Humberto de las Nieves Fuentes Rodríguez, married, father of six, former Councilman of the Renca commune, and member of the Communist Party, was detained on November 4, 1975, by government security personnel while he was working, as usual, at the locksmith workshop located at Domingo Santa María No. 3850.

The agents took advantage of the moment when the rest of the employees were taking their lunch break.

The agents, who were dressed in civilian clothes, were approximately five individuals who arrived in three vehicles: two cars and a pickup truck bearing a Chilean Air Force insignia.

The aforementioned pickup truck, a closed-body yellow vehicle, drove onto the sidewalk, blocking the entrance to the workshop. Immediately thereafter, the agents violently burst into the premises and, without presenting any warrant or providing reasons for the procedure, seized the victim and forced him into the vehicle, taking him to an unknown destination.

Several neighbors and passersby witnessed these events, as the detention took place around 1:15 PM.

From early that morning, unknown individuals wearing dark glasses had been stationed inside the aforementioned vehicles in front of and around the area, and it was visible and notorious that they were observing the interior of the workshop. This was declared before the 10th Criminal Court of Santiago by witness René Martínez García, owner of the locksmith workshop where the victim worked.

Once Humberto Fuentes' family was informed of what had occurred, they immediately went to the Renca Carabineros Station and the Buin Regiment, without obtaining any positive results.

In February 1979, testimonies provided before a Notary Public in a European country by Patricio Weibel Navarrete were received, in which he stated: "I was detained on October 26, 1975, by agents of the Air Force Intelligence Service (SIFA) and taken to the Colina Air Base, a facility where I was subjected to interrogations accompanied by physical and psychological torture."

"Already in the early hours of November 5, 1975," the witness continued, "after my interrogations had finished, I was recovering in a small room inside the same torture chamber when I heard one of the torturers give the following order out loud: 'Bring in Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez'." For approximately twelve hours, he heard the voice of the victim, the former Councilman of the Renca Commune, during the interrogation and torture to which he was subjected. "Even though I could not physically see Humberto Fuentes because my eyes were blindfolded, I am absolutely certain of his identity because, in addition to being called by his name and hearing the questions asked about his activities as a Councilman, I recognized his voice and his way of speaking, as I know him very well from having been his private driver for five years and having worked in close contact with him."

Finally, Patricio Weibel added that he was released on November 6, 1975, along with other prisoners, among whom the victim was not found.

The presence of Humberto Fuentes at the indicated facility during the specified period is also confirmed by the testimonies of two former detainees held by Air Force personnel, including a former communist militant named Carol Flores Castillo who, after his arrest, began collaborating with his captors. Specifically, this was reported by brothers Malaquías and Matías Delgadillo Navarro.

The latter witness stated that he remained with the victim in a cell of approximately 4x4 meters, where they were subjected to both physical and mental torture. Indeed, they would confront them, trying to convince them that they had testified against one another, which was not true; they made them run naked while releasing trained dogs to attack them; they placed sacks over them and then submerged them in sewage; they placed plastic bags over their heads until they felt practically suffocated; they tied their limbs to a cot and applied electric current; and, specifically to Humberto Fuentes, they drove needles under his fingernails. Thus, the last time the witness saw the victim, he was in terrible physical condition.

For its part, the report prepared by the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (created by the President of the Republic, Mr. Patricio Aylwin Azócar, with the purpose of investigating and making known to the country the most serious human rights violations committed between September 11, 1973, and March 10, 1990) stated that: "On November 4, 1975, Humberto de las Nieves Fuentes Rodríguez was detained by agents of the Joint Command (Comando Conjunto), who were traveling, among other vehicles, in one with the FACH logo.

He was taken to the Colina Air Base, from where he was removed at the end of the year, along with other detainees, and placed drugged into a helicopter to be thrown into the sea. According to testimonies, during the flight, the victim regained consciousness, so an Army Commando who participated in the operation struck him on the head with an iron bar, and immediately thereafter opened his stomach with a corvo knife and threw him into the sea."

The testimonies mentioned in the preceding report correspond to those provided by former Air Force member and member of the Joint Command, Andrés Valenzuela Morales, which have allowed for the reconstruction, to a large extent, of the gestation and actions of this illicit association of which the witness was a part, and which was endowed with material means and enjoyed the guarantees of impunity and anonymity to act in a criminal manner and in open violation of fundamental human rights.

Indeed, in a sworn statement provided before a Notary Public on August 28, 1984, Andrés Valenzuela stated: "Approximately at the end of 1975, a helicopter arrived at the Colina Air Base—I do not remember exactly if it was from the FACH or the Army, nor do I remember if it was a UH-1H or a PUMA—in which about 10 or 15 detainees were taken for the purpose of being thrown into the sea.

Agent César Luis Palma Ramírez, nicknamed 'Fifo,' participated in this operation for the FACH, along with personnel from the other armed institutions. Among the detainees was a former councilman of the Renca Commune who was lame and whom they called 'Old Man Fuentes,' an allusion to Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez."

"Subsequently, Agent Palma told me that they had thrown them into the sea off the coast of San Antonio. He explained to me that the detainee called 'Old Man Fuentes' woke up just at the moment they were about to throw them into the sea—I wish to clarify at this point that the prisoners were previously drugged—so one of the agents belonging to the Army cold-bloodedly struck him with an iron bar on the head and threw him down."

For further background regarding the so-called Joint Command, in light of the statements made by Andrés Valenzuela, see the file detailing the circumstances of the detention and subsequent forced disappearance of Communist Party militant Ignacio Orlando González Espinoza.

Judicial and/or Administrative Actions

On November 5, 1975, César Fuentes Godoy, the victim's son, filed a recurso de amparo (habeas corpus) on his behalf before the Santiago Court of Appeals, which was registered under No. 1.469-75.

This appeal was rejected by the Court after receiving reports from various government agencies, primarily the Ministry of the Interior and the Chilean Air Force, among others, denying the detention of Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez.

On January 7, 1976, César Fuentes Godoy filed a complaint for the crime of kidnapping his father before the 10th Criminal Court of Santiago, which was registered under No. 2.096-6.

On January 14, 1976, the judge of the aforementioned court accepted the complaint, ordering the initiation of the respective summary proceedings and dispatching an order to investigate. Likewise, she granted all the measures requested by the complainant, which were the sending of official letters to the Ministries of the Interior and Defense, the National Executive Secretariat of Detainees (SENDET), the Air Force and National Intelligence Directorates (DIFA and DINA), and the General Directorates of Carabineros and Investigations, in order for them to remit the information they possessed regarding the victim.

The order to investigate did not yield information that would establish the fate or whereabouts of the victim. After interviewing the complainant and verifying measures without results at various Carabineros units, first aid stations, hospitals, military regiments, and SENDET, it was returned to the Court, which ordered it to be added to the case file.

Having been requested by César Fuentes to send an official letter to the Head of the "Cuatro Alamos" Detention Camp, the Court resolved on February 19: "Not granted, as it is not a party." Notwithstanding the above, and ex officio, the court ordered the measure to be carried out on the same date.

In this regard, the National Executive Secretariat of Detainees reported that the victim had no record of detention. The Minister of the Interior reported the same, in accordance with information provided to that Secretariat of State by the National Intelligence Directorate.

On April 1, 1976, Raúl Martínez García, owner of the locksmith workshop where the victim worked, appeared before the court. The witness stated that on November 4, 1975, he went to the indicated workshop around 9:00 AM and had spoken briefly with Humberto Fuentes regarding a lack of materials.

Upon leaving the place, he noticed that the premises were being observed by individuals traveling in a green Fiat 600 vehicle parked in front of the business, in addition to a pickup truck parked around the corner. What most caught the witness's attention was the individuals' attitude of persistently looking into the workshop.

Around 1:00 PM, he finally learned that his workshop had been raided and that the victim had been taken.

Only with the background information presented, and notwithstanding what was declared by Raúl Martínez, on April 6, 1976, the Court declared the summary closed and, bearing in mind that "the perpetration of the reported crime is not completely justified," temporarily dismissed the case.

This resolution was appealed and approved by the Santiago Court of Appeals on June 7, 1976.

Once the process was returned to the Tenth Criminal Court of Santiago for archiving, the Court ordered the processing of a document presented in May, which contained the complainant's request to require a report on Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez from the Colina Air Base.

The Court granted the request on June 10, stating that "without prejudice to the state of the proceedings, the requested official letter shall be sent."

On June 30, the official letter sent by the Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, Colonel Luis Pacheco Valdés, was added to the file, stating: "A. The citizen Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez is not a conscript soldier assigned to this Unit, nor has he been in previous years.

B. He has not entered this unit during the course of this year nor in previous ones. C. This Regiment has no information of the kind required by the Court."

In March 1977, the complainant submitted a sworn statement from his mother, Irene Godoy Godoy, in which she reported having received a visit at her home from two subjects dressed in civilian clothes who identified themselves as officials of the Ministry of the Interior, who expressed their interest in investigating the victim's situation, and requested that, by virtue of this new information, the investigation be continued.

On March 24, the Court resolved that "without prejudice to the state of the proceedings, the document shall be accepted and added to the case file, and on its merits, the request to reopen the summary is not granted."

Again, on March 31, the complainant insisted on his request for the reopening of the summary, asserting the sworn statement of Mrs. Godoy, already mentioned, expressly requesting that official letters be sent to the Ministry of the Interior, the General Directorate of Investigations, the various security agencies, the Department of Foreigners and International Police, the General Directorate of the Civil Registry, and the Legal Medical Institute.

Once again, the Court did not grant the request to reopen the summary.

On January 20, 1978, the request for the reopening of the summary was insisted upon before the Court. This time, a sworn statement signed in Canada by Matías Delgadillo Navarro was attached, who stated that he had been detained on October 24, 1975, by a group of people dressed in civilian clothes who claimed to be from the Air Force Intelligence Service, among whom was a subject he had known previously, surnamed Flores Castillo.

The witness also stated that he had shared a detention facility with Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez.

Along with the previous request, it was also requested that a new official letter be sent to the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (DIFA), that the member of said organization, Carol Flores Castillo, be summoned to appear before the court, that an official letter be sent to the General Directorate of Investigations to report on a visit made by alleged officials of said institution requesting information on the disappearance of Humberto Fuentes, and finally, by virtue of press reports according to which the Chilean Government had informed this body on more than one occasion about the situation of "allegedly" disappeared persons.

Again, the Court denied the substantive request and all requested measures, resolving on March 29, 1978: "Return the records to the archive."

Having appointed the Magistrate of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Mr. Servando Jordán López, as a Minister in Extraordinary Visit (Ministro en Visita Extraordinaria) to hear the cases already initiated before the courts for the disappearance of persons, on July 3, 1980, Irene Godoy Godoy filed a complaint before this Court for the crime of aggravated kidnapping committed against her spouse, Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, directed against the civilian subjects who apprehended him at his workplace on November 4, 1975, among whom was Carol Fedor Flores Castillo, who had belonged to the Communist Party before becoming a collaborator for a security agency. At that date, Carol Flores was in the status of a forcibly disappeared person. He had been detained in 1976 by members of the same security group with which he had collaborated; this fact was unknown to the complainant.

On August 22, it was requested that the Minister in Visit order the case file No. 10.161 of the 4th Criminal Court of San Miguel to be brought for review, which was initiated due to the disappearance of communist militant Alonso Fernando Gahona Chávez, in whose detention an eyewitness positively identified one of the apprehenders as Carol Fedor Flores Castillo; that an official letter be sent to the Central Identification Cabinet in order to provide all existing data in that office regarding the aforementioned Flores; and that Jeannette Córdova Pérez, his spouse, be summoned to appear before the court.

Minister Jordán, once the participation of FACH personnel in the crime of kidnapping was established in the case file, declared himself incompetent to continue hearing the matter and sent the records to the Aviation Prosecutor's Office.

This Court, after carrying out very few measures that did not yield favorable results, issued a resolution of temporary dismissal, which paralyzed the investigations.

Following the detention and disappearance of 13 high-ranking leaders of leftist political parties—11 of them from the Communist Party and 2 from the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR)—in November and December 1976, and after the respective recursos de amparo filed were rejected, relatives of the victims requested the Supreme Court to appoint a Minister in Visit in order to investigate such an irregular situation.

The highest court of the Republic ordered the Santiago Court of Appeals to make such an appointment, which fell to Minister Guastavino who, after requesting a report from the Ministry of the Interior—which reported that the victims had left the country through a mountain pass toward the Argentine Republic—dismissed the case.

This resolution was revoked by the Santiago Court of Appeals, as it was on the second occasion when a new closure of the summary was decreed.

Subsequently, taking charge of the process known as the "process of the thirteen," Minister Carlos Letelier Bobadilla, who came to substitute for the previous Minister, closed the summary in August 1978, stating that "no progress could be made in the investigation."

This resolution was challenged by the lawyers, who pointed out to the Minister that progress could indeed be made in the investigation, as there were pending measures requested and because other measures would arise from the state of the proceedings. Thus, Minister Letelier left his own resolution without effect, decreeing new measures.

Later, Minister Guastavino, resuming his functions, decreed a definitive dismissal by application of Decree Law 2.191 in December 1980. The Court of Appeals, this time, revoked the resolution to close the summary, and the Minister in Visit himself left the decreed dismissal without effect because a legal formality had been omitted. In this way, the proceedings continued.

By the year 1983, Minister Carlos Cerda Fernández took charge of the investigation for the "process of the thirteen."

Minister Cerda ordered hundreds of measures, consisting of summons of persons, recognition of places and persons, expert reports, review of criminal files, and the dispatch of official letters requesting reports from State services, branches of the Armed Forces, private institutions, and others of vital importance.

In sum, he received nearly 200 testimonies from eyewitnesses to the detentions of the victims and their confinement in clandestine facilities. Among these testimonies were also those of members of the Armed Forces who participated in Intelligence Services, as well as officials of the Carabineros and Investigations.

Likewise, the testimonies of civilians who collaborated with the Security Services are included, as is the case of Otto Trujillo and Miguel Estay Reino ("El Fanta").

There was also the statement of a first soldier of the Chilean Air Force, Andrés Valenzuela Morales, who deserted from this institution in 1984, who through his statement provided accounts and data that, in the mid-70s, a so-called Joint Command or Anti-Subversive Joint Command began to operate, integrated by members of the different branches of the Armed Forces and Order, plus some civilians who belonged to leftist parties and who, after being detained by the Intelligence Services and subjected to pressure or extortion, became collaborators.

Said Command had material means at its disposal, such as vehicles, weaponry, transmission equipment, and clandestine detention centers.

At this stage of the investigation, Minister Carlos Cerda managed to establish valuable and clarifying data regarding other cases of human rights violations, some of them involving the disappearance of persons, even ordering the referral of some parts of the "process of the thirteen" to other Courts that were hearing criminal cases regarding them.

Among the latter is the case of Humberto de las Nieves Fuentes Rodríguez.

Faced with the refusal of the Supreme Court to the request made by Minister Cerda that the Extraordinary Visit be extended to the knowledge of the present crime, the Magistrate ordered, on August 14, 1986, to send to the Aviation Court, as it pertains to its file No. 38-80 (currently dismissed), authorized copies of the following parts of the process:

The document on page 4,100, which contains the statement provided before Minister Cerda on November 7, 1985, by Catalina Avendaño Leal, spouse of Ricardo Weibel Navarrete, who is also disappeared. The witness stated that her husband, after being released from his first detention, told her that he had been held along with several people he knew, among them Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, who was a councilman for Renca.

Likewise, when photographs of agents belonging to the Joint Command were shown to the declarant, she fully identified those on page 3,563 and following (corresponding to Roberto Fuentes Morrison) as those of the subject who acted as Chief during her spouse's first detention.

The document on page 4,684, which contains the judicial statement provided by Mario Enrique Pulgar Ortega on November 23, 1985. The witness stated that he had been detained on October 25, 1975, by a group of agents who identified themselves as members of the Intelligence Services, being taken to a clandestine detention and torture facility that he could not identify, in which he remained along with several detained people he knew from before, among them Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez.

Likewise, when photographs of agents belonging to the so-called Joint Command were shown to the declarant, he recognized without a doubt those on page 3,563 and following (corresponding to Roberto Fuentes Morrison) as those of the person who acted as chief of the group that carried out his detention and who also participated in the torture to which he was subjected during his captivity.

The document on page 5,916, which contains the statement provided before Minister Cerda by Juan Sepúlveda Arancibia on January 13, 1986. In it, the witness stated that he had been detained in October 1975 by two subjects dressed in civilian clothes.

That after having remained in places he could not identify, he was taken to a facility located in Colina, where he heard the voice of the victim while he was being tortured, indicating his name and that he had been a councilman for Renca.

The document on pages 2,426 and 2,434, which corresponds to the sworn statements provided in the months of August and October 1984 by the former member of the Air Force and member of the Joint Command, Andrés Antonio Valenzuela Morales, the content of which has been reported when relating the repressive situation of the victim.

The document on page 5,058, which corresponds to a copy of the Anthropometric File of Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez.

Despite the selfless and diligent work of the Minister in Extraordinary Visit, Mr. Carlos Cerda Fernández, specifically in order to urge that, with the new evidence provided, the Aviation Court leave without effect the dismissal resolution in its file No. 38-80, continuing with the investigation, there is no record that this has occurred.

And on March 31, 1991, Magaly Barrera Godoy, in her capacity as representative of the victim's son, César Fuentes Godoy, filed a complaint before the 10th Criminal Court of Santiago for the crimes of kidnapping, illicit association, probable homicide, and any other that could be configured in relation to the disappearance of Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, against the members of the Anti-Subversive Joint Command who are found responsible, in the capacity of authors, accomplices, or accessories after the fact.

Such presentation was based fundamentally on the background information that the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation sent to the aforementioned Court, among which is contained the statement provided before this body by the former FACH official, Andrés Valenzuela Morales. This case entered processing under file No. 2096-6; as of December 1992, it was in the summary stage.

Source: Vicaría de la Solidaridad

Ministers of the Second Chamber of the highest court definitively convicted former members of the FACh Intelligence Service for the qualified kidnapping of Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez.

The Supreme Court issued a final sentence in the investigation into the qualified kidnapping of Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, a forcibly disappeared person since November 1975 in the city of Santiago.

In a split decision, the ministers of the Second Chamber of the highest court, Jaime Rodríguez, Rubén Ballesteros, Hugo Dolmestch, Carlos Künsemüller, and the participating lawyer Alberto Chaigneau, determined the sanctions indicated against those responsible for these crimes attributed to personnel of the SIFA (Air Force Intelligence Service).

The court sentenced César Palma Ramírez to 5 years in prison for his responsibility as an author, without benefits; Freddy Ruiz Bunguer to 5 years in prison for his responsibility as an author, granting him supervised release. The same sentence was handed down to Juan Saavedra Loyola, Eduardo Cartagena Maldonado, and Manuel Muñoz Gamboa.

Meanwhile, Otto Trujillo Miranda was sentenced to 541 days in prison for his responsibility as an accomplice, granting him the benefit of conditional remission.

Daniel Guimpert Corvalán was acquitted due to lack of participation.

In the civil aspect, the State was ordered to pay compensation for moral damages of $80 million to Humberto Fuentes Godoy, the victim's son.

In this aspect, the sentence was determined with the dissenting vote of ministers Ballesteros and Rodríguez, who were in favor.

Source: April 27, 2010, La Nación Date: 04-27-2010

Court of Appeals issues conviction against former Joint Command agents

The Santiago Court of Appeals confirmed yesterday the conviction for the qualified kidnapping of Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, which occurred in 1975. In a unanimous ruling, the ministers of the Sixth Chamber, Jorge Dahm, Joaquín Billard, and the participating lawyer Nelson Pozo, ratified the ruling issued by Minister Juan Fuentes Belmar on September 29, 2006, but modified the sentences against the agents of the so-called Joint Command.

Thus, Freddy Ruiz and Juan Francisco Saavedra were sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison; Manuel Muñoz, Eduardo Cartagena, and César Palma were sentenced to 5 years and one day in prison; and Otto Trujillo to 3 years and one day in prison. Meanwhile, Daniel Guimpert was acquitted due to lack of participation.

Source: Friday, December 12, 2008, La Nación Date: 12-12-2008

New human remains found at Fuerte Arteaga

The Minister in Visit Amanda Valdovinos confirmed that human skeletal remains, corresponding to three people, were found inside the Justo Arteaga Army Regiment in Colina. The measure corresponds to what was ordered by the Supreme Court after receiving the report from the Dialogue Table that concluded in January and which, according to the information provided by the Armed Forces, stated that the remains of some 20 people were buried in that military facility.

Caucoto: "They belong to the Joint Command"

Lawyer Nelson Caucoto told La Voz that all the remains that can be located in the Colina sector correspond to victims of the so-called Joint Command.

According to the Rettig Report, some of the disappeared persons are Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, Luis Moraga Cruz, Ricardo Weibel Navarrete (identified), Ignacio González Espinoza (identified), Miguel Rodríguez Gallardo, Nicomedes Toro Bravo, José Sagredo Pacheco, Carlos Contreras Maluje, Juan René Orellana, Luis Emilio Maturana, Juan Gianelli Company, Fernando Navarro Allendes, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, Lincoyán Berrios Cataldo, Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Waldo Pizarro Molina, Héctor Veliz Ramírez, Luis Lazo Santander, and Reinalda Pereira Plaza, among others.

For this reason, the professional considers the system of appointing special judges that the Supreme Court carried out at the request of the government to be "inefficient." "The system has caused confusion, because without a doubt, more progress is made with a minister in charge of specific cases."

Source: Primera Linea, July 19, 2001 Date: 07-19-2001