ministers Dobra Lusic, Dora Mondaca, and Jenny Book—confirmed the 20-year prison sentences for the former DINA agents: Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, and Marcelo Moren Brito, as authors of the repeated crimes of aggravated kidnapping.

Meanwhile, Basclay Zapata Reyes must serve 15 years and one day in prison. In the civil aspect, the appellate court confirmed the sentence that ordered the State of Chile to pay compensation for damages, for moral injury, amounting to: -$50,000,000 (fifty million pesos) to Sergio Gutiérrez Ávila, son of Artemio Gutiérrez; -$100,000,000 (one hundred million pesos) to Pablo Contreras Guzmán, son of Abundio Contreras; and -$50,000,000 (fifty million pesos) to the siblings of Abundio Contreras: Héctor and Julia Contreras González.

Source: elciudadano.com 2016

Along with greeting you and congratulating you on the webpage, I would like to provide some information that might be useful.

I met Francisco Javier Fuentealba, "Pancho," in the 60s as a student at the Salesian Lyceum of Concepción, where it could be confirmed he was on the honor roll of the best students. I remember he lived in the town of TOMÉ.

I would also like to add that he had an arm operated on with metal pins as a result of a fall from a bar while exercising, and if I remember correctly, it was his right arm, as he took his exams orally because he could not write.

Some classmates from that time were the Jaras brothers, the Angulo brothers, Adawin, etc. I provide this information to refute the information that appears on your webpage from the friend who provided help, making it understandable that Francisco might have given false information, such as that his origin was from the north, since he surely needed a story for the difficult times we were living through.

Source: Carlos Aguilar - Former Political Prisoner