On September 12, 1973, Herminio SOTO GATICA, 44, Sub-delegate of Caleta Tortel, disappeared after being arrested by soldiers from the Coyhaique Regiment. The victim had presented himself voluntarily at the aforementioned military barracks after hearing a radio broadcast calling for all authorities of the deposed government to report to military commanders.

His whereabouts have been unknown since that date. His spouse states that she received no news regarding him from members of the Regiment to which he reported, nor from the Carabineros or the Investigations police.

The Commission formed the conviction that Herminio Soto disappeared due to the responsibility of State agents belonging to the Coyhaique Regiment. This conviction is based especially on the fact that the victim effectively presented himself at the aforementioned Regiment, where he was arrested, and that he has remained disappeared since the date of his arrest.

Source: Rettig Report (CVR)

Within the framework of the 50th Anniversary Commemoration, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security paid tribute to 25 officials of the ministry who were victims of political executions and forced disappearance, as included in the Rettig Report.

A tribute was also paid to Daniel Vergara, the last Undersecretary of the Interior in democracy, who served in the government of President Allende until September 11, 1973, and to Belisario Velasco, the first government official after the return of democracy and Undersecretary of the Interior.

The ceremony was led by the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Carolina Tohá, and the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, and was attended by ministers from various portfolios, family members of the victims, associations of relatives of the forcibly disappeared and those executed for political reasons, former political prisoners from Isla Dawson, and representatives of the Union of Former Political Prisoners.

The highest police chiefs, General Ricardo Yáñez and Director Sergio Muñoz, were also present, as were leaders of the ruling parties. Among the 25 victims are officials of the ministry, including two Ministers of the Interior, Carlos Prats and José Tohá, as well as intendants, governors, sub-delegates, and workers from different regions.

Their names were engraved on a plaque that will be installed in the ministry's facilities and which was unveiled during the event. Recognition was also given to the families of the former undersecretaries.

Representing the family of Daniel Vergara, it was received by his friend Miguel Lawner, National Architecture Prize winner and Executive Director of the Urban Improvement Corporation (CORMU) during the government of Salvador Allende.

In the case of Belisario Velasco, it was received by his daughter and grandson, Pilar Velasco and Lucas Edwards. During the event, Minister Tohá stated that “the anniversaries of the coup d'état connect us with those sad and painful stories.

But this is not about the victims and their pain; it is about what that leaves for us. Over time, there will no longer be people alive who knew the victims, but the need to remember them is what remains with us, what it taught us (...) a situation of hatred that meant arriving at a Coup d'État, and also the example that it means to recognize people who lost their lives for defending their ideas, for being loyal to their government.” She also anticipated that in the coming days, her ministry will provide recognition to police officials, from the Carabineros and the PDI, who were victims, as well as to the Ministers of the Interior who died during the dictatorship: Carlos Prats, José Tohá, and Bernardo Leighton. Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, in turn, highlighted that this act “is a tribute to these 25 names, to two undersecretaries, their commitment to human rights, their courage, and their valor, for which they return today to this house where they exercised their various functions—some without political affiliation, ministers, intendants, governors, sub-delegates. The dictatorship made no distinction whatsoever. Today we pay you, your families, and friends, a tribute that was long overdue. Their memory inspires us and calls upon us to maintain a complete, total commitment to justice, truth, reparation, and non-repetition.” One of the most sensitive moments of the act occurred when Miguel Lawner recalled his close friendship with Daniel Vergara and the composure of the former undersecretary when he was arrested and transferred to Isla Dawson. At the same time, the daughter of Belisario Velasco, who passed away a week ago, was especially grateful for the multiple recognitions of her father, including those from officials of the Ministry of the Interior who accompanied the family at his funeral.

Honored Officials

SANTIAGO DOMINGO AGUILAR DUHAU.

Forcibly disappeared. Osorno, September 1973. Communist Party. Accountant. Governor of La Unión.

FERNANDO ÁLVAREZ CASTILLO.

Assassinated. Concepción, October 1973. Communist Party. Lawyer. Intendant of the Province of Concepción.

ROLANDO GASTON ANGULO MATAMALA.

Assassinated. San Carlos, April 1974. Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). Social Worker. Social Assistance Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior.

MARIO DEL CARMEN ARQUEROS SILVA.

Assassinated. Antofagasta, October 1973. Communist Party. Union leader. Governor of Tocopilla.

MANUEL BELTRÁN CANTU SALAZAR.

Assassinated. Santiago, September 1973. Socialist Party. Teacher. Official on special assignment at the Intendencia of Santiago.

VICTOR MODESTO CÁRDENAS VALDERRAMA.

Forcibly disappeared. Santiago, August 1976. Communist Party. Electrician. Government Sub-delegate.

GERMÁN GUSTAVO CASTRO ROJAS.

Assassinated. Talca, September 1973. Socialist Party. Accountant. Intendant of Talca.

JULIO CHACÓN HORMAZÁBAL.

Forcibly disappeared. Santiago, September 1973. Socialist Party. Teacher. Secretary to the Governor of Santa Cruz.

SERGIO CONTRERAS CONTRERAS.

Forcibly disappeared. La Moneda, Santiago, September 1973. Socialist Party. Journalist. Head of Public Relations for the Intendencia of Santiago.

DANIEL FRANCISCO ESCOBAR CRUZ.

Forcibly disappeared. Santiago La Moneda, September 1973. Communist Party. Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary of the Interior.

GUILLERMO HERNÁNDEZ ELGUETA.

Assassinated. Toltén, October 1973. Public official. Former Sub-delegate of Cunco.

JUAN LLEUCÚN LLEUCÚN.

Assassinated. Quenac, Chiloé, October 1973. Radical Party. Farmer. District Inspector of Meulín Island.

LUIS GASTÓN LOBOS BARRIENTOS.

Forcibly disappeared. Temuco, October 1973. Radical Party. Accountant. Intendant of the Province of Cautín between August 8, 1970, and November 8, 1972.

HUGO ZACARÍAS MIÑOS GARRIDO.

Assassinated. Talca, September 1973. Socialist Party. Driver at the Irrigation Directorate in the Intendencia of Talca.

HERNÁN ELIZARDO MORENO VILLARROEL.

Assassinated. Calama, October 1973. Socialist Party. Secretary of the Governorship of the Province of Loa.

CARLOS PRATS GONZÁLEZ.

Assassinated. Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 1974. Division General of the Chilean Army and former Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Minister of the Interior and Vice President of the Republic between November 2, 1972, and March 27, 1973.

SERGIO ORLANDO PERALTA MARTÍNEZ.

Assassinated. Santiago, September 1973. Socialist Party. Topographer. Advisor to the Intendencia of Santiago.

JUAN DARÍO PINCHEIRA CHÁVEZ.

Forcibly disappeared. Mulchén, November 1973. No political affiliation. Agricultural worker. Sub-delegate of Santa Bárbara.

OSCAR ORLANDO RAMOS GARRIDO.

Forcibly disappeared. Santiago, August 1976. Communist Party. Intendant of the Province of Llanquihue between November 18, 1970, and November 8, 1972.

ARTURO ENRIQUE RIVEROS BLANCO.

Forcibly disappeared. Constitución, September 1973. Christian Left. Technical draftsman. Acting Governor of Constitución.

JULIO SAN MARTÍN.

Forcibly disappeared. Curacautín, September 1973. Communist Party. Sub-delegate of Lumaco and Capitán Pastene.

CARLOS ALBERTO SEPÚLVEDA PALAVECINO.

Assassinated. Ninhue, September 1973. Communist Party. Teacher. Sub-delegate in the Commune of Ninhue.

HERMINIO SOTO GATICA.

Forcibly disappeared. Coyhaique, September 1973. No political affiliation. Sub-delegate of Caleta Tortel.

JOSÉ TOHÁ GONZÁLEZ.

Assassinated. Santiago, March 1974. Socialist Party. Journalist and Law Graduate. Minister of the Interior and Vice President of the Republic between March 3, 1970, and January 22, 1972.

JORGE MANUEL VÁSQUEZ MATAMALA.

Assassinated. La Serena, September 1973. Unitary Popular Action Movement (MAPU). Union leader. Governor of Elqui.

Source: interior.gob.cl 8/9/2023

Date: 08-09-2023

ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED, THE 9 AYSENINOS WHO REMAIN MISSING ARE REMEMBERED

On the Day of the Forcibly Disappeared, various Human Rights groups point out that there are still 1,192 Chileans who remain missing, including 9 people from Aysén who were imprisoned during the Pinochet Civil-Military Dictatorship.

Forced disappearance is the deprivation of liberty of one or more persons, in any form, committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization or support of the State, followed by the lack of information or the refusal to acknowledge said deprivation of liberty or to provide information on the whereabouts of the person, thereby preventing the exercise of legal remedies and relevant procedural guarantees.

María Vera Vera, President of the Human Rights Association of Coyhaique, stated that there is not only a debt of the Chilean State in fulfilling its international obligations of Truth and Justice, but also that the military and civilians who were authors and accomplices of human rights violations in the country maintain a pact of silence and do not provide information on where the forcibly disappeared are.

The leader recalled that in our region there are still 9 people, including her father Juan Vera Oyarzún, who are missing. Some are from localities such as Herminio Soto Gatica, sub-delegate of Tortel at that time, or José Orlando Vilugrón, who was executed by firing squad in Cisnes and thrown into the sea.

There are also victims of Operation Condor such as José Rosendo Pérez Ríos, Juan Vera, Néstor Castillo Sepúlveda, and Humberto Cordano López, all with families waiting to know the truth and see justice in these cases of victims of the dictatorship.

The list of forcibly disappeared persons from the Aysén Region continues with Flavio Arquímedes Oyarzún Soto and Luis Alejandro Largo Vera, both born in Puerto Aysén and arrested in Santiago, and José Luis Appel de la Cruz, a native of the Huichas Islands, arrested in 1977 in Argentina.

The International Day of the Forcibly Disappeared is an achievement of the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared, supported by the United Nations, which is why every August 30th in our country, the thousands of victims of forced disappearance in Chile are remembered.

Source: radiogenial.cl 30/8/2020

Date: 30-08-2020