Hugo Octavio Huerta Salinas died that day at 0:35 hours, at the Posta Central, due to gunshot wounds to the cranium, as recorded in the Medical Death Certificate from the Legal Medical Institute.

Huerta Salinas, a bodyguard for the then-Minister of Public Works, was returning from his duties in an official government vehicle, along with the Minister's driver, around midnight on January 22, 1974, during curfew hours.

According to the statement of a witness to the events, upon arriving at Vicuña Mackenna, and despite having the vehicle's interior light on, the car was struck by projectiles fired by military personnel. Taken to the Posta Central, he passed away shortly thereafter.

By virtue of the evidence gathered and the investigation conducted by this Corporation, and notwithstanding that the circumstances of his death have not been fully clarified, the Superior Council, considering the era and the cause of his death, declared Hugo Octavio Huerta Salinas a victim of the prevailing political violence.