There are still Army personnel on active duty who were implicated in human rights violations. The commander-in-chief of the Army's Sixth Division, Eduardo Gárate Neumann, allegedly participated in the Antofagasta episode of the Caravan of Death, according to the statement of a former conscript before the visiting judge overseeing this case, Víctor Montiglio.

"There is still much to investigate in these cases, but the identity of those cadets is fundamental; many of them may still be active. In fact, one of the second lieutenants was recognized by a military man who testified a few days ago in the proceedings and identified him as the commander of the Army's Sixth Division, Gárate Neumann, who today presides over nothing less than one of the largest garrisons in Chile," reported the plaintiff's lawyer in this case, Hugo Gutiérrez.

The lawyer also valued Montiglio's decision to arrest former general Gonzalo Santelices Cuevas in the coming days, despite the time that has elapsed.

In the Antofagasta episode of the Caravan of Death, fourteen militants from parties that had been part of the Unidad Popular were taken by military personnel from the public jail of that city to be executed by firing squad and then finished off with corvos (curved knives) and bayonets in what is known as the Quebrada de Guay.

Among those executed was Mario Silva Iriarte, a lawyer for CORFO and a militant of the Communist Party, who, as reported at the time, was executed following an order from the Government Junta headed by Augusto Pinochet.

Mario Silva's daughter, Rosa, felt that this is a glimmer of hope that has opened up a little more than 35 years after her father's murder. "While it is true that they are prosecuting Santelices and the other military man who had to do with the deaths in Antofagasta, what we have been able to achieve after so many years is still absolutely insufficient.

This has dragged on for too long, so much so that the dictator died without even being charged. It is a situation of hope, but it must be taken with great caution," she stated.

Rosa Silva added that she has often felt that the passage of time and the slowness of the courts will only give her and Mario Silva's widow a pittance of justice.

For his part, Senator Jaime Naranjo maintained that if Gárate Neumann's link to the murders in Antofagasta by the Caravan of Death were proven, it would be serious for the credibility of the Army and its commander-in-chief, Óscar Izurieta.

"When promotions are taken into consideration, I imagine the commander-in-chief of the Army will ask each officer, which is what he always says he does. If this officer was asked and said he had no connection, and now he appears linked to these events, the commander-in-chief of the Army is left in a very bad position; they leave him in a very exposed situation," the senator pointed out.

Source: Friday, April 17, 2009 Radio U de Chile

Political and social leaders denounce General Eduardo Gárate's participation in the Quebrada del Way crimes

In a crowded press conference, social, human rights, and Communist Party leaders in Iquique, together with the prestigious human rights lawyer Hugo Gutiérrez, demanded the resignation of the current commander-in-chief of the VI Army Division and member of the Army High Command, Eduardo Gárate Neumann, for his involvement in the treacherous murder of a group of fourteen political prisoners committed in the so-called Quebrada del Way on October 18, 1973, in Antofagasta, when he was a second lieutenant, within the framework of the visit of the Caravan of Death led by General Arellano Stark.

Former Army non-commissioned officer Rigoberto Figueroa Torres made this accusation, implicating this general as one of the officers who rejoiced in having murdered a political prisoner with his corvo while the prisoner begged him not to do so.

This non-commissioned officer is based in Australia and arrived in the country a few days ago to be confronted with General Gárate, identifying him on the spot as a participant in the massacre group.

The testimony that this non-commissioned officer had provided to the justice system is as follows:

"That is how it was that one night, as the driver of the personnel transport vehicle (M113A1 Amphibious Tank), I was ordered to report to the school guard to go out on an operation. The only order I was given was to follow a jeep that was in front of the vehicle I was driving and escorting an Army Reo truck.

In said operation, I was carrying inside my vehicle about fifteen or twenty second lieutenants from the Military School, which was very unusual since my vehicle's crew was usually composed of me as driver and vehicle commander and twelve conscript soldiers, but this time only officers were traveling.

We left from the Armored School and headed south along the Pan-American highway, always following the jeep. What caught my attention was that in the jeep, leading the operation, was Lieutenant Pablo Martínez Latorre, who was Chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armored School.

In addition, two officers were traveling in the jeep who were not from the School nor did I recognize them as members of any regiment in Antofagasta. Another fact that caught my attention was that before leaving for the operation, the aforementioned officers were talking with the Colonel Director Adrián Ortiz Guttman.

Surprisingly, on the highway, we turned left and went into the pampa; we drove around. Pablo Martínez knew the terrain very well since those were the places where he and his tank company continuously held exercises.

We drove around several times; I don't know if to confuse us or someone else, since at that moment I didn't know if we were carrying prisoners. In the pampa, there was thick camanchaca (coastal fog), but despite this, I was able to locate myself, since days before I had been with some companions doing exercises with our Company and I was able to confirm that we were in the Quebrada del Way.

Pablo Martínez stopped the jeep; I was about two hundred meters away and the officers who were in my vehicle ordered me to lower the ramp and remain in the tank. They got out screaming and behaving like madmen, some of them with a corvo in their hand.

As best I could, I lifted my seat and tried to see what was happening, and I realized only at that moment that 16 people got out of the truck, who I later learned were 14 prisoners and two sentries. With the camanchaca, I could only distinguish shadows and the screams of the second lieutenants, which then merged into screams of pain and suffering; the shadows in the distance were seen in constant movement.

Suddenly I heard a single gunshot that was like an order, and then bursts from Thompson submachine guns, which were weapons that were given to all members of the Army after September 11, 1973, in addition to a corvo.

This event did not last more than 20 to 30 minutes. When they returned to the truck, the officers were screaming and many of them still had the corvo in their hand; they were euphoric, as if coming from a party, they boasted about what they had done, some said words like: 'the upeliento (Unidad Popular supporter) begged me for forgiveness, he said he had children, but I screwed the bastard anyway.' The image I have of this event is what has not let me live in peace; I have been under medical treatment with specialists to overcome that issue, I still take tranquilizers, and one of the ways not to break down psychologically is to give my testimony of what happened in the city of Antofagasta. After the events that took place in the Quebrada del Way, we were told that everything we had seen was part of the 'code of silence'."

This testimony was endorsed by the former Army non-commissioned officer, adding the recognition he made of General Gárate as a member of the group of officers who murdered the group of prisoners in cold blood, and as the author of the phrase where the prisoner begged him not to kill him.

Local leaders indicated that they will request that the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet, dismiss this high-ranking officer.

Source: Radio Nuevo Mundo de Iquique, March 28, 2009

Leaders and candidate demand immediate resignation

Leaders of former political prisoners, together with militants of the Communist Party and the lawyer and candidate for deputy Hugo Gutiérrez, requested the resignation of the commander-in-chief of the Sixth Army Division, Brigadier General Eduardo Gárate Neumann.

They accuse him of participating in the death of 14 Unidad Popular militants in the Quebrada del Way in Antofagasta on October 19, 1973, as part of the so-called "Caravan of Death."

The accusation is based on the testimony of retired non-commissioned officer Rigoberto Figueroa Torres (60), who was interviewed by the minister of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Víctor Montiglio, and identified the current General Gárate as one of the cadets who had intervened in the throat-slitting and execution of 14 people in the Quebrada del Way, south of Antofagasta.

According to lawyer Gutiérrez, Figueroa was confronted on March 19 with Gárate before Minister Montiglio and, along with recognizing him, recalled that his figure remained etched in his memory because after the massacre he made a crude comment out loud.

The reported events took place at a time when Figueroa was 24 years old and was a 2nd corporal instructor at the Armored School in Antofagasta. On the day of the event, he was ordered to drive an amphibious tank and carried 15 second lieutenants inside.

He had to follow a jeep that was led by Intelligence Services Lieutenant Pablo Martínez Latorre, where retired General Sergio Santelices and retired Colonel Adrián Ortiz were also traveling.

In the caravan, there was also a truck with 14 prisoners from the Antofagasta jail and two escorts. As Gutiérrez relates, Figueroa managed to locate himself and know that they were in the Quebrada del Way and saw how the second lieutenants got out of the vehicle with corvos in hand and attacked the detainees, to then finish them off with bursts from Thompson submachine guns.

"Afterward, they formed them up, congratulated them on the mission, and as they were leaving, Figueroa said under his breath that it was not a mission, but a murder. That was heard by a companion of his, who at that time was his best friend, and later they began to monitor him because they considered him an infiltrator.

In the early 80s, he suffered torture until he managed to request asylum, and in 1986 he settled in Australia," says the PC candidate for deputy.

TESTIMONY

Meanwhile, the regional secretary of the Communist Party of Iquique, Epifanio Flores, points out that he received the testimony two years ago when Figueroa was visiting Iquique. However, he asked him to keep it confidential until he left the country, and he did so, to then contact Gutiérrez and ensure that the former non-commissioned officer traveled safely from Australia to give his testimony.

Gutiérrez, together with the leaders of former political prisoners Hugo Bolívar, Odesa Flores, Luis Leyton, and Luis Ponce, indicated that they will request the President of the Republic and the Ministry of Defense to take measures so that Gárate does not remain in his position.

He argued that "they are criminals who killed and decimated their own people and today they pose as upright men who are safeguarding territorial integrity. For the sake of dignity, it is not possible for him to remain on active duty and not be duly prosecuted, called to retirement, and removed from the VI Division.

He participated in a political genocide, and the high position he holds should be for those who are willing to defend the national territory and not to kill compatriots."

SURPRISED

Gutiérrez confessed that he was surprised to learn that cadets participated in these situations.

Meanwhile, Luis Ponce indicated that they do not cultivate a culture of hatred, but rather seek truth and justice.

In turn, Odesa Flores announced that, just as they did during the presence of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, they will gather to protest.

Source: La Estrella de Iquique, March 29, 2009