Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera, 21 years old, a CORA official and member of the MIR, was detained on December 8, 1973, at approximately 5:00 AM, at Santa Corina 0173, Paradero 17 1/2 of the Gran Avenida, Santiago. The captors were 12 armed soldiers who raided the house and took the victim away.

The previous day, one of his sisters had been detained in the city of Parral, the city where Contreras habitually resided and where he was a leader of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). Through torture, they managed to find the addresses of his relatives in Santiago and were thus able to locate Hernán Contreras.

After September 11, 1973, Contreras was sought by uniformed personnel in the Parral and Linares area. For this reason, he moved to Santiago to the home of another of his sisters.

After his detention, Hernán Contreras was transferred to Linares, where he was seen detained at the Linares Artillery School. He was held alongside María Isabel Beltrán Sánchez, Alejandro Mella Flores, and Anselmo Cancino Aravena, all of whom were members of the MIR and were forcibly disappeared in December 1973 and January 1974.

Nelson Castillo Gómez, who was detained at the Linares Artillery Regiment from October 1973 to January 1974, stated in a sworn declaration: "On one occasion when... I was being taken for interrogation, I saw a young man of 19 or 20 years old, with the surname Contreras, a high school student who belonged to the MIR, and I remembered that his family lived in Retiro.

Contreras was walking with difficulty as he was shackled at the feet along with another prisoner named Velozo... I later learned that Contreras was implicated in the takeover of the San Blas estate in Retiro, an event well-known in the area because there was an armed confrontation and the estate was retaken by the landowning sector."

"I never saw Contreras again, and he had disappeared; I remember he was tall, dark-skinned, and of good appearance."

For his part, the transporter Efraín Adrián Sepúlveda Ceroni, who was also detained at the aforementioned School, declared that when he was being led to the torture room, "At that moment I knew that Hernán Contreras (also of the MIR) was detained, who was one of the leaders of the MIR in Linares." He adds later: "Hernán Contreras, I saw him as I have indicated, I know that he is disappeared..."

In the first days of January 1974, two conscripts arrived at the Contreras family home in Parral and reported that Héctor Contreras was at the Linares Artillery School and that he had asked for them to come see him.

The victim's mother went to the aforementioned Regiment bringing him clothing and other items, but she was informed that they would accept the package just in case he was there. A week later, the clothing was returned, in part, to other relatives.

On December 7, 1973, they raided his parents' house in Parral and detained two of his sisters, who remained imprisoned for six days in the Buen Pastor jail in Linares; his mother was also briefly detained.

Héctor Contreras Cabrera has remained disappeared since he was last seen detained at the Linares Artillery School.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On January 18, 1977, a complaint was filed regarding the alleged disappearance of Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera, providing information about the detention and subsequent disappearance of the victim. It was requested that the Commander of the Linares Artillery School, the Ministry of National Defense, and SENDET be officially notified.

This complaint was processed by the First Criminal Court of San Miguel in the Presidente Aguirre Cerda Department and was filed under case file number 24,940.

On January 20, 1977, the respective judge sent an inquiry to SENDET (National Executive Secretariat for Detainees). The response from SENDET was negative. The response from the Minister of the Interior was of the same tenor.

For his part, the Lieutenant Colonel and Director of the Artillery School, Patricio Gualda Tiffaine, replied in Official Letter 1595/iv that "...the citizen Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera has not been held in this Institute."

International Police were also consulted as to whether there was a record of the victim leaving the country. On March 21, 1977, International Police reported that Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera had no record of leaving the national territory.

On April 29, 1977, the summary proceedings were closed and the case was temporarily dismissed in the first instance; on June 3, 1977, the Court of Appeals confirmed the dismissal.

Carmen Contreras Cabrera, the victim's sister, made inquiries about Contreras at military detachments near her home immediately after the detention. At the El Bosque Air Base of the FACH, she was informed that he was not a prisoner at that location. She made similar inquiries at the San Bernardo Infantry School and at the 2nd Armored Regiment, with the same negative results.

Subsequently, efforts were made before the Ministry of Defense and SENDET (National Executive Secretariat for Detainees). The inquiry was reiterated at SENDET for two and a half years without obtaining a response.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity

The extraordinary visiting minister Álvaro Claudio Mesa Latorre issued indictment No. 84 and filed charges against Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichauer Salcedo, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, and Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz for their responsibility as accomplices in the crime against humanity of kidnapping with serious injury of 8 young men.

The extraordinary visiting minister for human rights violation cases in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Claudio Mesa Latorre, issued indictment No. 84 in the cases he is processing and filed charges against the military prosecutor at the time of the events, Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, and retired Army officers Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichauer Salcedo, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, and Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, for their responsibility as accomplices in the crime against humanity of kidnapping with serious injury of Hugo Arner González Ortega, Elías Dagoberto González Ortega, Carlos Schmidt Arriagada, Ricardo Schmidt Arriagada, Juan de Dios Cabrera Figueroa, Alejandro Escobar Vásquez, Héctor Domingo Aguayo Olavarría, and Raúl Marcial Figueroa Burckhardt. These illicit acts were perpetrated between the end of September and the beginning of October 1973 in the commune of Pucón.

In the resolution (case file 4,473), Minister Mesa Latorre identified retired Carabineros officer Luis Robinson Bustos Letelier as the perpetrator of the crime of illegal detention of the González Ortega brothers, the Schmidt Arriagada brothers, Cabrera Figueroa, Escobar Vásquez, Aguayo Olavarría, and Figueroa Burckhardt.

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

“A.-

That immediately after the military coup of September 11, 1973, the country's new authorities ordered the systematic persecution and detention of militants and sympathizers of the Unidad Popular parties, especially those who held positions in the deposed public administration, as established, among other evidence, in the statements of Luis Robinson Bustos Letelier (vol.

II); of Ricardo Virginio Aguayo Olavarría (vol. VI); and military decrees published in the press of the time (vol. IX).

B.-

That in Temuco, the armed forces and security forces took control of the city, with Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased, as recorded in vol. XI), Commander of the No. 8 ‘Tucapel’ Infantry Regiment of this city, establishing himself as Governor of Temuco, who also remained as Chief of the Temuco Garrison, as established, for example, in the statement of Óscar Alfonso Podlech Michaud (vol.

XI).

C.-

That in this sense, on the same day, September 11, 1973, the lawyer Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, who was also a Reserve Lieutenant of the Chilean Army, was called to collaborate with the new regime.

He presented himself at the ‘Tucapel’ Regiment to support the work of the Military Prosecutor's Office that operated inside the unit, which was in charge of the Second Commander, Major Luis Jofré Soto (deceased, as recorded in vol.

XI). This officer, however, had to assume greater duties as Second Commander of the Tucapel Regiment shortly thereafter. From that day forward, civilians began to arrive at the Regiment who had been called to present themselves before the Military Prosecutor's Office through decrees published in the written press and on the radio, or who were brought in as detainees by Carabineros and/or military patrols from different points in the region, mainly from police stations and outposts, as established, among other evidence, in the military decrees published in the press of the time (…).

D.-

That given the high number of detainees and people called to provide statements, the Military Prosecutor's Office was reinforced to carry out its work with officials of the Judiciary who were requested from the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Temuco by the aforementioned lawyer, who, acting as Ad-hoc Prosecutor, made a presentation to the Plenary of the Appellate Court, after which some clerks from different courts and a Court Rapporteur were assigned on service commission, as established in the statement of Adrián Segundo González Maldonado (vol.

I); and a copy of the Plenary minutes of the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Temuco (vol. XI), among other evidence.

E.-

That due to a lack of knowledge in criminal procedural matters, added to his weak character and his work as Second Commander of the Regiment, Major Luis Jofré Soto delegated functions as Military Prosecutor to the legal advisor to the Prosecutor's Office, Mr.

Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, who began to hold the position of de facto Prosecutor, to the point that he conducted jail visits and lawyers, relatives, and even ecclesiastical dignitaries consulted him about the fate of the detainees. However, Major Jofré Soto continued to sign the administrative dispatches most of the time and participated in some interrogations of detainees (…).

F.-

That the people called to present themselves to the Military Prosecutor's Office and those brought in as detainees from different points in the region were kept in facilities located next to the guardhouse and in the large gymnasium.

Once interrogated by personnel of the Military Prosecutor's Office, by detectives attached to the Regiment, or by the officers themselves who participated in these activities—among whom were Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, and Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, among other members of the army—some were released, only to be apprehended again later as will be detailed in point 44, others were sent to their homes under house arrest, and others were taken to the public jail where they remained while their procedural situation was resolved (…).

G.-

That also by September 1973, in the No. 8 ‘Tucapel’ Infantry Regiment of Temuco, there was a Second Section of Information and Intelligence, which was in charge of Captain Nelson Manuel Uldaricio Ubilla Toledo (deceased, as recorded in vol.

X), who also exercised a duality of functions by also being the Commander of the Headquarters and Services Company of said Regiment. In this Second Section, and under its dependency, some non-commissioned officers of that institution also carried out duties, work that was reinforced after September 11, 1973, with the addition of officials from Investigations and Carabineros, who provided political information to the aforementioned officer regarding all those persons subject to an investigation by the Military Prosecutor's Office.

Likewise, some officers, enlisted men, and conscripts of the Regiment joined the intelligence tasks (…).

H.-

That as the days went by, the Military Prosecutor's Office and the Second Intelligence Section began to work jointly to interrogate the detainees, who remained imprisoned in the jail or in some facility of the Tucapel Regiment.

To articulate this work, two locations were enabled in the military unit, one located between the Headquarters Company and the Mortar Company, and another in an old, disused gymnasium located to the side of the conscript soldiers' ‘mess hall.’ In this way, the detainees were interrogated at the Military Prosecutor's Office and physically pressured in one of the aforementioned facilities to ‘soften them up’ before or after these interrogations (…).

I.-

That in both interrogation and torture rooms, there were implements to tie up the detainees and apply electricity to different parts of their bodies, in addition to applying other types of torture such as kicks and punches.

Conscript soldiers participated in this task, collaborating with Captain Nelson Ubilla Toledo. Some officers of the ‘Tucapel’ Regiment and some enlisted soldiers from the Headquarters and Services Companies also participated in the interrogation and/or torture sessions of detainees in those places (…).

J.-

That, added to all the above, within the aforementioned military unit, a special group called the ‘Patrulla Brava’ (Brave Patrol) or ‘Patrulla Chacal’ (Jackal Patrol) was formed, integrated by enlisted soldiers and conscripts of the Second Hunters Company, who in turn received orders from an officer.

This group was in charge, among other functions, of guarding the detainees who were kept in the facilities of the ‘Tucapel’ Regiment of Temuco (…).

K.-

That at the regional level, in the commune of Villarrica, the Forces of Order and Security, led by Carabineros, proceeded to raid the homes of people who were known supporters of the recently overthrown government, with the object of proceeding to their detention, and in many cases, their subsequent transfer by land or air to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, in order to be placed at the disposal of the Military Prosecutor's Office (…).

L.-

That following the dynamic of detentions and subsequent transfer, in many cases, to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco during the days following September 11, 1973, a significant number of people in the IX region were killed or disappeared, with several of these deaths being explained by regional military authorities through the publication of decrees emanating either from the Intendancy or from the Temuco Military Garrison.

In other cases, the victims were released only to be immediately apprehended and re-entered as detainees into the facilities of the same Regiment or another institution, in order to be physically pressured to such an extent that many of them died as a result of the torture received.

Finally, in other cases, such as the present one, there has been a total and permanent concealment regarding the whereabouts of the victims after they remained imprisoned inside the same Regiment.

M.-

That Hugo Arner González Ortega, 23 years old, Head of Roads and Works of the Municipality of Villarrica and a militant of the Socialist Party; Elías Dagoberto González Ortega, 24 years old, Head of Warehouses for the State Bank resort in Villarrica, a militant of the Socialist Party and in charge of Propaganda in Villarrica; Juan de Dios Cabrera Figueroa, 20 years old, student and militant of the Socialist Youth; Carlos Schmidt Arriagada, 21 years old, employee of the Housing Corporation (CORVI) and militant of the Socialist Party; Ricardo Augusto Schmidt Arriagada, 18 years old, student and militant of the Socialist Party; Alejandro Escobar Vásquez, 18 years old, student and militant of the Socialist Party; Héctor Domingo Aguayo Olavarría, 17 years old, student and militant of the Socialist Youth; and Raúl Marcial Figueroa Burckhardt, 22 years old, militant of the Socialist Youth, decided to leave the country because they believed that their lives or at least their physical integrity were in serious danger, because the homes of some of them had already been raided by the Carabineros of Villarrica, who were searching for them intensely (…).

N.-

That on September 13, 1973, the eight young men identified above took a minibus that would take them toward Curarrehue, where they would attempt to cross into Argentina through some border pass. However, one of the young men regretted it and cried, which is why they all decided to get off the public transport vehicle in the Río Turbio bridge sector, near the fork in the road that leads toward the town of Caburgua and the commune of Curarrehue, respectively.

Immediately afterward, they began their march toward Caburgua, taking care not to encounter military or Carabinero patrols so as not to be detected (…).

O.-

That after having walked about eight kilometers, they spotted a vehicle approaching from Pucón. Héctor Domingo Aguayo Olavarría recognized the vehicle as the pickup truck that had belonged to his father and which had been sold some time ago to a well-known merchant from Pucón, so they did not suspect that it could be a patrol.

However, traveling in said vehicle were Luis Robinson Bustos Letelier, Captain of Carabineros, chief of the Pucón Sub-police station (indicted in this case), and other uniformed personnel from the same unit, who, upon seeing the group of young men on the road, stopped their march next to them (…).

P.-

That Luis Robinson Bustos Letelier, chief of the patrol, after a brief interrogation, ordered the detention of the eight young men without apparently carrying an order or having the legal authority for such an act, ordering their transfer to the facilities of the Pucón Sub-police station.

For these purposes, the aforementioned Captain of Carabineros and some of his companions remained at the scene, while Corporal Monsalve, the driver of the vehicle, and another officer took the detainees to the Sub-police station, as established in the statement of Diógenes Segundo Bravo Bernales (vol.

I). In that place, there were also other people in the same status, all detained for political reasons, among them Juan Luis Díaz Cortés, a sympathizer of the government of Salvador Allende, detained for the first time on September 14, 1973, in the commune of Curarrehue and transferred to that police facility, where he observed Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, whom he had known since he was a child, being able to notice that he was very badly mistreated physically, had an inflamed testicle, and had his hair shaved on the top of his head. ‘Chachi’ commented to him where they had been detained and the reasons why they decided to return to Villarrica, moments when they were intercepted by a patrol that detained them. He added that they were interrogated regarding the possession of weapons and the place where they hid them, at the same time that they were subjected to endless beatings. Subsequently, Juan Luis Díaz Cortés, along with other detainees, were removed from that police facility (…).

Q.-

That when Bustos Letelier returned to the unit, he was informed by the duty Sub-officer Diógenes Bravo Bernales that the detainees had been transferred to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, as established in the statement of Luis Robinson Bustos Letelier (vol. I).

R.-

That the victims were effectively admitted to the facilities of the No. 8 Tucapel Infantry Regiment of Temuco, a place where, as stated, from September 11, 1973, a large number of people from different points in the region were kept as detainees solely for their political affiliation.

After that, they were momentarily released (…) only to finally return as detainees again to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco.

S.-

That in the aforementioned Regiment, the victims were seen by other people who were in the same status, such as the case of the Spanish citizen Francisco Jerónimo Matta Aro, detained between Pucón and Curarrehue approximately on September 13, 1973, who confessed to his son that he knew Héctor Aguayo Olavarría because the latter's father was from the Socialist Party and a friend of his family, that both were transferred as detainees to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, and were left at the disposal of the Military Prosecutor Alfonso Podlech Michaud, who ordered the expulsion of his father from the national territory for supposedly being a financier of the MIR and Socialist Party guerrillas, and ordered Héctor Aguayo, along with another person, to remain at the Prosecutor's Office because they would be interrogated (vols. II and III). For his part, Manuel Antonio Humaña Jiménez, Director at that time of School No. 17 of Curarrehue and Secretary of the Christian Assembly of that commune, detained there on September 17, 1973, and transferred to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, not only saw Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, his student from that school, in said facility, but the latter approached him, hugged him, and cried in his arms, telling him that he had been detained the day before along with a group of friends in the El Turbio sector of Pucón, to finally be transferred to that place (vols. II and XI). Likewise, in the Regiment's gymnasium, but in the bathrooms of this facility, Renato Arturo Santana Dubreuil, a militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), was able to exchange words with Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, whom he knew by the nickname ‘el Chachi’ and knew that he was only 16 years old (vols. II and III). The same occurred with René Esteban Díaz Cortés, a sympathizer of the government of Salvador Allende at that time, detained on September 17, 1973, in the commune of Curarrehue and transferred to the gymnasium of the cited Regiment, a place where he observed an indeterminate number of detained people and particularly a group of 8 young men, among whom was Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, whom he also recognized by the nickname ‘el Chachi’ from years ago in Curarrehue, being able to notice that all the young men were sitting on the floor with their legs crossed, gagged, and with their hands tied behind their backs (vols. II and III). In this same sense, Juan Luis Díaz Cortés, a sympathizer of the same government, who, as stated, in his first detention had seen Héctor Aguayo at the Pucón Carabineros Sub-police station, was detained a second time in the commune of Curarrehue along with his brother René Díaz on September 17, 1973, to subsequently be transferred to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, a place where Héctor Aguayo Olavarría directly told him that he knew the soldiers there would kill him, given that they had already told him so. After that episode and in the afternoon hours, they were ordered to form up in the Regiment's courtyard, a place where an officer, whose identity Mr. Díaz does not know, read a document, naming some detainees, among whom were his brother, René Díaz Cortés, Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, and the Schmidt brothers, prisoners who were transferred to the Regiment's guardhouse, pointing out that only his brother returned and that he never saw the other detainees again (vol. II). As can be seen, the dynamic regarding the 8 young men detained and kidnapped corresponded to a habitual way that the armed forces and security forces of that time had regarding opponents of the military regime, which consisted of the fact that once detained for a couple of days or weeks, they were released (false freedom) only to be detained again when they left the facility and taken to that location. The facts described so far account for this situation, without prejudice to what will be set forth below.

T.-

That during those days, inside the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, a conscript with the initials M.J.C.S. was serving in the Headquarters and Services Company, who, after observing the photographs of Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, Elías González Ortega, and Hugo González Ortega, which are in the secret case file, was able to perfectly recognize them when they were being tortured in a room located in the Headquarters and Services Company of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, a place where two officers and a group of detectives were present; stating that the detainees were transferred to this facility in plain view of everyone who was in the Company, given that everyone had knowledge of its existence. This conscript was located 10 meters from that room and was an eyewitness to when nylon bags were placed on the detainees and electricity was applied to different parts of their bodies, as well as being able to hear the screams of pain resulting from the same. Although he states that at that time it was difficult to memorize the faces of the detainees because they shaved them, he memorized the faces of the indicated victims because upon entering the torture room they were blindfolded, but upon leaving they did so without a blindfold, which is why he was able to recognize them perfectly, as established in his statements in the secret case file of this cause.

U.-

That days after the events described in the preceding paragraph, the conscript with the initials M.J.C.S. had to load a military truck with the bodies of deceased people from the Cautín Island shooting range on two occasions.

On the first occasion, he loaded 10 bodies, all male, whose ages fluctuated between 25 and 30 years old; while on the second occasion, he loaded 8 bodies, also male, but on this occasion, they were younger people than in the previous case.

Present at the scene, among others, were some conscripts from his company, among whom he remembers José Chávez Etchepare and Luis Valeria Candia (deceased, as recorded in vol. X). Although it was night, with the light from the vehicles he could observe that they were indeed young people, who presented multiple bullet impacts; one of them even presented a bullet impact to the head, adding that almost all of them had their hands tied and were face-up, being able to recognize, according to the photographs in the secret file, that of these 8 bodies, 3 corresponded to Héctor Aguayo Olavarría and the brothers Hugo and Elías González Ortega, as established in his statements in the secret case file of this cause. It is noted that this protected witness with the initials M.J.C.S. underwent an expert examination of his mental faculties, which indicated that he is a lucid person, oriented in time and space; normal psychomotricity; without productive symptomatology; without alterations in the course or content of thought or language. Notificative language of good quality; Euthymic, with adequate affective resonance. No anxious or depressive symptomatology is noted; in performance tests, preserved memory is noted. He possesses a good capacity for abstraction. In short, the expert report concluded that he is a man without alteration of judgment of reality, with an intellectual level that clinically is in the normal range and has all his higher cortical functions preserved. Psychiatric expert report in the secret case file.

V.-

That after which, and on both occasions, the truck left in the direction of the Allipén bridge, with him remaining along with the conscripts of his company in the Regiment, and the personnel of the Second Hunters Company took charge of the transfer of the corpses to the mentioned river.

That this conscript was later able to confirm that the Allipén bridge was the final destination of these bodies, where they were thrown into its waters, since the conscript Luis Valeria Candia (deceased, as recorded in vol. X), boasting of these events, told him about the situation, as established in the secret case file.

W.-

That in this sense, days after September 11, 1973, in circumstances where Rubén Ernesto Sandoval Muñoz, a civilian who was dedicated to recreational fishing in the Toltén River, between the Pitrufquén - Faja Maisan stretch, was carrying out this activity along with José Tomás Palazuelos, he found around 12 bodies in the...

different sectors, all male, recalling that 4 of these bodies were elderly people and the rest were very young. Among the bodies he saw in the river, he was particularly struck by that of a young man, who was stranded in a riverbed between the Bajada de Piedra and Chesta sectors, and had a perforation on the right side of his skull; giving him the impression that it was the result of a gunshot.

He remembers that his identity documents were on the sand above his body, which indicated the word Villarrica, though he could not distinguish his name. The young man's clothing consisted of a jacket, jeans, and sneakers.

He did not notice if he had other wounds, as he preferred to leave the place out of fear; however, he reported the discovery of the bodies to the Carabineros officer Lukowiak (a Sergeant Major who at that time belonged to the staff of the 5th Carabineros Precinct of Pitrufquén), but he threatened him, which is why he did not report the incident at the time.

Upon being shown photographs by this court, Rubén Sandoval Muñoz stated that the young man he saw in the river was indeed Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, since his image remained very vivid in his mind, mainly due to the shape of his nose, which was very wide, making him look like a boxer, facts which are recorded on page 2,156, volume VII; page 2,645, volume VIII; and page 2,305, volume VII.

X.-

Likewise, Juan Esteban Ortiz Parra , a boatman at that time, states that in the days following September 11, 1973, he found a large number of bodies floating in the waters of the Toltén River, and others stranded on the riverbank near the Galpones sector of the commune of Pitrufquén, focusing particularly on one of them.

This was because he was a very young person and he thought it might be someone he knew, which is why he proceeded to check him, immediately realizing that this was not the case, as among his clothing he found a paper from a school in Villarrica and managed to distinguish that his surname was Aguayo; noting that the young man's body had a perforation in the back of his skull, his hands were tied with barbed wire, and he was wearing blue jeans and a sweater.

Regarding his physical characteristics, he apparently did not exceed 15 or 16 years of age, was of short stature, and he could not specify further characteristics because the body was very battered due to the action of the rocks. Other boatmen also saw the bodies, mentioning among them, precisely, Rubén Sandoval, as recorded on page 2,154, volume VI.

Y.-

Finally, after the arrest on September 13, 1973, the victims' families never again received news about Hugo Arner González Ortega, Elías Dagoberto González Ortega, Carlos Schmidt Arriagada, Ricardo Augusto Schmidt Arriagada, Juan de Dios Cabrera Figueroa, Alejandro Escobar Vásquez, Héctor Domingo Aguayo Olavarría, and Raúl Marcial Figueroa Burckhardt, which is why they began a fruitless search in the various detention centers that housed political prisoners at that time; for example, Héctor Aguayo Olavarría's family, after learning from Luis Díaz and Esteban Díaz that Héctor was being held inside the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, went immediately to this place, where his detention was denied. The same happened when they inquired about him at the Villarrica Precinct. Later, and due to the political persecution suffered by the family, Héctor Aguayo Olavarría's mother, along with his brothers and sisters, decided to emigrate to Argentina; however, Héctor's father remained in Curarrehue in search of his son, where he passed away without finding him.

Z.-

Currently, only the account existing in the Museum of Memory and Human Rights remains, which gives an account of the disappearance of these young men after their arrest on September 13, 1973; it has been possible to verify until now, as has been said, that according to the account, the victims were arrested, outside of any judicial process, in the Río Turbio bridge sector, near the fork in the road that leads to the town of Caburgua and the commune of Curarrehue, by Luis Robinson Bustos Letelier, Carabineros Captain and head of the Pucón Sub-precinct, to be immediately transferred to said police unit, then taken as detainees to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, momentarily released, and then apprehended again; and on this occasion, pressured and tortured inside the same Regiment. And as stated, for reasons not clarified in the case files, they were transferred to the public jail of the city of Temuco, to finally return in the same capacity to the facilities of the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, since as the witness with the initials M.J.C.S describes, when he was tasked with loading 8 bodies of deceased persons from the Isla Cautín shooting range, he recognized Héctor Aguayo Olavarría, Hugo Arner González Ortega, and Elías Dagoberto González Ortega, at least 3 of the 8 victims in the case. The dynamic of arresting, granting freedom, and then re-apprehending the same people to re-enter them as political prisoners was a common practice used by state agents.

Ad-hoc Prosecutor

Likewise, the resolution states: “The aforementioned facts must have been known to the officers in command of the Headquarters and Services Company of the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco , among them, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichauer Salcedo, and Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, to which this conscript with the initials M.J.C.S belonged.

And as detailed in numeral 37 of this resolution, Mr. Alfonso Podlech Michaud acted from September 11, 1973, as legal advisor and Ad-hoc Military Prosecutor of the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, interrogating the detainees and deciding the fate of the people deprived of liberty, having at that date decision-making and command powers within the facilities of the aforementioned Regiment.

Likewise, and as detailed in numeral 51, in relation to what was stated by the Spanish citizen Francisco Jerónimo Matta Aro, the facts were known to the lawyer Alfonso Podlech Michaud, since according to what Mr.

Matta stated to his son, it was Mr. Podlech who ordered Héctor Aguayo, along with another person, to remain in the Prosecutor's Office as they were going to be interrogated. In this sense, in his capacity as Ad-hoc Prosecutor and Legal Advisor to the Military Prosecutor's Office, he did not report or inform the military superiors or any other authority of the investigated illicit acts, nor is there any record that an investigation was carried out, nor the existence of a registry as a consequence of the commission of these facts.”

“Such were the powers,” it continues, “that this lawyer had, that the very statements of the Chief of the Guard of the Temuco public jail, for October 1973, in his declaration on pages 4,195 to 4,196, volume XII, stated that, given the overcrowding after September 11, 1973, he went to speak with the person in charge of the military prosecutor's office, alluding to the aforementioned lawyer, who ‘normalized the situation.’ A consequence of the above are the multiple assertions made by members who served within the Regiment at the time of the investigated events, namely: statements by Aquiles Poblete Muller (deceased as recorded on page 4,147, volume XII), a retired Commissioner of the Investigations Police of Chile, in his declaration on page 3,665, volume X, who stated that ‘ the person primarily responsible for all this and who decided the fate of the detainees is the lawyer Alfonso Podlech, who was in charge of the military prosecutor's office.’ In this same vein, it is relevant to keep in mind what was stated by the First Sergeant of the Tucapel Regiment, José Heriberto Mansilla Gatica, who in his judicial declaration on page 3,809, volume XI, pointed out: ‘ … as of September 1973, the second commander of the Regiment, surnamed Jofré, did not take statements. Iturriaga Marchesse only dealt with general matters. The daily work of the prosecutor's office, such as interrogating and making decisions regarding the detainees, was Alfonso Podlech’s.’”

For the visiting judge, in this instance: “Likewise, and to reinforce what was stated above, it is of utmost importance to mention the document on page 4,156, volume XII, which gives an account of a release order for two people, dated September 28, 1973, issued by the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco and signed by the lawyer and ad-hoc military prosecutor in question, this in relation to what is concluded in the documentary expert report on pages 4,157 to 4,185, volume XII, issued by the Central Criminalistics Laboratory of the Investigations Police of Chile, which among other things states the following: ‘ the background information examined on this occasion allows us to establish that the impugned signature traced over the text indicating FISCAL, on the ‘LIBERTAT’ [sic] order No. S/N, from the Cautín-Temuco Military Prosecutor's Office, dated September 28, 1973, addressed to the Carabineros of Chile, Villarrica Sub-precinct, which orders the release of Mario Fernando Cortés Bornard and Ubildo Antonio Jiménez Vargas, is Genuine of Óscar Alfonso Podlech Michaud’ , which is also directly linked to the documentary expert report prepared by the Central Criminalistics Laboratory of the Investigations Police of Chile, on pages 4,186 to 4,192, volume XII, in that it concludes the following: ‘the evaluation of the background information examined on this occasion allows us to establish that the impugned signature, subscribed over the text Luis A. Jofré Soto Mayor Fiscal, on the authorization copy dated in Temuco on 18.DEC.973, addressed to Dr. Wolfgang REUTER, Regional Hospital, issued by the Cautín-Temuco Military Prosecutor's Office of the Chilean Army, is genuine of Óscar Alfonso Podlech Michaud.’ The above corroborates the responsibility in these events of the legal advisor and Ad-hoc Military Prosecutor mentioned above.”

“That to date, no public official of the Chilean Army or any other branch of the Armed Forces and/or Order and Security who served at the time of the events has provided any information to the respective authority in relation to what happened to Hugo Arner González Ortega, Elías Dagoberto González Ortega, Juan Carlos Schmidt Arriagada, Ricardo Schmidt Arriagada, Juan de Dios Cabrera Figueroa, Alejandro Escobar Vásquez, Héctor Domingo Aguayo Olavarría, and Raúl Marcial Figueroa Burckhardt, maintaining to this day the concealment of all types of information about their whereabouts,” it concludes.

Source: pjud.cl, November 8, 2022

Date: 11-08-2022

ANEF inaugurates memorial for victims of the dictatorship with the presence of President Bachelet

In a solemn ceremony outside the ANEF headquarters, this Monday, September 8, a memorial was inaugurated in honor of the public employees who were victims of the civil-military dictatorship. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet; the representatives of the Association of Relatives of Forcibly Disappeared Detainees (AFDD), Lorena Pizarro, and of Political Executions (AFEP), Alicia Lira; along with the Minister of Labor, Javiera Blanco; the Minister of Mining, Aurora Williams; the president of the CUT, Bárbara Figueroa; the Undersecretary of Labor, Francisco Díaz; Joan Jara, widow of Víctor Jara; the parliamentarians Tucapel Jiménez, Maya Fernández, Lautaro Carmona, Hugo Gutiérrez, and Claudio Arriagada; as well as social and union leaders.

At the ceremony, the choir of former political prisoners dedicated some songs to the fallen of the ANEF. Afterward, Lorena Pizarro and Alicia Lira gave speeches, celebrating this act of memory and calling on the authorities to seek truth and justice in the cases of forcibly disappeared and political executions that are still pending.

“With this memorial, we close a debt of the ANEF to the State workers who were executed and disappeared during the dictatorship, without forgetting that ours was one of the sectors most affected during this dark period,” stated the president of the ANEF, Raúl de la Puente, in his speech.

De la Puente also recalled the resistance and struggle of some of those honored, such as Jorge Peña Hen, Reinalda Pereira, Carlos Prats, and the President's father, Alberto Bachelet. The memorial bears the names of 380 forcibly disappeared and political execution victims engraved on elegant bronze plaques, public employees from various sectors who, according to information from the Ministry of the Interior, were victims of the tyranny.

“A solid community cannot be built without taking responsibility for the violence that fractured our society and ended the lives of wonderful people, like those we honor today,” President Bachelet noted in her speech.

“We need that justice to come soon, and we need, for that to be possible, for those who have relevant information, whether civilians or military, to provide it,” stated the President, who urged the Justice system to work to find the truth.

After the ceremony, the plaques that make up the memorial at the entrance of the ANEF were shown to the attendees, where the priest Mariano Puga, a recognized collaborator of the workers, blessed the memorial.

Finally, it is worth highlighting the excellent organization of the event by the Secretary of Culture, Recreation, and Sports, Nayadé Zúñiga.

Source: anef.cl, September 9, 2014

Date: 09-09-2014

Relatives of forcibly disappeared detainees do not rule out appealing to the International Human Rights Court over the "Linares Episode" ruling

The leaders of the Association of Relatives of Forcibly Disappeared Detainees of Linares did not rule out appealing to the International Court of that instance, with the aim of denouncing the definitive ruling of the Supreme Court regarding the disappearance of militants and left-wing sympathizers during the government of Augusto Pinochet.

The spokesperson for said entity, Juana Soto, indicated that “we are very disappointed to learn of the justice system's resolution, and although we highlight the diligent work of Judge Solís, who we believe got to the bottom of the investigation, we do not think the same of the judges.”

Soto harshly criticized the position of President Piñera's government, in the sense that “we are in a right-wing government and for that same reason, what else could we expect from such a delicate issue as Human Rights; on the other hand, today, although the Judiciary is independent of the Government, through connections [pitutos] things are often achieved, even impunity.”

On the other hand, the daughter of María Isabel Beltrán, whose case is one of the most emblematic in southern Maule, Tamara Callejas, stated: “there is a bias of impunity in these decisions; my hope remains alive to know what really happened to my mother, but I believe that just as there are people who I am sure have collaborated in these houses that Judge Solís investigated, I cannot rule out that there are those who did not tell everything they know.”

In a split decision, the ministers of the Second Chamber of the highest court determined to acquit Gabriel Del Río Espinoza due to his lack of responsibility; while they ruled 5 years in prison for his responsibility as the perpetrator of kidnappings, and granted the benefit of supervised release to Juan Hernán Morales Salgado; Claudio Abdón Lecaros Carrasco; Antonio Aguilar Barrientos; Félix Renato Cabezas Salazar; and three years in prison with the benefit of conditional remission to Humberto Lautaro Julio Reyes.

It must be remembered that the Supreme Court issued a final sentence in the investigation into the qualified kidnappings of Arturo Enrique Riveros Blanco, Jaime Bernardo Torres Salazar, Jorge Bernabé Yáñez Olave, José Saavedra Betancourt, José Gabriel Campos Morales, Anselmo Antonio Cancino Aravena, Alejandro Robinson Mella Flores, María Isabel Beltrán Sánchez, and Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera, which occurred between September and December 1973, in the city of Linares.

Source: La Tercera, May 3, 2011

Date: 05-03-2011

Justice system issues conviction for retired military personnel for qualified kidnappings

The Supreme Court and the Santiago Court of Appeals issued sentences in two processes linked to human rights violations committed in the country after September 11, 1973.

In a split decision, the Second Chamber of the highest court issued convictions in the investigation into the qualified kidnapping of Ariel Danton Santibáñez Estay, which occurred starting November 13, 1974, and which was processed by Judge Juan Eduardo Fuentes Belmar.

After the responsibility of the accused was proven, the former national director of the DINA, General (R) Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Colonel Marcelo Moren Brito, and Carabineros Colonel Ricardo Lawrence Mires were sentenced to three years of remitted prison.

In the investigation into the Linares Episode, meanwhile, the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Appeals sentenced Juan Morales Salgado to 15 years in prison and Gabriel del Río Espinoza, Claudio Lecaros Carrasco, Félix Cabezas Salazar, and Antonio Aguilar Barrientos to five years. Humberto Julio Reyes was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The convicted individuals are attributed responsibility for the qualified kidnappings of Arturo Enrique Riveros Blanco, Jaime Bernardo Torres Salazar, Jorge Bernabé Yáñez Olave, José Saavedra Betancourt, José Gabriel Campos Morales, María Isabel Beltrán Sánchez, Anselmo Cancino Aravena, Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera, and Alejandro Robinson Mella Flores, which occurred between September and December 1973.

Source: radio.uchile.cl, 12/16/2009

Date: 12-16-2009

Five military personnel and two detectives prosecuted for kidnappings in Linares

Visiting Judge Alejandro Solís prosecuted five retired members of the Army and two former detectives as perpetrators of the qualified kidnapping of three MIR militants and a union leader, who were last seen alive at the Linares Artillery School between September 12, 1973, and January 2, 1974.

The ruling becomes an extension of the resolution he issued on July 6, 2003, when he indicted six former uniformed officers for other cases of forcibly disappeared detainees contained in the same episode.

The magistrate decided to indict Colonel (R) Gabriel del Río Espinoza, who was the commander of the aforementioned facility and, at the same time, regional intendant at the time; Colonel (R) Claudio Abdón Lecaros Carrasco; former Investigations Commissioner Héctor Torres Guajardo; Sergeant Major (R) Antonio Aguilar Barrientos; and former Investigations Commissioner Nelson Volta Rosas, in their capacity as perpetrators of the crime of qualified kidnapping of Guillermo del Canto Ramírez, a MIR leader.

According to the investigation conducted by Solís, at 00:30 hours on January 2, 1974, Del Canto was arrested while he was with his spouse, Marianela Méndez Soto, at the home of his cousin Félix Ignacio Valenzuela Ferrer, located at 560 Santa Clara Street in the commune of La Cisterna.

In fact, several officials who claimed to belong to the Linares city Regiment entered the place and arrested Del Canto Ramírez and his cousin, because he was an "accomplice" —according to the captors.

Both detainees were taken in a truck to the Military School in Santiago, where they were interrogated. The next morning, Valenzuela Ferrer was released, while Guillermo del Canto was transferred to the Linares Artillery Regiment, where he remained detained for a few days, being interrogated and tortured, to subsequently, on an undetermined date, be taken to the Tejas Verdes prisoner camp in San Antonio, where his trail was lost until today.

Other three victims

On the other hand, Judge Solís prosecuted General (R) Carlos Edmundo Morales Retamal, then director of the Linares Artillery School, in his capacity as perpetrator of the crime of qualified kidnapping against university student and former MIR militant María Isabel Beltrán Sánchez, committed starting September 18, 1973.

Former Investigations Commissioner Héctor Armando Torres Guajardo and Sergeant Major (R) Antonio Aguilar Barrientos were prosecuted as perpetrators of the crime of qualified kidnapping against former MIR militant Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera, committed starting December 8, 1973.

Finally, the judge indicted Colonel (R) Juan Hernán Morales Salgado, in his capacity as perpetrator of the crime of qualified kidnapping of José Alfonso Saavedra Betancourt, a former union leader of the Celco company, perpetrated starting September 12, 1973.

The magistrate granted provisional release to all those prosecuted, and only in the case of Morales Salgado, who is being charged in this case for the first time, was the benefit granted with consultation to the Court of Appeals.

The First Chamber of the appellate court confirmed this Tuesday the release of the former military officer, with the favorable votes of ministers Juan Cristóbal Mera and Amanda Valdovinos, in addition to the lawyer member Benito Mauriz.

Mery's companions

In the indictment, which consists of more than 60 pages, Judge Solís left recorded the various allusions that exist in these cases regarding the participation of the former director of Investigations in the arrest of these opponents of the military regime.

In fact, several witnesses point to him as part of the group of agents who arrested María Isabel Beltrán. Likewise, one of the detectives who served at the Artillery School, Armando Torres Guajardo, maintained that in that unit "there was a Security Department, in charge of Captain Lecaros, and it had other officials, such as Nelson Mery, under the command of Jorge Zincke."

"He participated in the interrogations, and regarding María Isabel Beltrán, a MIR militant arrested in Santiago, he witnessed about 3 interrogations led by Captain Lecaros, who, to intimidate her, hit her on the back with a rubber 'churro' [baton]."

Meanwhile, one of the survivors of the Linares Artillery School, Osvaldo Efraín Salazar Saavedra, who was arrested on December 19, 1973, by a platoon of military personnel and detectives who took him to the Military School and then transferred him to the Linares Artillery School, states that Nelson Mery participated in that group.

For his part, the former director of the civil police, who left his post due to his alleged link to human rights violations, declared in the process that "on September 12, 1973, being a detective, he was appointed as a liaison officer at the Linares Artillery School, and on one occasion he was called by the 'Intelligence Office' and Aguilar asked him if he knew Patricia Contreras, whom he knew because he was a friend of her sister, Elena."

"He answered yes, and they ordered him to go to Santiago because she was allegedly involved in hiding weapons in Panimávida. They arrived at a house on Cienfuegos Street in a military jeep, in charge of Captain Humberto Julio; Sergeant Aguilar and Detective Volta also went; they arrested her and took her to the Military School; the next day, on the way back, he got out of the jeep and looked into the truck she was in, and he also found María Isabel Beltrán, who was arrested by the military personnel," he added.

"He always considered that María Isabel Beltrán was a military intelligence target, as Colonel Morales Retamal stated in writing, who points out that she belonged to a MIR cell and maintained extremist activities in Parral and in the infiltration of people into the Armed Forces, the main charge for which she was arrested," Mery assured the court.

Source: elmostrador.cl, April 19, 2006

Date: 04-19-2006

Case of Héctor Hernán Contreras Cabrera.

He was only 21 years old at the time of his arrest, on December 7, 1973. He was a militant of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) and an official of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA). While taking refuge at his sister's house in Santiago, he was arrested by military personnel and transferred to the Linares Artillery School, from where he was never seen again.

His sister filed a complaint for alleged misfortune, recounting the circumstances of his arrest:

"On December 7, 1973, our common sister, Ana María Contreras Cabrera, was arrested in the city of Parral at our parents' house. Subjected to strong pressure, she was forced to give all the addresses of the relatives who lived in Santiago... a group of twelve or thirteen individuals dressed in military uniforms arrived at the house on Santa Corina, where I lived at that time.

The one who seemed to be the leader of the group asked to see my brother. I led him to his bedroom; once awake, the leader asked him his name and asked him to get dressed to accompany them. He left with them and we never saw him again."

The presentation of the facts continues by pointing out that in the first days of January 1974, a conscript from the Linares Artillery School appeared in Parral, at the parents' house, saying that he brought a message from Héctor Hernán, who was in good health, although a little delicate in the stomach, at the Artillery School.

His mother went to see her son, bringing him some food and clothing. A week later, they returned part of the clothing to her. From that moment on, she visibly declined.

Shortly after, the presiding judge Patricio Ábrego Diamantó, after carrying out some proceedings, declared the summary closed, arguing that the perpetration of the crime could not be legally proven.

As we will see later, once the process was reopened by the Ordinary Justice system and in the midst of the investigation, the Military Justice system once again obtained jurisdiction for itself.

Source: derechos.org, November 9, 2001

Date: 11-09-2001

Received by memoriaviva on 12-28-2010

HELLO, I am Ana María Contreras Cabrera, one of the sisters detained for 15 days (not 5 as reported on the page). My sister María Isabel passed away without losing hope that justice would be served. Well, recently I learned that the sentences for the torturers and those responsible for my brother's death have been judged, with the exception of one.

For my part, I have carried out all the efforts to have his remains handed over to me, if they exist in any place. We took THE DNA SAMPLE; in my particular case and my sister's, it was psychological, verbal, and physical TORTURE. For him, it was TREMENDOUS; they left him almost dead.

Between January 9 and 10, 1974, a friend of mine, a non-commissioned officer from the School, JOSÉ SEPÚLVEDA, warned me that my brother was dying from SO MUCH TORTURE, and also another military non-commissioned officer (who currently lives in Linares, an address I have) threw cold water on him; he could not dodge it because he could not move.

When José returned, the other one was not in his cell. Where is he? They took him to the Germans; did they bury him? Where? Or did they continue torturing him in the colony? It is very likely because the person who brought the military to my house in Parral was an intimate friend of Paul Schäfer, THE HEAD OF THE COLONY.

That doubt will always be with me; it is an inexplicable pain, with few answers. He participated and fought for his ideals, but he did not kill anyone. On 01-01-74, he just turned 21; he had a world to live.

María Isabel Beltrán spoke with my sister during their stay in the Women's prison; she showed her how her body was from the torture. She told my sister that she was expecting a child, and that MERY was very cruel; he forced her to undress, told her that they would all rape her.

When my brother arrived detained in Linares (on 12-08-1973 at around 09:30 a.m. more or less), they took her to the Artillery School; they tortured them together.

When my mother and I brought him clothes and food, they accepted everything at the guardhouse, but LECAROS flatly denied that he was detained there. Also, I met a detective who threatened me that he would arrest me again; this was days before being tortured.

One night before my friend came to tell me the situation my brother was in, I dreamed of my brother, where he told me that there was a lot of ice and he was very cold; it was a warning of what I learned the next day.

My sister Isabel at that time was the wife of an active military officer (captain); my brother-in-law went to get us out of jail, he argued very energetically with the commander of the School, Patricio Cabezas, who visited us on December 8 at the School where they kept us for two days.

He treated my sister very badly because it was treason to the country; he was very rude, grotesque, vexing, and inhumane.

I have only one photo because when they raided my house, they took them all, and I will ask the press in Parral to give me some that the newspaper took of him driving a tractor.

I hope you answer me so I can send the photos. When they hand over his remains, I am going to invite a group of his friends from Linares to hold a mass before leaving him next to my father. I will send you photos, thank you for publishing his story.

I forgot to add

On 01-03-1974, three conscripts from the school came to my house in Parral and warned us that my brother was at the Artillery School, that we should go ask for him, that he needed clothes and food. We went, and then they denied it.

My sister María Isabel was forced to sign at the Temuco precinct until March 1974.

I signed until March 30, 1974. I almost lost my fourth year of high school since I could not take the exams.

Ana María Contreras C

Source: Ana María Contreras C