Judge Víctor Montiglio indicted those responsible for the regiments in the northern cities for their potential liability in the executions of opponents of the dictatorship. The decision comes four days after he reclassified the charges against the main defendants, a measure that has been viewed as a prelude to the application of amnesty or the statute of limitations.

A judge prosecuted thirteen retired military personnel this Tuesday as alleged perpetrators of homicide for their participation in 42 crimes committed in 1973 by the so-called "Caravan of Death" during the episodes in Calama and Copiapó, judicial sources reported.

Among those prosecuted, against whom the presiding judge, Víctor Montiglio, also issued arrest warrants, are a retired general, brigadiers, colonels, and lower-ranking officers, as well as some non-commissioned officers, the sources specified.

The decision comes four days after the magistrate decided to reclassify the charges from aggravated kidnapping to aggravated homicide against the main defendants in the investigation, in a resolution that has been interpreted as a prelude to the application of amnesty or the statute of limitations.

From a procedural point of view, permanent kidnapping is a crime established in international legislation on crimes against humanity and, within that framework, cannot be subject to amnesty or declared prescribed.

Conversely, by being classified as homicides, the judge is in a position to apply legislation regarding the statute of limitations or amnesty. The individuals indicted this Tuesday by the judge were not part of the fateful delegation, but belonged to the personnel of the regiments in the northern cities of Calama, where 26 prisoners were murdered, and Copiapó, where the victims totaled 16.

According to the judicial resolution, some of the newly prosecuted individuals participated in the executions, others handled the clandestine burials of the victims, or participated, years later, in their exhumation and the dumping of the bodies into the sea.

The defendants were arrested and brought before Judge Montiglio to be notified of the resolution, who ordered their detention at the Military Police Battalion. Only Ramón Zúñiga Olmedo, who resides in Iquique, and Carlos Minoletti Arriagada, who lives in the United States, have not been arrested.

Prosecuted For the Copiapó episode, the magistrate indicted Brigadier Patricio Díaz Araneda, Colonels Ricardo Yáñez Mora and Marcelo Marambio Molina, and Lieutenant Colonel Waldo Ojeda Torrent as perpetrators of thirteen aggravated homicides, perpetrated on October 17, 1973.

For three other crimes, committed on the same day, retired General Erwin Herbstaedt Gálvez and retired officers Fernando Castillo Cruz, Oscar Pastén Morales, and Ramón Zúñiga Ormeño were indicted. Meanwhile, in the Calama case, those prosecuted include retired Colonel Eugenio Rivera Desgroux, who in 1973 commanded the regiment in that city and who has asserted that he tried to oppose the order from the head of the delegation, General Sergio Arellano Stark, to murder the prisoners.

Among those murdered in Calama were union leaders, professionals, and a journalist, Carlos Berger, who had been sentenced by a war council to only 61 days in prison. Also prosecuted was former Major Carlos Minoletti, who directed the regiment's Engineer company and was in charge of burying the bodies in the desert.

At the end of 1976, according to the file, he also directed the exhumation of the bodies so they could be dumped into the sea. The exhumation was carried out with an excavator, and hundreds of bone fragments remained at the site, which allowed for the reconstruction of the events and even the identification of some of the victims in the 1990s.

From the Calama regiment's personnel, former Brigadier Carlos Lange von Furstenberg, non-commissioned officer Gerónimo Rojo, and Colonel Víctor Santander Véliz were also prosecuted. Montiglio's Arguments As Judge Montiglio commented in the afternoon, "the proceeding, given the number of those prosecuted, has been quite positive, because this allows the case to continue its course and advance as it should." In response to a journalistic inquiry, he only revealed that four of the defendants requested release on bail, a benefit on which he will rule after a new review of their records.

He also highlighted that all those prosecuted have collaborated with their work by appearing in court and noted the role of the Investigative Police, which "has done this in a very short time." Regarding the reclassification of the crimes, he recalled that there are modifications in previous indictment orders and the latest ones "are consistent" with what was done in the past. "One has to accept reality as it is and not accommodate it to other circumstances," the magistrate stated, alluding to the recognition in his case of the deaths of victims of political repression during the military government. "If we start from the basis that there are death certificates, testimonies, and confessions, I think it is almost impossible to say that (the people) are kidnapped," he argued. Montiglio declined to comment on the potential application of amnesty or the statute of limitations in the cases following the reclassification, "because it is a matter that must be resolved on another occasion." "It is a point that must be resolved in the final sentence. My role is that of an investigating judge, and I must carry out all the necessary management so that the case is in a condition to be resolved conveniently and take all the steps so that, in turn, the higher instances throughout the procedure can decide what is appropriate and be aware of the content of the case," he pointed out.

Source: El Mostrador, March 21, 2006

Former military personnel must answer for the death of 26 Calama residents

And for 13 victims in Copiapó. Proceedings are being carried out in the capital Information from Santiago, disseminated yesterday by the El Mercurio website and television channels, reports that new indictments were issued in Santiago by the special judge Víctor Montiglio within the framework of the Caravan of Death case against 13 retired Army officers for aggravated homicides committed in Copiapó and Calama.

For the death of 26 victims in the town of Calama on October 19, 1973, Montiglio prosecuted the colonel and commander of the Calama Regiment, Colonel Eugenio Rivera; Brigadier Carlos Langer; Major Carlos Minoletti Arriagada; Colonel Víctor Santander Véliz; and Sergeant Major Jerónimo Rojo.

Among the 26 victims of Calama is Carlos Berger, who was the husband of human rights lawyer Carmen Hertz. The retired officers indicted were notified yesterday morning at the courthouse and were then taken to the Peñalolén Police Battalion, where they will remain detained.

The new indictment adds to the reclassification of the crimes that Montiglio carried out last week in the same case, at which time he removed the crime of kidnapping from this process. In Calama, the list of political executions is as follows: Mario Argüéllez Toro, Carlos Berger Guralnik, Haroldo Cabrera Abarzúa, Gerónimo Carpanchay Choque, Bernardino Cayo Cayo, Carlos Escobedo Caris, Luis Gahona Ochoa, Daniel Garrido Muñoz, Luis Hernández Neira, Manuel Hidalgo Rivas, Rolando Hoyos Salazar, Domingo Mamani López, David Miranda Luna, Hernán Moreno Villarroel, Luis Moreno Villarroel, Rosario Muñoz Castillo, Víctor Ortega Cuevas, Milton Muñoz Muñoz, Rafael Pineda Ibacache, Carlos Piñero Lucero, Sergio Ramírez Espinoza, Fernando Ramírez Sánchez, Alejandro Rodríguez, Roberto Rojas Alcayaga, José Saavedra González, Jorge Yueng Rojas. Copiapó The indictments affect retired Brigadier Patricio Díaz Araneda and retired officers Ricardo Yáñez Mora, Waldo Antonio Ojeda, and Marcelo Marambio Molina for 13 victims who were detained on October 17, 1973, in Copiapó. The magistrate also indicted retired officers Edwin Herbstard Gálvez, Fernando Castillo Cruz, Ramón Zúñiga Ormeño, and Oscar Pastén Morales as perpetrators of the aggravated homicide of three union leaders murdered on the afternoon of the same day. The "Caravan of Death" was a military delegation that traveled through several Chilean towns between October and November 1973, during which its members executed at least 75 political prisoners. Those prosecuted today by Montiglio were not part of the delegation, but belonged to the personnel of the regiments in Calama, where 26 prisoners were murdered, and Copiapó, where the victims totaled 16. According to Montiglio's resolution, some of the newly prosecuted individuals participated in the executions, others handled the clandestine burials of the victims, or participated, years later, in their exhumation and the dumping of the bodies into the sea. Among those prosecuted is retired Colonel Eugenio Rivera Desgroux, who in 1973 commanded the Calama regiment and who in later years has asserted that he tried to oppose the order from the head of the "Caravan of Death," General Sergio Arellano Stark, to murder the prisoners. Also prosecuted was former Major Carlos Minoletti, who directed the regiment's Engineer company and was allegedly in charge of burying the bodies in the desert. At the end of 1976, according to the file, Minoletti also directed the exhumation of the bodies so they could be dumped into the sea. The exhumation was carried out with an excavator, and hundreds of bone fragments remained at the site, which allowed for the reconstruction of the events and even the identification of some of the victims in the 1990s. From the Calama regiment's personnel, former Brigadier Carlos Lange von Furstenberg, non-commissioned officer Gerónimo Rojo, and Colonel Víctor Santander Véliz were also prosecuted. From those who belonged to the Copiapó regiment, retired General Erwin Herbstaedt Gálvez, Brigadier Patricio Díaz Araneda, Colonels Ricardo Yáñez Mora and Marcelo Marambio Molina, and Lieutenant Colonel Waldo Ojeda Torrent were prosecuted. In addition, former officers Fernando Castillo Cruz, Oscar Pastén Morales, and Ramón Zúñiga Ormeño. The defendants were arrested in the early hours of yesterday and brought before Judge Montiglio to be notified of the resolution, who ordered their detention at the Military Police Battalion in the eastern sector of Santiago. Judge Guzmán The "Caravan of Death" case was previously in charge of Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia, who in 2001 prosecuted Augusto Pinochet, but the former dictator (1973-1990) was acquitted by the Supreme Court for allegedly suffering from subcortical dementia. Last week, Montiglio decided to change the crime for which the members of the "Caravan of Death" are being prosecuted from kidnapping to homicide in the cases of nineteen victims, which sparked fear among the plaintiffs that an amnesty ruling for the perpetrators or the statute of limitations for the case might be approaching. Montiglio Special judge Víctor Montiglio explained the reasons why he reclassified the prosecution from kidnapping to aggravated homicide within the framework of the Caravan of Death case. "One must accept the facts as they objectively are," said the magistrate after notifying the 13 new defendants in the case, referring to the conviction that the victims are dead. "We start from the basis that there are death certificates, testimonies, and confessions, so I think it is almost impossible to say that they are kidnapped," the judge asserted. Montiglio declined to comment on the possibility of applying amnesty or the statute of limitations to these crimes, maintaining that it is not appropriate to do so at this procedural stage. Along with this, he specified that he will investigate the facts until the end. "My role is that of an investigating judge who must carry out all the necessary management so that the case is in a condition to be resolved conveniently," he stated. The prosecuted military personnel were transported amidst a demonstration by the victims' families, who shouted "murderers," while they were taken to the Peñalolén military battalion, where they will remain for the next few hours. The judge must decide whether to grant provisional release to the officers who requested it.

Source: Mercuriocalama.cl, March 22, 2006

Caravan of Death: Court prosecutes former military personnel led by Arellano Stark in Copiapó episode

The Santiago Court of Appeals issued indictments this Thursday against those involved in the Caravan of Death case, regarding the episode in Copiapó. It was the visiting minister, Patricia González, who charged nine people as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping and homicide, and nine for repeated aggravated kidnapping.

According to the background information used to demonstrate these facts, it was learned that on October 16, 1973, a "Puma" helicopter arrived in Copiapó with several people commanded by Army General Sergio Arellano Stark, in order to "carry out tasks of coordinating institutional criteria, internal government, and judicial procedures," or "to review and accelerate the processes." This group abducted four people who were being held at the "Atacama" Regiment in the city of Copiapó, and nine others who were deprived of liberty in the Public Jail.

The thirteen detainees were taken to a sector called "Cuesta Cardone," where they were finally executed. The same thing happened later with three other people, who were deprived of their liberty and then lost track of, after being located for the last time at "Cuesta Cardone." Thus, those charged as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping and homicide are: 1.- Sergio Víctor Arellano Stark 2.- Carlos Arredondo González 3.- Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo 4.- Marcelo Luis Moren Brito 5.- Patricio Ramón Félix Díaz Araneda 6.- Ricardo Fernando Yáñez Mora 7.- Waldo Antonio Ojeda Torrent 8.- Marcelo Arnaldo Marambio Molina 9.- Oscar Ernesto Haag Blaschke Those charged as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping are: 1.- Sergio Víctor Arellano Stark 2.- Carlos Arredondo González 3.- Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo 4.- Marcelo Luis Moren Brito 5.- Ramón Adolfo Zúñiga Ormeño 6.- Fernando Raúl de Fátima Castillo Cruz 7.- Edwin Reynaldo Herbstaedt Gálvez 8.- Oscar Gonzalo Pastén Morales 9.- Oscar Ernesto Haag Blaschke

Source: biobiochile.cl, February 6, 2014

Indictment issued for kidnappings and homicides that occurred in Copiapó in the Caravan of Death case

This is due to the kidnapping and subsequent death of Copiapó residents in the Caravan of Death in Copiapó The visiting minister of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Patricia González Quiroz, who is investigating the so-called "Copiapó Episode" of the case known as the Caravan of Death, issued an indictment against nine people as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping and homicide against 13 victims, and 9 as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping of another 3 victims.

According to the background information contained in the indictment, "it is legally proven in the case files that, on the night of October 16, 1973, several people arrived in Copiapó in a 'Puma' helicopter, commanded by the then-Army General Sergio Arellano Stark, who, by delegation of the then-Commander-in-Chief of the Army, to 'carry out tasks of coordinating institutional criteria, internal government, and judicial procedures,' or 'to review and accelerate the processes,' together with a group of military personnel belonging to the 'Atacama' Regiment of the city of Copiapó, abducted four people who were being held at that military unit, loaded them onto an Army truck, and, with them, headed to the Public Jail of Copiapó, a place from which they abducted nine more people who were deprived of liberty in that facility by order of the military jurisdictional authority. Then, the group of military personnel transported the thirteen detainees to a sector called 'Cuesta Cardone,' forced them to get out of the vehicle in which they were being transported, and, together with other military personnel who were at the site, proceeded to fire upon Alfonso Ambrosio Gamboa Farías, Atilio Ernesto Ugarte Gutiérrez, Fernando del Carmen Carvajal González, Agapito del Carmen Carvajal González, Winston Dwight Cabello Bravo, Manuel Roberto Cortázar Hernández, Raúl del Carmen Guardia Olivares, Raúl Leopoldo de Jesús Larravide López, Edwin Ricardo Mancilla Hess, Adolfo Mario Palleras Sanhueza, Héctor Leonelo Vincenti Cartagena, Pedro Emilio Pérez Flores, and Jaime Iván Sierra Castillo, using 7.62 mm caliber SIG rifles for this purpose; once the deaths were verified, the bodies were transported to the military unit and, from that place, to the city cemetery, where they were identified and buried in a common grave, with the corresponding death registrations being carried out subsequently." It adds that "with the same background information, it is also legally proven that on the night of October 17, 1973, a group of military personnel belonging to the Atacama Regiment of the city of Copiapó, in an army truck, traveled to the barracks where they kept political prisoners and abducted, without legal right, Benito Tapia Tapia, Maguindo Castillo Andrade, and Ricardo Posada García, whom they allegedly transported to the same sector called 'Cuesta Cardone,' depriving them of their liberty in an illegal and arbitrary manner, a place from which their traces are lost, without their whereabouts being known to date. The accused as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping and homicide are: Sergio Víctor Arellano Stark, Carlos Arredondo González, Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo, Marcelo Luis Moren Brito, Patricio Ramón Félix Díaz Araneda, Ricardo Fernando Yáñez Mora, Waldo Antonio Ojeda Torrent, Marcelo Arnaldo Marambio Molina, Oscar Ernesto Haag Blaschke. Meanwhile, those accused as perpetrators of repeated aggravated kidnapping are: Sergio Víctor Arellano Stark, Carlos Arredondo González, Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo, Marcelo Luis Moren Brito, Ramón Adolfo Zúñiga Ormeño, Fernando Raúl de Fátima Castillo Cruz, Edwin Reynaldo Herbstaedt Gálvez, Oscar Gonzalo Pastén Morales, Oscar Ernesto Haag Blaschke."

Source: soychile.cl, February 6, 2014

Case File No. 2182-98 “A”: Caravan case, Copiapó episode

....furthermore, the sentence condemns the defendants Edwin Reynaldo Herbstaedt Gálvez and Fernando Raúl de Fátima Castillo Cruz to respective sentences of ten years and one day of major imprisonment in its medium degree, to the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for public offices or positions and political rights, and absolute disqualification for professional titles for the duration of the sentence, and to the payment of the costs of the case, as perpetrators of the repeated crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Benito Tapia Tapia, Maguindo Castillo Andrade, and Ricardo García Posada committed in the city of Copiapó on October 17, 1973.

Source: Judiciary, April 10, 2017