Between September 24 and October 3, 1973, at the Fundo El Escorial in Paine, various arrests were carried out, followed by the execution of those affected.

On September 24, 1973, at approximately 16:00 hours, personnel belonging to the San Bernardo Infantry Regiment arrived at the Viña El Escorial in Paine, mobilized in a truck and a jeep, and proceeded to arrest five agricultural workers, who were led to a soccer field where they were forced to lie on the ground.

From there, they were taken to the Infantry Regiment, where they remained until nearly 22:00 hours, when they were blindfolded and loaded onto a truck bound for the Cerro Chena Detention Center. The arrested individuals were:

Héctor CASTRO SAEZ, 18 years old, single, no political affiliation;

Juan Guillermo CUADRA ESPINOZA, 26 years old, married, Socialist Party militant;

Gustavo Hernán MARTINEZ VERA, married, no political affiliation;

Juan Bautista NUÑEZ VARGAS, 33 years old, married, Socialist Party militant; and

Ignacio del Tránsito SANTANDER ALBORNOZ, 17 years old, single.

On the morning of October 3, an operation was carried out in which thirteen other agricultural workers from the town of Paine were arrested. On this occasion, the personnel belonging to the San Bernardo Infantry Regiment traveled in a red truck, with their faces painted black.

They entered the homes from which they took the detainees, in order to transport them to San Bernardo and from there to the Cerro Chena Detention Center. These thirteen people were arrested that night, along with others who were subsequently released:

José Angel CABEZAS BUENO, 21 years old, single;

Francisco Javier CALDERON NILO, 19 years old, single;

Domingo Antonio GALAZ SALAS, 23 years old, single;

José Emilio GONZALEZ ESPINOZA, 32 years old, married;

Juan Rosendo GONZALEZ PEREZ, 23 years old;

Aurelio Enrique HIDALGO MELLA, 22 years old, single;

Bernabé del Carmen LOPEZ LOPEZ, 23 years old, single;

Carlos Manuel ORTIZ ORTIZ, 18 years old, single;

Héctor Santiago PINTO CAROCA, 34 years old, married;

Hernán PINTO CAROCA, 42 years old, married;

Aliro del Carmen VALDIVIA VALDIVIA, 39 years old, married;

Hugo Alfredo VIDAL ARENAS, 27 years old, married; and

Víctor Manuel ZAMORANO GONZALEZ, single.

Several people who were detained at the Cerro Chena Detention Center report having been transported there along with the aforementioned detainees. In that place, they were generally kept blindfolded and were subjected to torture and interrogation. Subsequently, some of them were released.

The relatives of the forcibly disappeared went on several occasions to that Detention Center, where the detention was not officially acknowledged. However, in the Writ of Amparo 283 79 filed on behalf of Ignacio Santander Albornoz and Juan Cuadra Espinoza, it was reported on April 16, 1974, by the Chief of the Interior Zone of the Departments of San Bernardo and Maipo that "the detainees Ignacio Santander Albornoz and Juan Cuadra Espinoza were discharged by the sentries of the Chena Prisoner Camp on October 4, 1973."

In the month of December, relatives were informed at the Legal Medical Service that there was a record of the entry of the remains of all these detainees and that they had been buried in Patio 29 of the General Cemetery.

Around the same date, locals discovered human remains in the Cuesta de Chada area. The relatives went there and were able to recognize, in most cases, remnants of the clothing that the detainees were wearing when they were taken from their homes.

The remains, which were scattered at the site, were collected by Carabineros personnel and sent to the Legal Medical Service, where the corresponding forensic examinations were performed, but the identities of the individuals were not determined.

In the month of September 1990, the Minister of the Court of Appeals, Germán Hermosilla, appeared at that Medical Service with the purpose of identifying the remains that had remained unidentified since 1974.

The bodies finally recognized correspond to the following individuals: José Cabezas Bueno; Francisco Calderón Nilo; Domingo Galaz Salas; Emilio González Espinoza; Juan González Pérez; Aurelio Hidalgo; Bernabé López; Héctor and Pedro Pinto Caroca; Aliro Valdivia Valdivia; Hugo Vidal Arenas, Manuel Zamorano González, Héctor Castro Saez, and Juan Nuñez Vargas.

In accordance with the evidence indicated and gathered, the direct responsibility of State agents and civilians from Paine in the detention and death of the detainees on September 24 and October 3, 1973, is proven.

Therefore, this Commission has formed the conviction that all of them are victims of a violation of their right to life, with the remains of sixteen of them having been identified: fourteen whose bones were recognized in 1990 and two whose execution was acknowledged by the authorities of the time.

Date of Birth: 03-22-56, 17 years of age at the time of his detention. Address: El Escorial Settlement, Paine Marital Status: Single Occupation: Student and occasional agricultural worker Political Affiliation: None Date of Detention: September 24, 1973

Repressive Situation

The detainees were taken to the San Bernardo Infantry School and later to the Chena detention camp. According to a certificate sent by the Director of the San Bernardo Infantry School in April 1974 to the Santiago Court of Appeals, Santander Albornoz and Cuadra Espinoza were executed on October 5, 1973, at the Chena Detention Camp.

Of the other detainees held at that time, three were released from that detention center, while two others were taken back to the El Escorial Settlement on October 3 and from there to the Cuesta de Chada, where they were executed along with twelve other peasants. (Further information regarding the victims of Cuesta de Chada can be found in the account of the case of Héctor Santiago Pinto Caroca).

The body of Cuadra Espinoza was admitted to the Legal Medical Institute, as recorded in autopsy protocol No. 3143. Santander Albornoz, however, was not found.

Subsequent investigations carried out by the Visiting Judge Humberto Espejo in August 1980, in case file 24005-1, established that Ignacio Santander A., under autopsy protocol No. 3130, was buried in grave 2665 of Section 29 of the Santiago General Cemetery.

Later, in January 1991, Visiting Judge Germán Hermosilla proceeded to exhume said grave and did not find remains corresponding to Ignacio Santander. It became evident that a valid judicial order issued in 1980 in case 24005-1, which prohibited the cremation, transfer, and exhumation of graves under the inscription of "NN" (unidentified), had been violated, or that his body was not buried in the location indicated by the General Cemetery's index books.

Further information regarding the operation of September 24, 1973, can be found in the case of Héctor Guillermo Castro Sáez.

The detention and execution of Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz are part of the repression that took place in Paine in 1973. (Background information on this can be found in the case of José Domingo Adasme Núñez).

Judicial and/or Administrative Actions

After confirming the presence of both Cuadra Espinoza and Santander Albornoz at the Chena Camp through their coworkers Marchant Rapa, Farías Aravena, and Garrido Morales, who were released, the victims' relatives approached the detention center.

The guard personnel acknowledged the detentions carried out in Paine, adding "that it was too late to keep asking about them." Despite this, they returned to the facility to inquire for information about the victims, only to be ordered to leave under threats of being detained themselves.

The search continued in Santiago, visiting all detention centers active at that time, and inquiries were made at the National Executive Secretariat for Detainees (SENDET), the International Red Cross, and the Ministry of National Defense.

At the end of December 1973, the Cuadra Espinoza family was informed by the Legal Medical Institute that his body had been admitted to that service and subsequently buried in grave 2526 of Section 29 of the General Cemetery.

Upon consulting the Body Admission Index Book, the relatives noticed that another name appeared in the grave assigned to Cuadra; when they pointed this out to the official, he simply crossed out the unknown name and wrote in Cuadra's.

The relatives requested the exhumation of the grave to verify the information, but the request was denied by the General Cemetery staff. The family's doubts regarding the information provided grew when they visited grave 2526 and observed that the ground did not appear to have been dug or disturbed for a long time.

Regarding Santander Albornoz, the Legal Medical Institute informed the relatives that no body under that name had been admitted.

On March 28, 1974, an Amparo (Habeas Corpus) appeal was filed with the Santiago Court of Appeals (case file 293-74), which reported both detentions and the denial of the arrests by the consulted agencies.

The Court issued writs to the Ministry of the Interior and Defense, the National Executive Secretariat for Detainees, and the Director of the San Bernardo Infantry School. The National Executive Secretariat for Detainees reiterated the response it had given to the relatives personally: "the admission of Ignacio Santander Albornoz and Juan Cuadra Espinoza is not registered in this Secretariat." The official letter was signed by Colonel Jorge Espinoza V., Executive Secretary.

Almost simultaneously, Colonel Pedro Montalva Calvo, in his capacity as Director of the Infantry School and Chief of the Interior Zone for the San Bernardo and Maipo Department, responded. His official letter stated: "It is informed to Your Honor that the detainees Ignacio Santander Albornoz and Juan Cuadra Espinoza were 'discharged' by sentries at the Chena Prisoner Camp on October 4, 1973, for attempting to escape from said location..." The Court of Appeals dismissed the Amparo appeal on April 23, 1974, having taken into account the response from Colonel Pedro Montalva Calvo.

Subsequent to the Court's resolution, Minister of the Interior Oscar Bonilla B. sent an official letter adding further information; the Minister reported that autopsy protocol No. 3130 corresponded to Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz and No. 3143 to Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza. The letter was added to the file, and the case remained closed.

On December 4, 1979, a complaint for the crimes of kidnapping and qualified homicide of Ignacio Santander Albornoz and Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza was filed at the Maipo-Buin Court of Letters against members of the San Bernardo Infantry School who participated in the detention and subsequent elimination of the victims. The case was consolidated with case file 1-79 (original file 24005-1).

It should be noted that case 1-79 had been initiated at the Maipo-Buin Court of Letters on March 21, 1975, under file 24005-1. It contained a report of "presumed misfortune" (disappearance) for 23 people detained in Paine during September and October 1973.

Subsequently, on April 4, 1979, the investigation fell to Visiting Judge Juan Rivas Larraín, appointed by the Rancagua Court of Appeals in response to a request made by Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez and the Episcopal Vicars to the Supreme Court, in light of the public outcry caused by the multiple arrests followed by disappearances throughout the country.

On August 13, 1979, Judge Rivas declared himself incompetent to continue hearing the case due to the creation of the Presidente Pedro Aguirre Cerda Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Maipo-Buin.

Thus, after being appointed by the new Court, the investigation was continued by Visiting Judge Humberto Espejo under the new file number 1-79. New filings had been added to the initial complaint, covering reports of 26 arrests of people who remained forcibly disappeared and 9 complaints against personnel of the San Bernardo Infantry School: five complaints against Colonel Jorge Dowling Santa María as an accessory to the crime of illegal arrest; one kidnapping complaint against Lieutenant Andrés Magaña Bau; and another against Carabineros Sergeant Manuel Reyes of the Paine Sub-station.

The most relevant proceedings related to the case of Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz carried out during case file 24005-1 are summarized below.

In December 1979, former detainees Francisco Javier Garrido Morales, Carlos Farías Arévalo, and José Luis Marchant Roba testified, affirming that they had been detained and had remained at all times with Ignacio Santander and Juan Guillermo Cuadra until the moment these two victims were taken from the cell they shared at the Cerro Chena detention camp, at least 10 days after their arrest.

Colonel Pedro Montalva Calvo also testified, reaffirming the existence of the aforementioned detention camp, adding that detainees were not executed by firing squad at the Chena camp because, in such a case, a War Council would have had to be formed, but that there were people "discharged" while attempting to escape.

In such cases, he added, the body was collected and delivered to the Legal Medical Institute for autopsy and subsequent burial.

On December 12, 1979, the Visiting Judge declared himself incompetent and resolved to send the case files to the Military Prosecutor's Office. His incompetence was based on the information provided by the complainants themselves: namely, that these were arrests carried out by military personnel from the San Bernardo Infantry School under the command of Lieutenant Andrés Magaña Bau, that they had not been arrested in accordance with the law, that Cuadra and Santander had been killed by sentries at the Chena Prisoner Camp, and that Colonels Leonel Koening (Director of the San Bernardo Infantry School in September/October 1973) and Jorge Dowling Santa María were identified as responsible, the latter for concealing information.

It should be noted that the file contained a significant volume of information that still required investigation. Such was the case with a filing dated November 13, 1979, made by Vicar General Monsignor Ignacio Ortúzar R. to Judge Humberto Espejo, which the judge accepted.

In it, he provided information regarding mass and irregular burials of bodies in Section 29 of the Santiago General Cemetery, adding that he did so "as a way to collaborate with the investigation that had been entrusted to him (the Judge), in order to determine the situation of people who disappeared in the town of Paine in the months of September and October 1973." The filing included Juan Guillermo Cuadra Espinoza and Ignacio Santander Albornoz as examples of these irregularities.

At the time of his declaration of incompetence, the Judge received from the Director of the General Cemetery a complete list of "NN" (unidentified) individuals buried in Section 29. At the same time, he had issued a writ to said service communicating that, until further order from that Court, no remains of persons buried as "NN" in Section 29 of the aforementioned cemetery could be cremated, exhumed, or moved.

The Judge himself visited the cemetery and confirmed the existence of "NN" graves. The plaintiffs appealed this resolution, basing their position precisely on the need to complete the investigation of the Civil Court so as not to undermine the purpose of appointing a "Visiting Judge."

On March 6, 1980, the Court of Appeals revoked the resolution, ordering the investigation to continue and indicating pending proceedings to be carried out. Judge Espejo removed the case from his docket upon its reopening, a resolution that was revoked by the Court on June 3, 1980.

On March 7 of the same year, the Court issued a writ to the Legal Medical Institute requesting the submission of autopsy protocols 3130 and 3143, corresponding to Ignacio Santander and J. Guillermo Cuadra, respectively.

The writs were reiterated on March 25 and April 3. On April 21, the Court received both protocols; the response letter noted that the name of Ignacio Santander Albornoz did not appear registered in the index and admission books for bodies.

Regarding protocol 3130, which according to information provided by Colonel Montalva Calvo corresponded to Ignacio Santander, it was reported that it concerned a body sent by the San Bernardo Infantry School whose autopsy was performed on October 7, 1973—a male body, 20 years of age, with the cause of death being thoracic gunshot wounds with exit wounds, likely from short-range shots.

On June 5, 1980, the judge again declared himself incompetent and sent the file to the Military Prosecutor's Office. His resolution was based on the exact same terms as the previous one. There was an appeal of this resolution, which included a photocopy of a Supreme Court resolution from June 20, 1980, prompted by a filing from the Vicar General of Santiago and the Vicariate of Solidarity, Juan de Castro, requesting greater diligence in the processing of "Presumed Misfortune" cases.

The plaintiffs quoted the following: "It shall be ordered to issue a writ to this Illustrious Court of Presidente Aguirre Cerda so that it may recommend that Visiting Judge Humberto Espejo investigate with greater zeal and diligence the facts he is researching, and in particular what was reported regarding mass burials of unidentified bodies in Section 29 of the General Cemetery." On June 25, 1980, the declaration of incompetence was revoked, and proceedings were ordered, primarily aimed at continuing the investigation of Section 29 and obtaining the appearance of Brigadier General Jorge Dowling Santa María, against whom a complaint for accessory to the crime of arrest was consolidated in the case. Upon reopening the summary, the Judge again removed the plaintiff's lawyer from the proceedings, a resolution that was modified on July 7, 1980.

On July 23, 1980, Brigadier General Dowling Santa María testified via official letter; in it, he denied any participation in or knowledge of the facts related to the detentions and operations resulting in the disappearance of more than 29 peasants in Paine.

He concluded his statement by noting that the information regarding the complaints against him had been brought to the attention of the Army General Command for the purposes of the jurisdiction "which in my judgment would correspond to the military courts."

On September 4, 1980, Alicia Santander Albornoz, sister of Ignacio del Tránsito, testified and expressed that she found significant similarities between the information contained in autopsy protocol No. 3130 and her disappeared brother.

On October 17, 1980, the judge declared himself incompetent for the third time, sending the file to the II Military Prosecutor's Office. Thus, on May 15, 1981, the investigation resumed under file No. 952-80.

Beginning October 16, 1981, and on six occasions, the exhumation of 7 graves in Section 29 was requested, which could have yielded information on the forcibly disappeared detainees of Paine according to information gathered at the time by Judge Humberto Espejo.

This included the graves assigned to Santander Albornoz and Cuadra Espinoza. All requests were denied. On November 17, 1981, the Military Prosecutor responded that the requested proceedings were inconclusive given the time elapsed.

The plaintiffs filed a complaint with the Martial Court, which was denied by this appellate tribunal, arguing that such an appeal was inadmissible as there was no fault or abuse susceptible to being considered through disciplinary channels.

On February 16, 1982, the Military Court requested the dismissal of the case on the grounds that the investigation was exhausted and it had not been possible to conclude that the disappearance of these persons was the result of the perpetration of a crime by personnel of the Armed Forces and Order.

On March 20, 1984, the Martial Court revoked the dismissal and ordered proceedings aimed at the appearance of the entire staff, both from the Paine Sub-station and the San Bernardo Infantry School, who performed duties in those units during September and October 1973.

During 1984, a significant number of uniformed personnel testified in the case, all denying having participated in operations, having detained people, or having known about executions or the presence of detainees at the Chena and Paine Sub-station facilities.

On November 22, 1989, the Military Prosecutor General intervened on behalf of the Public and Military Ministry and requested the dismissal of the case and the application of Decree Law 9191, as Amnesty was applicable.

This resolution was revoked in February 1992 by the Martial Court; this tribunal instructed that the case return to the summary stage and ordered the exhumation of the six graves in Section 29. Said exhumation could not be carried out by order of this tribunal, as in September 1991, in case 4449-AF of the 22nd Criminal Court of Santiago, the exhumation of all remains of unidentified persons buried between September and December 1973 in the aforementioned section of the General Cemetery had been performed.

As of December 1992, the case remained in process.

In case 2-90-E, instructed by Visiting Judge Germán Hermosilla upon his appointment in August 1990 by the Presidente Pedro Aguirre Cerda Court of Appeals to address the complaint filed by the Vicariate of Solidarity of the Archdiocese of Santiago regarding irregular burials in Paine affecting forcibly disappeared detainees from the area, the Judge carried out specific proceedings in the case of Santander Albornoz.

He again requested protocols 3130 and 3143 corresponding to Santander and Cuadra, respectively, and requested information from the General Cemetery, which confirmed that Santander Albornoz was not registered as buried in said cemetery. He compared data from the autopsy protocol with that provided by the Santander family, concluding that the "NN" protocol 3130 corresponded to Ignacio Santander.

After visiting Section 29 of the General Cemetery on January 7, 1991, and failing to successfully exhume grave 2665, which according to General Cemetery documents corresponded to the autopsied body No. 3130, the Court interrogated cemetery officials regarding this irregularity.

None could provide a satisfactory answer, although they did acknowledge the existence of an order not to exhume issued by the III Military Prosecutor's Office dated August 19, 1981, and sent on April 4, 1984.

On January 22, 1991, the complainants requested the Visiting Judge to conduct an investigation regarding the irregularities committed at the General Cemetery in the case of Santander Albornoz. The request was granted.

As of the writing of this report, no progress had been made in case 2-90-E regarding the case of Ignacio del Tránsito Santander Albornoz.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity