On October 11, 1973, three agricultural workers were detained by Carabineros officers from Chillán and the San Nicolás unit at the Ranquil Settlement (now Fundo La Victoria) in the commune of San Nicolás:

-Wilson Alfredo BECERRA CIFUENTES, 25 years old, agricultural worker, sympathizer of the Partido Socialista, and Secretary of the Ranquil Peasant Committee.

-Tomás Rogelio DOMINGUEZ JARA, 24 years old, agricultural worker and Vice President of the Ranquil Peasant Committee.

-Gustavo Efraín DOMINGUEZ JARA, agricultural worker.

Multiple credible and consistent witnesses observed the detention and how the apprehending carabineros interrogated and tortured them in a shed at the settlement, asking about alleged hidden weapons and Marxist literature; the houses in the settlement were raided, and the documentation found there was searched.

They were then taken away in a vehicle headed toward Chillán along the road leading to the El Ala bridge.

After that, their relatives were unable to obtain information regarding their whereabouts and ultimate fate, although they estimate it is possible that they were killed in the area of the bridge. The authorities never acknowledged the detention.

The Commission formed the conviction that there was State agent responsibility in the forced disappearances of Wilson Becerra, Tomás Domínguez, and Gustavo Domínguez. In its judgment, it is sufficiently proven that the detentions did indeed occur and that, following them, there was no further news of the three peasants.

Date of Birth: 21 11 45, 27 years old at the time of detention.

Address: Ranquil Settlement (today La Victoria), San Nicolás, Chillán. Marital Status: Married Occupation: Agricultural worker Representative Position: Cashier and warehouse manager of the "Ranquil" Peasant Committee. Member of the Christian Democratic Party. Date of Detention: October 11, 1973

Gustavo Efraín Domínguez Jara, married, agricultural worker, was detained along with his brother Tomás Rogelio Domínguez Jara and Mr. Wilson Alfredo Becerra Cifuentes, all peasant leaders, on October 11, 1973, around 5:00 PM, by Carabineros officers while they were at their workplace and residence located at the former Ranquil Settlement, now the Victoria estate in San Nicolás, Chillán.

The police, among whom were Carabineros officers with the surnames Méndez and Sáez from the San Nicolás Station, arrived at the scene in 4 of the institution's jeeps. They proceeded to violently raid the houses of the settlement, illegally seizing documentation and the cash box of the peasant enterprise.

They then produced a list they were carrying and called for the 3 affected individuals, whom they flogged and beat in the presence of other agricultural workers, before forcing them into the jeeps and taking them to an unknown destination.

After the detention, his family went to the San Nicolás Station to inquire about his whereabouts, but they received no response at the police unit. The efforts and inquiries made at the political imprisonment and torture centers in the city of Chillán and Concepción met the same fate. Judicial proceedings also failed to reveal the fate they suffered at the hands of their captors.

The Rettig Report stated in its findings that the 3 leaders were taken to the "El Ala Bridge," where they were allegedly killed. In December 1973, at least 9 bodies were found on the banks of the Ñuble River near the aforementioned bridge, of which 2 or 3 were identified; they turned out to be the individuals detained by the Carabineros.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On January 6, 1975, the family of the Domínguez Jara brothers filed a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) on behalf of both detainees before the Chillán Court of Appeals. The appeal, registered under case number 94.326, was rejected based solely on the information provided by the San Nicolás Carabineros and the Chillán Prison, stating that they had no information regarding the individuals in question.

Subsequently, in October 1978, a new writ of amparo was filed before the Chillán Court of Appeals, case number 104.889. A report was received from the Ñuble Military Prosecutor's Office stating that there was no case against the individuals in that office, nor had any resolution been issued affecting them.

An official response was also received from the San Nicolás Carabineros Station, indicating that the affected individuals had not been detained or registered in the station's guard books during 1973. Based on this information, the Court rejected the writ of amparo and referred the files to the Criminal Judge of San Carlos to investigate the reported events, initiating a summary proceeding for alleged disappearance.

On November 27, 1978, the Judge of San Carlos initiated case 41.579, issuing an order to the Investigative Police to investigate. Upon executing the order, the agency interviewed Mr. Eladio Domínguez Jara, who stated that his forcibly disappeared brothers were members of the Christian Democratic Party and ratified the facts reported to the Tribunal regarding the arrest and subsequent disappearance of the victims.

Mario Moreno Molina, Juan Morales Correa, and Gilberto Ortega Riquelme were also interviewed; they stated that at the time of the events, they were working at the La Victoria Estate (formerly Ranquil Settlement) with the Domínguez Jara brothers when they were detained by Carabineros, apparently from the San Nicolás Station.

Finally, the current Acting Chief of the San Nicolás Station was interviewed, who stated that there were no records of the victims in that unit and that he was not serving at that detachment at the time the events occurred.

In January 1979, the Tribunal summoned and took statements from the aforementioned individuals, who ratified what they had told the Investigative Police. On January 31 of that year, the Judge temporarily dismissed the case, as the commission of the crime that gave rise to the proceedings had not been justified in the records.

In February 1979, the Chillán Court of Appeals approved the previous resolution, despite the fact that there were no proceedings in the case aimed at identifying the Carabineros personnel from the San Nicolás Station who were serving in that unit at the time of the Domínguez brothers' detention.

On March 29, 1979, the case was reopened by resolution of the Chillán Court of Appeals, following a presentation made by the various Bishoprics of the country to military and judicial authorities to investigate the cases of forcibly disappeared persons.

In the specific case of Gustavo Domínguez Jara, it is indicated that among the arresting Carabineros, those with the surnames Méndez and Sáez, both from the San Nicolás unit, were identified.

Indeed, of particular relevance is the statement before the Tribunal by First Corporal of Carabineros Demetrio Méndez Lagos, who stated that in 1973 he was working at the San Nicolás Station and that after September 11 of that year, there was an operation led by a Lieutenant who was at the Chillán Police Station at the time, whose name he does not remember.

With this person and other officers from other stations—since people from everywhere were added for the operations—they raided a house at the Ranquil Estate at that time. No weapons were found; the people were interrogated, and the Domínguez Jara brothers were thrown into their jeep to isolate them from the other settlers and interrogate them separately.

He adds that these two people, after being interrogated by the Lieutenant in charge, were released. Finally, he declares that later, they saw these two citizens passing by on bicycles over the "El Ala" Bridge, which is about 7 km south of San Nicolás.

Those who allegedly saw them were workers who were at the site. In a new investigation order carried out by the Investigative Police, it is reported that the retired Carabineros Sergeant Major, Manuel Castillo Oliva, was in charge of the San Nicolás Station at the time of the events.

When interviewed by the Investigative Police, he indicated that he did not remember anything about the Domínguez Jara brothers; a statement he later ratified when appearing before the Tribunal, adding that at that time, many Carabineros and Army personnel went to detain people with political problems, who were not entered into the respective detainee registry of the station under his charge, which had a staff of 5 people.

Finally, after receiving the identification records of the two brothers, the Judge considered the investigation exhausted and temporarily dismissed the case because the existence of the crime for which the process was initiated had not been established.

This resolution was approved by the Chillán Court of Appeals on August 3, 1979. Despite the importance of the statement by Carabineros officer Demetrio Méndez Lagos regarding the acknowledgment of the detention of the victims, the Tribunal did not question him as to whether other police officers from the San Nicolás Station participated in that operation, in order to summon them to testify.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity