BAEZA OPAZO, HECTOR ALEJANDRO: 18 years old, single, street vendor, died on October 9, 1977, in Santiago. Héctor Alejandro Baeza Opazo died that day at 4:30 hours, at the intersection of Calle Huechuraba and Atenas, due to a thoracic gunshot wound with an exit wound, as certified by the Death Certificate.

According to statements made by his mother and information obtained from the judicial proceedings, in the early hours of October 9, 1977, during the curfew, Héctor Baeza was returning to his home in the Juanita Aguirre neighborhood while in a state of intoxication.

Upon reaching Pasaje Atenas, he was struck in the back by a shot fired by a uniformed member of the Chilean Air Force (FACH) who was on guard duty at a housing complex belonging to that institution, located in the same neighborhood.

He died at the scene. The Aviation Court prosecuted the uniformed officer as the perpetrator of a quasi-delict of homicide. However, the case was temporarily dismissed on the grounds that it was not proven that the death of Baeza Opazo was the result of a punishable act.

The Martial Court, for its part, resolved to dismiss the case totally and definitively, considering that the investigated facts were covered by Decree Law No. 2191, regarding amnesty. Considering the gathered evidence and the investigation conducted by this Corporation, the Superior Council declared Héctor Alejandro Baeza Opazo a victim of human rights violations, committed by State agents who made improper use of force.

Source: (Corporacion)

, which was produced by the Association of Relatives of Political Executed Persons (AFEP) with the support of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, through the Culture, Memory, and Human Rights Unit, and the Human Rights Chair of the University of Chile.

The publication, based primarily on the Report of the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (1991) and the Report of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (1996), seeks to reconstruct each of the lives and stories of the victims in a comprehensive and careful manner.

During the investigation, access was granted to the archive of the Association of Relatives of Political Executed Persons, where documents that families have preserved over the years are kept. Illustrations by Álvaro Gómez were also included.

The creation process was a complex challenge that involved combining delicacy, respect, and methodological rigor to articulate a painful and inescapable truth in this work.

Source: cultura,gobierno.cl 20/4/2023