Representative Position : Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Former President of the Federation of Electrical Workers (until 1973). Former National Director of the CUT. Date of Detention : May 5, 1976

Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, married, father of five, electrical mechanic, union leader, and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, was detained on May 5, 1976, along with other communist leaders in a "rat trap" (ratonera) set up by agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) in a house located at Calle Conferencia 1587, in the center of Santiago, between April 30 and May 6, 1976.

The house, owned by Juan Becerra Barrera, was occupied by agents during the 6 days the operation lasted. Similarly, another group of DINA agents installed themselves in the home of Mrs. Mercedes Barrera, Juan Becerra's mother, located at Calle Alejandro del Fierro N°5113.

In the early hours of April 30, 1976, a group of individuals in civilian clothes arrived at Juan Becerra's property. They informed the homeowner that his sister-in-law, María Teresa Zúñiga Guajardo, had suffered an accident and that his presence was required to identify the body.

Once in the vehicle, they proceeded to handcuff and blindfold him, transporting him to the DINA facility known as Villa Grimaldi. There, he encountered his sister-in-law, who had also been detained and showed signs of having been tortured.

Immediately thereafter, DINA agents began interrogating Juan Becerra regarding his friend Mario Zamorano, and he was also tortured. At dawn, the aforementioned detainees, as well as Juan Becerra's spouse, María Angélica Gutiérrez, and his cousin Eliana Vidal—who were also detained at the time—were taken to his home on Calle Conferencia, where the agents set up what is known as a "rat trap," which involves occupying a property while feigning normalcy in order to detain people who arrive at the location. (For further details on the case, consult the account of Mario Zamorano).

The agents forced the "detained" individuals to remain in both houses during the aforementioned days, rotating shifts every 24 hours. While the detainees were inside the house at Alejandro del Fierro 5113, the then-Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago, Monsignor Enrique Alvear Urrutia, arrived to assess the situation after being alerted by the spouse of one of the detainees at that location, Julio Maigret, to whom the Bishop brought necessary medication.

Monsignor Alvear, who later confirmed to the judge that there were several detainees in the house, was forced to remain as a "detainee" for three hours at the residence. In his testimony, he also stated that the agents showed him their DINA identification cards ("Tifas").

During the day, the detainees at the Conferencia house were made to remain there while simulating work in the handbag workshop that was on the premises.

After several days of waiting in this situation, on May 3, Elisa Escobar arrived at the house to warn that Mario Zamorano would be coming the following day with other people. The agents, who were observing her from inside the house at all times, signaled by radio to those outside not to detain her but to follow her. They had forced the residents to hide their status as detainees.

On Tuesday, May 4, 1976, around 7:30 PM, Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso arrived at the house at Conferencia 1587. After entering, he was immediately accosted by the agents; he was even wounded in one of his legs by one of the captors.

Half an hour later, at approximately 8:00 PM, Jorge Muñoz Poutays arrived and was detained after entering the house. Later, around 10:30 PM, the agents removed the two detainees from the premises.

The following morning, Wednesday, May 5, around 9:00 AM, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño arrived at Conferencia 1587, unaware of what was happening, and was immediately detained. Uldarico Donaire Cortez then arrived at the house and was also detained by the agents.

They were held at the location until nearly midnight, at which point they were transferred to the facility held by the DINA—and later the CNI—on Calle José Arrieta near the 8,000 block in the commune of Peñalolén, known as Villa Grimaldi (referred to by agents as "Terranova").

Finally, on May 6, around 1:30 PM, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda returned to the house at Conferencia 1587. After asking for Mario Zamorano, she was detained by DINA agents. At 2:00 PM, she was removed from the premises and transported by taxi, also to Villa Grimaldi.

In the course of the afternoon, the agents withdrew from both houses. The detainees were released with the threat that if they told anyone about what had happened, they would suffer severe consequences, according to one of the leaders of the DINA command that kidnapped the 5 Communist Party leaders, who remain in the status of forcibly disappeared.

Previously, Jaime Donato had been sought and released by police agencies; the first time was in September 1973, when they raided the home of the victim's parents. Subsequently, in December of that same year, he was detained at his home in the town of Buin, physically abused, and later released.

On July 14 and 17, 1976, the National Division of Social Communication reported through press releases that the regime's security agencies had carried out an operation that allowed for the dismantling of 32 "mailbox houses" (safe houses) of the Communist Party, which, according to the information, served as a link between the Directorate and the regional branches of said party.

The statements also indicated that among those detained in the operations was the lawyer for the Vicariate of Solidarity, Hernán Montealegre, explicitly stating that no further information would be provided so as not to hinder the Security Services' investigation into the events.

The magazine "Qué Pasa," in its August 12, 1976 edition, published a chronicle titled "From the MIR to the PC," in which they pointed out some of the names of those detained in the operation directed against the Communist Party.

Judicial and/or Administrative Actions

On May 19, 1976, Mariana Guzmán Núñez, the victim's spouse, filed a Writ of Amparo (Habeas Corpus) before the Santiago Court of Appeals, which was registered under case number 418-76. The appeal was rejected by the Court on June 8, 1976, and after the resolution was appealed, the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling.

On June 14, 1976, a collective Writ of Amparo was filed on behalf of several forcibly disappeared persons, among whom was the victim. This appeal was processed in the Court of Appeals under case number 525-76.

A Writ of Amparo was also filed before the Santiago Court of Appeals on behalf of Mario Zamorano, Jorge Muñoz, and Jaime Donato on August 5, 1976, and was registered under number 696-76. At the beginning of September, the Minister of the Interior informed the Court that the individuals were not being held by order of his department, which formed the basis for the rejection of the amparo on September 17, 1976; it is necessary to point out that the ruling on the appeal was made without issuing an official request to the DINA, as requested in the filing.

Finally, the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling of the Court of Appeals.

By virtue of the events described, their families chose to file a criminal complaint on June 26, 1976, for the crime of kidnapping in the 11th Criminal Court, which was registered under number 6.799-13.

In the filing on behalf of Mario Zamorano, Jorge Muñoz, and Jaime Donato, the judge was requested to summon Army Colonel Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Director of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), to testify. The Army General and Minister of the Interior, Raúl Benavides E., informed the Court that the victims were not being held by order of his Secretariat.

The DINA filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, finding it "arrogant and insolent" that the Judge of the 11th Court would summon its highest leader to testify; the Court ordered the judge to "limit himself to the concrete facts that are the subject of the respective process." The Tribunal's resolution is dated September 14, 1979.

On November 15, 1976, a request was made to consolidate the complaint with the cases regarding the alleged disappearance of Uldarico Donaire and Elisa Escobar, which were being processed in the 4th and 9th Criminal Courts, respectively. The Judge denied this request.

On April 27, 1978, the Judge resolved to close the summary proceedings due to the enactment of the Amnesty Law (D.L. 2.191).

On May 3, he decreed the definitive dismissal of the case. This was reopened and returned to the summary stage by the Court of Appeals on August 9, 1978, following an appeal presented by the victims' relatives.

On March 26, 1979, the current case (6.799 of the 11th Criminal Court) was consolidated with case 16.455 of the 9th Criminal Court regarding the alleged disappearance of Lenín Díaz and Elisa Escobar. The case remained under the jurisdiction of the 9th Criminal Court. On July 5, 1979, the Visiting Minister, Servando Jordán López, assumed the processing of case 16.455.

Finally, on April 28, 1980, the Visiting Minister resolved to remit the case files to the 2nd Military Prosecutor's Office to be consolidated with case 553-78.

On September 24, 1980, the Supreme Court confirmed the resolution. Despite being appealed, the same Court confirmed its ruling on May 27, 1981.

On August 1, 1978, relatives of 70 forcibly disappeared persons, including those of Jaime Donato Avendaño, filed a criminal complaint before the 10th Criminal Court of Santiago for the crime of aggravated kidnapping against General (Ret.) Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Army Colonel Marcelo Luis Moren Brito, and Army Lieutenant Colonel Rolf Gonzalo Wenderoth Pozo.

The identities of other agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), information regarding the secret detention centers of said organization, and other data relative to its structure and the means at the DINA's disposal were also provided to the Court.

Without carrying out any investigative steps, on August 10 of that year, the Judge of the 10th Court declared herself incompetent and remitted the files to the Military Justice system; after several appeals, in May 1979, the case was established in the 2nd Military Prosecutor's Office of Santiago under case number 553-78.

In 1983, the Court reviewed the four volumes of the Extraordinary Visit for cases of forcibly disappeared persons in the Metropolitan Region, which was substantiated by Minister Servando Jordán. These contained important information regarding the actions of the DINA and the responsibility of that security agency in the cases of hundreds of forcibly disappeared persons.

Without any investigative steps being taken for four years, on November 20, 1989, Army Lieutenant Colonel Enrique Ibarra Chamorro, Military Prosecutor General, requested the application of the Amnesty Decree Law (D.L. 2.191) for this case, because the process had the exclusive purpose of investigating alleged crimes occurring between September 11, 1973, and March 10, 1978, and because, during the 10 years of processing, it had not been possible to "determine the responsibility of any person." On November 30, 1989, the request was accepted by the 2nd Military Court, which dismissed the case totally and definitively—which was still in the summary stage—on the grounds that "the criminal responsibility of the persons allegedly implicated in the reported events has been extinguished." The complaining parties appealed this resolution to the Martial Court, which confirmed the ruling in January 1992. A Writ of Complaint was then filed before the Supreme Court of Justice, which, as of December 1992, had not yet issued its resolution.

(Complete background on the complaint against Manuel Contreras can be found in the case of Eduardo Alarcón Jara, July 30, 1974).

His spouse, Mrs. Mariana Guzmán, carried out multiple efforts to locate the final destination of Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, without obtaining positive results. His children were forced into exile, and one spent a long period in prison due to his political activity.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity

Jaime Donato, my grandfather, was kidnapped and disappeared by the civil-military dictatorship on a day like today, May 5. My grandmother was left alone, in charge of five children, including my father, who, at barely 12 years old, began to experience the agony of his father's forced disappearance during a wait that became eternal.

The years have passed, and my grandmother, who never smiled again, let a furrowed brow take over her gaze and let tenderness never return. She passed away a few years ago, without having been able to see a shred of justice. Her children, each one of them, have tried to piece together the joy and meaning of life.

On the other side, the executioners, for the most part, died without being held accountable for their crimes. Those who are still alive are in VIP prisons, where the supposed justice becomes a mockery rather than a true act of justice.

The years have passed, and during my childhood, I convinced myself by saying that what they never took from us was joy and dignity. Today, I am not so sure about the former, but about the dignity, yes! That remains intact and always on the right side of history, even if that is not in fashion.

My grandfather Jaime gave his life for his country and his party and swells the list of heroes of this homeland.

Chile, the country of impunity.

Jaime Donato, present a thousand times. Even if we are left alone raising your photo!

Source: Adriana Goñi, facebook.com

In the sentence (case 2.545-2019), the Sixth Chamber of the appellate court—composed of ministers Graciela Gómez, Andrea Díaz-Muñoz, and minister Matías de la Noi—confirmed the sentence of the visiting minister Miguel Vázquez Plaza against those convicted, but modified the sentences by changing the participation of some convicted individuals from complicity to authorship.

The Court of Appeals sentenced 47 former agents of the dissolved National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) for the qualified kidnappings of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, Lenin Adán Díaz Silva, Víctor Manuel Díaz López, and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández, and the qualified homicide of Víctor Díaz López, victims of the so-called Conferencia 1 case.

The ruling sentences Pedro Espinoza Bravo and Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko to 20 years in prison for their responsibility as authors of qualified kidnappings.

Meanwhile, Emilio Troncoso Vivallos, Claudio Pacheco Fernández, Jorge Díaz Radulovich, Orlando Altamirano Sanhueza, Eduardo Cabezas Mardones, Guillermo Díaz Ramírez, Orlando Torrejón Gatica, Víctor Manuel Álvarez Droguett, Carlos Miranda Mesa, Carlos López Inostroza, Lionel Medrano Rivas, Juvenal Piña Garrido, José Ojeda Obando, José Seco Alarcón, Roberto Rodríguez Manquel, and Leonidas Méndez Moreno were sentenced to 15 years in prison as authors of qualified kidnappings.

Meanwhile, Sergio Escalona Acuña, Gladys Calderón Carreño, and Sergio Pichunmán Cariqueo must serve a sentence of 12 years in prison for the qualified homicide of Víctor Díaz López and a sentence of 5 years and one day in prison for their responsibility in the qualified kidnapping of the same victim.

Agent Juan Morales Salgado will serve a sentence of 8 years in prison for his responsibility in the qualified kidnapping of the victim Díaz López.

Agents Jorge Andrade Gómez and Federico Chaigneau Sepúlveda must serve a sentence of 6 years in prison for their responsibility in the qualified kidnapping of Víctor Díaz López.

Finally, Elisa Magna Astudillo, Orfa Saavedra Vásquez, Celinda Aspe Rojas, Teresa Navarro, Berta Jiménez Escobar, Jorge Arriagada Mora, Eduardo Oyarce Riquelme, Ana Vilches Muñoz, Italia Vaccarella Gilio, Jorge Manríquez Manterola Sotelo, Gustavo Guerrero Aguilera, Luis Lagos Yáñez, María Angélica Guerrero Soto, Sergio Castro Andrade, Pedro Gutiérrez Valdés, Joyce Ahumada Despouy, Hiro Álvarez Vega, José Miguel Meza Serrano, Carlos Bermúdez Mendez, Marilin Silva Vergara, Camilo Torres Negrier, and Juan Suazo Saldaña were sentenced to 5 years and one day in prison as authors of the qualified kidnapping of Víctor Díaz López.

The appellate court's ruling considers the following facts to increase the sentence and change the participation:

"That for the purpose of determining the quantum of the sentence, the following will be kept in mind: 1.- That in this instance, 8 crimes of qualified kidnapping have been proven, committed against the persons of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, Lenin Adán Díaz Silva, Víctor Manuel Díaz López, and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández, and the qualified homicide of Víctor Díaz López. 2.- That Pedro Espinoza Bravo, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Emilio Troncoso Vivallos, Claudio Pacheco Fernández, Jorge Díaz Radulovich, Orlando Altamirano Sanhueza, Eduardo Cabezas Mardones, Guillermo Díaz Ramírez, Orlando Torrejon Gatica, Víctor Manuel Alvarez Droguett, Carlos Miranda Mesa, Carlos López Inostroza, Lionel Medrano Rivas, Juvenal Piña Garrido, José Alfonso Ojeda Obando, José Domingo Seco Alarcón, Roberto Rodríguez Manquel, and Leonidas Méndez Moreno will be sanctioned as authors of the 8 kidnapping crimes indicated above. 3.- That in turn, Juan Hernán Morales Salgado, Jorge Andrade Gómez, Sergio Escalona Acuña, Gladys Calderón Carreño, Jorge Pichunman Curiqueo, Nelson Herrera Lagos, Federico Chaigneau Sepúlveda, Elisa Magna Astudillo, Orfa Saavedra Vásquez, Celinda Angélica Aspe Rojas, Teresa Navarro Navarro, Berta Jiménez Escobar, Jorge Arriagada Mora, Eduardo Oyarce Riquelme, Ana Vilches Muñoz, Italia Vaccarella Gilio, José Manuel Sarmiento Sotelo, Gustavo Guerrero Aguilera, Luis Lagos Yáñez, María Angélica Guerrero Soto, Sergio Castro Andrade, Pedro Gutiérrez Valdés, Joyce Ahumada Despouy, Hiro Alvarez Vega, José Miguel Meza Serrano, Carlos Bermúdez Méndez, Marilin Silva Vergara, Camilo Torres Negrier, and Juan Edmundo Suazo Saldaña will be sentenced as co-authors of the qualified kidnapping of Víctor Díaz Lopez. 4.- That, furthermore, the responsibility of Juan Hernán Morales Salgado, Juvenal Piña Garrido, Sergio Escalona Acuña, Gladys Calderón Carreño, and Jorge Pichunman has been established as authors of the qualified homicide of Víctor Díaz López. 5.- That the crime of aggravated kidnapping, at the date of the events, had assigned the penalty of major imprisonment in any of its degrees, while qualified homicide had that of major imprisonment in its medium to perpetual degree. 6.- That all the accused are favored by the mitigating circumstance of criminal responsibility of their irreproachable prior conduct," the ruling states.

It adds: "That for the purposes of regulating the sanction applicable to the accused indicated in N° 1 of the preceding motive, for the 8 crimes of qualified kidnapping established, in the determination of the penalty to be imposed, the provisions of article 509 of the Code of Criminal Procedure will be applied, regulating a single one for all of them, applying the rule of the second paragraph of the cited article 509, as it is more favorable than the rule of article 74 of the Penal Code, and considering any of the kidnappings for the increase in degree due to reiteration, since all the infractions considered in isolation and with the circumstances of the case have the same punishment assigned by law."

The sentence also reasons: "That, as indicated above, the accused indicated in point 1 of motive 36° benefit from a mitigating circumstance and are not prejudiced by aggravating circumstances, so that in accordance with the second paragraph of article 68 of the Penal Code, the maximum degree of the penalty indicated in the abstract by the law in each of the kidnapping crimes will not be applied, excluding major imprisonment in its maximum degree.

Subsequently, the entire penal framework will be increased by one degree due to reiteration, remaining definitively in major imprisonment in its medium to maximum degrees, regulating the specific amount of the custodial sanction to be decided regarding each one in consideration of the extent of the harm caused by the illicit acts—disappearance of persons for almost forty-seven years—in accordance with the provisions of article 69 of the Penal Code, and the participation that specifically fell to all those convicted in them, attending to their institutional and operational position."

"Consequently, regarding Espinoza Bravo and Krassnoff Martchenko, the sanction to be imposed will be maintained at the quantum established by the first-instance judge, attentive to the roles played by both in the planning and perpetration of the cited crimes, to the entity of the harm caused by such conduct and its graduation at the time, elements that allow a more energetic reproach to be directed at them, without the consideration of the recognized mitigating circumstance being able to alter the regulated quantum, given that the criteria enunciated above allow it to be determined in this way."

"In relation to Emilio Troncoso Vivallos, Claudio Pacheco Fernández, Jorge Díaz Radulovich, Orlando Altamirano Sanhueza, Eduardo Cabezas Mardones, Guillermo Díaz Ramírez, Orlando Torrejón Gatica, Víctor Manuel Alvarez Droguett, Carlos Miranda Mesa, Carlos López Inostroza, Lionel Medrano Rivas, Juvenal Piña Garrido, José Alfonso Ojeda Obando, José Domingo Seco Alarcón, Roberto Rodríguez Manquel, and Leonidas Méndez Moreno, the penalty to be imposed as co-authors of the eight qualified kidnappings will be regulated in the high part of the lower degree resulting from the increment operation for the reiteration of crimes, that is, in the segment of major imprisonment in its medium degree, taking into account for this the gravity of the events, the protection and impunity they enjoyed for all the time elapsed since the commission of the illicit acts, their number, and the extent of the harm caused."

"That in the case of Juan Hernán Morales Salgado, Jorge Andrade Gómez, Sergio Escalona Acuña, Gladys Calderón Carreño, Jorge Pichunman Curiqueo, Nelson Herrera Lagos, Federico Chaigneau Sepúlveda, Elisa Magna Astudillo, Orfa Saavedra Vásquez, Celinda Angélica Aspe Rojas, Teresa Navarro Navarro, Berta Jiménez Escobar, Jorge Arriagada Mora, Eduardo Oyarce Riquelme, Ana Vilches Muñoz, Italia Vaccarella Gilio, José Manuel Sarmiento Sotelo, Gustavo Guerrero Aguilera, Luis Lagos Yáñez, María Angélica Guerrero Soto, Sergio Castro Andrade, Pedro Gutiérrez Valdés, Joyce Ahumada Despouy, Hiro Alvarez Vega, José Miguel Meza Serrano, Carlos Bermúdez Méndez, Marilin Silva Vergara, Camilo Torres Negrier, and Juan Edmundo Suazo Saldaña, the sanction to be applied as co-authors of the qualified kidnapping of Víctor Díaz Lopez will also take into consideration the gravity of the crime, the institutional protection that the accused enjoyed and which prevented both the timely clarification of the event and the establishment of their responsibilities at the time, in addition to the extent of the harm caused, so the sanction to be imposed—excluding the high part of the range, in attention to the concurrence of the modification of criminal responsibility recognized in favor of all of them—will be determined in the high part of the minimum range for the leadership (Morales Salgado), proceeding to regulate the sanction of the remaining ones in reason of their respective responsibilities and institutional positions, which allows ratifying what was decided regarding Andrade Gómez and adjusting the situation of Chaigneau Sepúlveda to that parameter," the sentence substantiates.

The Court's ruling continues: "That, finally, the sanction to be imposed on Juan Hernán Morales Salgado, Juvenal Piña Garrido, Sergio Escalona Acuña, Gladys Calderón Carreño, and Jorge Pichunman, as authors of the qualified homicide of Víctor Díaz López, must be individualized separately, as indicated by the lower court judge, given the impossibility of applying in this case, regarding them, article 509 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as it is not a crime of the same species as the qualified kidnapping of said victim, and for which their criminal responsibility has also been made effective."

"For its regulation and attended by the consideration of the gravity and cruelty of the event, the time elapsed in their favor and to the detriment of the clarification of the truth, the extent of the harm caused, the rank held by Morales Salgado at the time of the events, the functions executed by him and those deployed by his subordinates, is that the determination made in the appealed sentence regarding this is shared, without the consideration of the recognized mitigating circumstance being able to alter the regulated quantum, given the factors enunciated above and which have presided over the determination process carried out, which is why what was resolved in this part will be ratified."

In the civil aspect, the Treasury was ordered to pay compensation to the victims' relatives in the amounts detailed in the ruling.

Source: pjud.cl, April 25, 2023 Date: 25-04-2023

Operation Condor: House arrest for former DINA agents convicted in Italy

The military personnel are currently facing an extradition process at the request of Italy to serve a life sentence in the foreign country.

The Supreme Court minister, Ángela Vivanco Martínez, decreed house arrest for four former agents of the dictatorship, sentenced to life imprisonment by the Italian justice system for the crime of 43 Latin American citizens of Italian origin in the 70s, within the framework of Operation Condor. Among them are four Chilean victims.

These are the former agents Orlando Moreno Vásquez, Manuel Vasquez Chahuán, Rafael Ahumada Valderrama, and Daniel Aguirre Mora. Of the other two requested, one is deceased and the other, Pedro Espinoza Bravo, is imprisoned in Punta Peuco serving various sentences for other crimes against humanity.

The military personnel are currently facing an extradition process at the request of Italy, in which representatives of the victims have joined as parties. Among them, lawyers Nelson Caucoto and Francisco Bustos act on behalf of the daughter of Juan José Montiglio Murúa, one of the four Italian-Chilean victims.

Montiglio was 24 years old, was from the Socialist Party, and was the unit chief of President Allende's Personal Guard (GAP). He was detained at the La Moneda Palace on the day of the military coup, subsequently taken to the Tacna Regiment, and murdered in Peldehue two days later. To this day, he remains in the status of a forcibly disappeared person.

Previously, the criminals were under the precautionary measure of a national travel ban (arraigo nacional), which was modified at the request of the representation of the Republic of Italy, the Human Rights Program, and the plaintiffs, who requested a more intensive precautionary measure, for which they were granted total house arrest.

For lawyer Francisco Bustos, this new measure dictated by Magistrate Vivanco is of great importance, since "finding ourselves near the end of this phase of the process, the need to ensure that the requested individuals are at the disposal of the tribunal is recognized.

In the same way, I have confidence that we will demonstrate that all the requirements to access the extradition are met and achieve that the sentences imposed by the Court of Rome are fulfilled."

Sentence 20 years later

The other Italian-Chilean victims are Omar Roberto Venturelli Leonelli (31), former priest, militant of the MIR, detained on September 25, 1973; Juan Bosco Maino Canales (27), militant of the MAPU, student, and detained on May 26, 1976; and Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño (41), member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, electrical mechanic, detained on May 5, 1976.

In 1998, at the urging of their relatives, the Italian justice system initiated the investigation regarding this process, and only after 20 years did the Supreme Court of Italy issue the ruling that sentenced 24 Latin American genocidaires implicated in Operation Condor to life imprisonment.

In April of last year, an Italian delegation composed of a lawyer and a representative of the victims visited our country to learn details of the process being developed in Chile, contribute to raising awareness about this historic trial in our country, and collaborate with the extradition of those involved and convicted in this case.

Source: eldesconcierto.cl, March 24, 2023 Date: 24-03-2023

Supreme Court accepts request from Chilean lawyers to be parties in extradition requested by Italian justice

Justice Ángela Vivanco Martínez of the Supreme Court granted the request of lawyers Nelson Caucoto and Francisco Bustos to become a party to the extradition process currently being conducted by the Italian justice system against three Chilean military officers sentenced to life imprisonment in that country for their responsibility in the torture, disappearance, and political execution of 43 Latin American citizens of Italian origin during the 1970s, among whom are four Chilean victims.

In this regard, the highest court indicated that "the request shall be granted, given that the extradition procedure provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure does not expressly exclude the participation of interested third parties [...].

Furthermore, international law encourages the active participation of human rights victims in any judicial process of interest to them and at any stage of its development, a circumstance that the jurisprudence of this Honorable Court [supports]."

Caucoto and Bustos had requested at the end of April that the Supreme Court allow them to participate in this process representing the daughter of Juan José Montiglio Murúa, one of the four Italian-Chilean victims, who was also a party before the criminal courts in Rome.

Montiglio was 24 years old, a member of the Partido Socialista, and a unit chief of the GAP. He was detained at the Palacio de la Moneda on the day of the military coup, subsequently taken to the Regimiento Tacna, and murdered in Peldehue on September 13, 1973. To this day, he remains in the status of forcibly disappeared.

His case led to the conviction of former Colonel Rafael Ahumada Valderrama, whose extradition has been requested and is currently awaiting resolution.

The other former Chilean military personnel convicted in this process, for whom extradition is also being requested at this time, are former non-commissioned officer Orlando Moreno Vásquez and former DINA brigadier Manuel Vásquez Chahuán.

Meanwhile, the procedure is still pending for former brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo, who is serving various sentences in Punta Peuco; and for former prefect and Policía de Investigaciones officer Daniel Aguirre Mora and Carlos Luco Astroza, respectively; these last two are currently at liberty.

Lawyer Francisco Bustos stated that, in accordance with the resolution of the Supreme Court justice, "we have already become a party to the trial and will contribute everything necessary to ensure compliance with this resolution requested by the Italian State."

The professional further stated that "we believe this resolution is important for our client, as there must be justice for the grave crimes against humanity committed. There are international duties that bind not only the State of Chile but also the Italian Republic to investigate, prosecute, punish, and impose sentences proportional to the gravity of the facts.

All of this implies a duty to comply with what has been adjudicated, and that is why we are committed to ensuring this resolution is effectively executed."

The other Italian-Chilean victims for whom this process is underway are Omar Roberto Venturelli Leonelli (31), a former priest and MIR militant, detained on September 25, 1973; Juan Bosco Maino Canales (27), a MAPU militant and student, detained on May 26, 1976; and Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño (41), a member of the Central Committee of the Partido Comunista and an electrical mechanic, detained on May 5, 1976.

In 1998, at the urging of the victims' families, the Italian justice system initiated an investigation into this process, and only after 20 years did the Italian Supreme Court issue a ruling sentencing 24 Latin American perpetrators of genocide involved in Operation Condor to life imprisonment.

This past April, an Italian delegation consisting of a lawyer and a representative of the victims visited our country to learn details of the process developing in Chile, to contribute to raising awareness about this historic trial in our country, and to collaborate on the extradition of those involved and convicted in this case.

Source: caucoto.cl 13/5/2022

Date: 05-13-2022

Italian delegation requests extradition of military officers convicted for Operation Condor

After more than 20 years of investigations and judicial proceedings, the Italian Supreme Court concluded the "Condor Trial" last year. Initiated in 1998 following the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London, the process sentenced 24 Latin American military officers and repressors involved in Operation Condor to life imprisonment, six of whom are Chilean.

Between April 15 and 25, an Italian delegation composed of a lawyer and a representative of the victims, who promoted the process in Italy, will visit the country. The visit will take place with the objective of making contact with the civil parties and witnesses of the Condor trial held in Rome, visiting the sites where the criminal acts occurred, and requesting the extradition of those convicted.

Along with this, they will hold various meetings with the victims' families, as well as with witnesses from the Rome trial and with parliamentary and government authorities.

The delegation is composed of Arturo Salerni, defense lawyer for the families of Operation Condor victims; and Jorge Ithurburu, representative for several of the civil parties in the trial, who also accompanied and assisted the families of the disappeared Chileans from their first complaints in 1999 until the sentences of 2019 and 2021.

The military officers convicted in the trial are accused of torturing, forcibly disappearing, and murdering 43 Latin American citizens of Italian origin in the 1970s: six Argentines kidnapped in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil; four Chileans kidnapped in Chile; and thirteen Uruguayans kidnapped in Argentina.

To these are added another 20 Uruguayans kidnapped in Argentina, but whose disappearance is attributed to only one of the defendants, the Italian-Uruguayan Jorge Néstor Troccoli, who was a member of the Uruguayan Navy's intelligence service.

The convicted Chileans, all of whom received life sentences, are Daniel Aguirre Mora, former prefect of the Policía de Investigaciones; Carlos Luco Astroza, an officer of the PDI (both currently at liberty); former non-commissioned officer Orlando Moreno Vásquez; former Colonel Rafael Ahumada Valderrama; and former brigadiers and DINA members Pedro Espinoza Bravo and Manuel Vásquez Chahuán.

All were convicted for the disappearance, torture, and death of their victims in the framework of Operation Condor. So far, only the extradition of the first three has been requested, while those of Ahumada, Espinoza, and Vásquez are in process.

The victims of the process

Juan José Montiglio Murúa: 24 years old, PS, unit chief of the GAP, was detained at the Palacio de la Moneda on the day of the military coup, taken to the Regimiento Tacna, and murdered in Peldehue on 09/13/1973.

He remains to this day in the status of forcibly disappeared. His case led to the conviction of former Colonel Rafael Ahumada Valderrama, whose extradition has been requested and is pending resolution.

Omar Roberto Venturelli Leonelli: 31 years old, former priest, MIR militant, professor at the Education Department of the Universidad Católica, Temuco branch. He was detained in Temuco on September 25, 1973, when he presented himself voluntarily after being called by radio.

He was taken to the Regimiento Tucapel and then to the Temuco jail. The family stated they were informed that he had been released on October 4; from that date on, they searched for him without success.

His case led to the conviction of former PDI members Daniel Aguirre Mora and Carlos Luco Astroza, and former non-commissioned officer Orlando Moreno. Juan Bosco Maino Canales: 27 years old, MAPU, student.

He was detained on May 26, 1976, along with two other MAPU militants, the married couple Elizabeth Rekas Urra and Antonio Elizondo Ormaechea, at the couple's apartment. All were taken to Villa Grimaldi, from where they were never seen again.

His case led to the life imprisonment of Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo. Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño: 41 years old, member of the Central Committee of the Partido Comunista, electrical mechanic, was detained on 05/05/1976 along with four other PC leaders in a "trap" set by DINA agents at the property located at Calle Conferencia No. 1587.

His case led to the life imprisonment of Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo.

Source: legalnews.cl 21/04/2022

Date: 04-21-2022

Jaime Donato, the Italian-Chilean communist disappeared by the Condor Plan

Melbourne (Australia), July 31 (EFE).- The case of the Chilean Jaime Donato is part of an emblematic trial in Italy in which 24 repressors who participated in Operation Condor—a plan by several Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s to eliminate their opponents—were convicted on July 8.

THE CONDOR PLAN

In this operation, promoted by the US CIA, the dictatorships of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia participated, with the sporadic involvement of countries such as Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, to kidnap, torture, and exterminate their opponents.

The Condor Plan was uncovered in 1992 by Paraguayan activist Martín Almada when he discovered the so-called "Archives of Terror" in a police station in his country, which demonstrate the link between the Southern Cone dictatorships in the Condor Plan.

JAIME DONATO

The Chilean Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, a union leader and member of the Central Committee of the Partido Comunista de Chile, was detained on May 5, 1976, along with other leaders of his political party, as a result of a trap set by agents of the DINA, the secret police of the Augusto Pinochet regime.

Married, with 5 sons, and whose paternal grandfather was Italian, Donato was detained in a house on Calle Conferencia in Santiago de Chile and later transferred to Villa Grimaldi, a known DINA interrogation and torture center.

He was later thrown into the sea, presumably in a sack with chains, off the coast of San Antonio, about 114 kilometers from Santiago. On December 3, 2018, the Chilean justice system sentenced 53 repressive agents of the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990)—one of the largest sentences handed down in Chile regarding human rights violations—for their responsibility in the crime against eight opponents from the Partido Comunista.

In addition to Donato, the other victims were Mario Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortéz, Elisa Escobar Cepeda, Lenin Díaz Silva, Eliana Espinoza Fernández, and Víctor Díaz López, all from the Partido Comunista.

Their detentions occurred in the framework of the so-called "Calle Conferencia" case, which consisted of the extermination, in mid-1976, of the entire party leadership, which was then operating clandestinely. Among those convicted, the Chilean Army Brigadier Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko stands out, who with this sentence now totals 700 years in prison for human rights violations.

THE PROCESS IN ITALY

The process against repressors of the Condor Plan began in 1999 with the complaint in Italy by some relatives of the disappeared who had ties to Italy, one year after the arrest of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was ordered following the investigation by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón.

Among the plaintiffs was the family of Jaime Donato, and the former Chilean military officer Pedro Octavio Espinoza was sentenced to life imprisonment for his disappearance in the second instance on July 8.

The process has sought to clarify responsibilities for the disappearance of about twenty Latin American citizens of Italian origin, political opponents, and left-wing activists who disappeared in the shadows of Operation Condor.

The 24 convicted in Italy are leaders, military officers, and repressors—initially there were more, but they died—including the former Bolivian Interior Minister Luis Arce Gómez and the former Peruvian President Francisco Morales.

In 2017, the Rome Tribunal concluded the trial in the first instance with eight life sentences, including those for García Meza, Arce Gómez, and Juan Carlos Blanco, but the rest were acquitted, including the military officer Jorge Néstor Troccoli, the only one who resides in Italy, having escaped his country in 2007.

AUSTRALIA AND FORMER AGENT ADRIANA RIVAS

Jaime Donato's eldest son, Iván Donato, resides in Australia, where former DINA agent Adriana Rivas is also located; she is sought by Chile for her alleged participation in the disappearance of seven members of the Partido Comunista, including Víctor Díaz.

According to the file, Díaz was detained on May 12, 1976, one week after Jaime Donato, and was tortured for several months, after which his remains were thrown into the sea at an undetermined location.

Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo.com 31/7/2019

Date: 07-31-2019

Sentence handed down against 53 DINA agents for crimes against the General Secretary and leaders of the Partido Comunista committed in 1976. (excerpt)

In the ruling (case file 2.182-1998), Minister Vásquez Plaza handed down a sentence against the former repressive agents for their responsibility as authors or accomplices in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, Lenin Adán Díaz Silva, Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández, and Víctor Manuel Díaz López; and for their responsibility in the homicide of the aforementioned Díaz López.

These crimes were perpetrated in 1976 in the Metropolitan Region. In the resolution, the minister sentenced: Former army officers Carlos José Leonardo López Tapia (recently deceased) and Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko to 20 years in prison as authors of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of: Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso and Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, perpetrated starting May 4; of Uldarico Donaire Cortez and Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, committed starting May 5; of Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, perpetrated starting May 6; of Lenin Adán Díaz Silva, committed starting May 9; of Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández, perpetrated starting May 12; and of Víctor Manuel Díaz López, perpetrated starting May 12, all in the year 1976. Former police officer and currently a fugitive from justice Ricardo Víctor Lawrence Mires must serve 20 years in prison as the author of the eight crimes of aggravated kidnapping; plus 15 years in prison as a co-author of the aggravated homicide of Víctor Díaz López, perpetrated on an undetermined day in the first fortnight of January 1977. Meanwhile, agents Heriberto del Carmen Acevedo, Emilio Hernán Troncoso Vivallos, Claudio Enrique Pacheco Fernández, Jorge Iván Díaz Radulovich, Orlando del Tránsito Altamirano Sanhueza, Eduardo Patricio Cabezas Mardones, Pedro Segundo Bitterlich Jaramillo, Guillermo Eduardo Díaz Ramírez, Orlando Jesús Torrejón Gatica, Víctor Manuel Álvarez Droguett, Carlos Enrique Miranda Mesa, Carlos Eusebio López Inostroza, and Lionel de la Cruz Medrano Medrano Rivas must serve 13 years in prison as co-authors of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, and Víctor Manuel Díaz López; and as accomplices in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Lenin Adán Díaz Silva and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández. Agent Juvenal Alfonso Piña Garrido must serve a sentence of 13 years in prison as a co-author of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, and Víctor Manuel Díaz López; and as an accomplice in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Lenin Adán Díaz Silva and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández; in addition to 12 years in prison as a co-author of the aggravated homicide of Víctor Díaz López. Agent José Alfonso Ojeda Obando was sentenced to 11 years in prison as a co-author of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Víctor Manuel Díaz López and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández; and as an accomplice in the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, and Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda. Agent José Domingo Seco Alarcón was sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison as a co-author of the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Víctor Manuel Díaz López and as an accomplice in the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández. Agents Roberto Hernán Rodríguez Manquel and Leónidas Emiliano Méndez Moreno must serve 7 years in prison as accomplices in the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Mario Jaime Zamorano Donoso, Onofre Jorge Muñoz Poutays, Uldarico Donaire Cortez, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Elisa del Carmen Escobar Cepeda, Víctor Manuel Díaz López, Lenin Adán Díaz Silva, and Eliana Marina Espinoza Fernández.

Source: resumen.cl 4/12/2018 (excerpt)

Date: 12-04-2018

Italian justice system orders the capture of 146 Latin American repressors

Managua On December 24, the Italian judiciary decided to prosecute 146 members of South American repressive bodies (61 Argentines, 33 Uruguayans, 23 Chileans, seven Bolivians, four Peruvians, eleven Brazilians, and seven Paraguayans, six of whom have already died) who operated during the Latin American dictatorships of the 70s and 80s in the framework of the sadly famous "Condor Plan." The judge of preliminary investigations (GIP, by its Italian acronym), Luisanna Figliolia, issued the arrest warrants, thereby accepting the request of the deputy prosecutor of the Rome Criminal Court, Giancarlo Capaldo, who, starting in 1998 and following complaints filed by the relatives of 25 citizens of Italian origin who were disappeared (1), conducted a long investigation into the Condor Plan, gathering the necessary evidence to request the prosecution and extradition of all those investigated. Among the recipients of the arrest warrants are former dictators Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Massera (Argentina), Juan Maria Bordaberry and his successor, Gregorio Álvarez (Uruguay), the head of the Chilean DINA Manuel Contreras, the former president of Peru (1975-80) Francisco Morales, and former Prime Minister Pedro Richter Prada (1979-80), former Uruguayan ministers Walter Ravenna (Defense), Juan Carlos Blanco and Alejandro Rovira (Foreign Affairs), former head of the Uruguayan Navy Víctor Ibargoyen, and former Paraguayan Interior Minister Sabino Augusto Montanaro Ciarletti (1967-89), former Brazilian Colonel Carlos Alberto Ponzi, and retired Brazilian General Agnaldo del Nero Augusto. To try to understand the deeper meaning, but also the symbolic significance of this new stage in the search for truth and justice, Sirel spoke with Jair Krishke, of the Movement for Justice and Human Rights of Rio Grande do Sul (MJDH) and the main interlocutor for the families of Italian-Argentines disappeared in Brazil during the dictatorial regime. -Before addressing the action taken by the Italian justice system, I would like us to talk a little about what the Condor Plan was for the Latin American continent. -The Condor Plan was created at a meeting in Santiago de Chile in November 1975, where the repressive forces of different South American countries agreed to combat those they considered "subversives," using totally illegal means and without any respect for national laws. Geographical borders no longer mattered, only ideological ones, and they began to organize operations to kidnap and transfer people to other countries. Most of the time, these clandestinely detained people were tortured, murdered, or disappeared. In the case of Brazil, this practice was already developed before the Condor Plan. -What role did these 146 people who are being prosecuted by the Italian judiciary play in the Condor Plan, and how was it achieved that the Italian justice system acted in such an incisive way? -In 1998, the relatives of 25 Italian-Argentines and Italian-Uruguayans who were disappeared went to prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo to report and ask for these cases to be investigated. The prosecutor traveled to Argentina to take statements, and I also participated, testifying about what happened. Returning to Italy, Dr. Capaldo continued the investigations, also asking for the support of different human rights organizations. In my case, he asked me to explain how the organization of Brazilian repression worked. It was a long job, but it was very interesting to sit down and think and write about exactly how this repressive monster worked and with what dynamics. I was able to reconstruct how it was organized and what people made up the chain of command of the Brazilian repressive apparatus, responsible, among others, for the cases that the Italian justice system is handling regarding Horacio Domingo Campiglia and Lorenzo Ismael Viñas. Without a doubt, the people who are now being prosecuted in Italy were in command of the repressive operations. -What is the significance of this judicial action and what importance can it have for the future? -In the case of some countries, such as Argentina, Uruguay, and to a lesser extent Chile, the process of prosecuting those responsible for these crimes is quite advanced. In Brazil, on the other hand, nothing was ever done. That is why this Italian judicial action has had a great impact and is provoking different reactions among people who were convinced that they would never be prosecuted, that they were practically immune, and it also provokes reactions within the current Lula government, where there are Ministers who were victims of the dictatorship. Without a doubt, what is happening in Italy is very important, because it is once again awakening interest in something that was being forgotten. There was great media coverage, and now a Senator of the Republic is thinking of calling the Senate Human Rights Commission to summon the involved military officers to testify. -The MJDH, and of course, you personally, have been working for many years on the issue of human rights violations that occurred in the 70s and 80s in Brazil and on the Latin American continent. What concrete, but also symbolic, meaning does memory have for you and for the victims' families? Knowing what happened is a fundamental right of people and of democracy. Democracy has requirements. I always say that democracy is very similar to a pregnant woman: either she is pregnant or she is not, there is no other alternative. The same goes for democracy: either it is democracy in its full plenitude or it is not democracy. We cannot think of a democracy, strengthen it, support it, consolidate it if we are not clear about what happened in those years. To be able to look forward, it is important to know who did what and to rescue this recent history of our countries. Without resolving this past, which here in the region we call the "years of lead," because of how heavy, hard, and gray they were, it is not possible to move forward. With this action by the Italian justice system, this issue returns to the table, and the relatives of the disappeared people in all these countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia) share the same feeling, which is not one of revenge, but of justice. That is to say, they want these gentlemen to be given a full right to defense, which they did not give their victims, but they must be judged for the crimes committed. -Currently, of the 146 people prosecuted, only the former member of the Uruguayan Navy's intelligence service (FUSNA), Néstor Jorge Fernández Tróccoli, is detained, as he already resided in Italy. What possibility is there that the others will also be extradited to Italy? -In Brazil, the Constitution does not allow the extradition of a Brazilian citizen, but the Judiciary has the duty to judge these criminals in Brazil, and what Italy is asking for cannot be ignored. I always say that the last power to re-democratize after a dictatorship is the justice system, but in this case, there are also bilateral agreements and a direct international commitment between Italy and Brazil regarding Criminal Law, which obliges Brazil to act in this way. At the same time, people and organizations need to pressure the justice system to fulfill its duty. Another issue that is now entering the debate is that of amnesty, and in this sense, the Brazilian Minister of Justice, Tarso Genro, has already declared something about it. I have known Genro for a long time, and he is a person who suffered repression directly; he was exiled in Uruguay. It must be clarified that the Amnesty Law in Brazil is dated August 28, 1979, so it has nothing to do with these cases, because they refer to events that occurred in 1980. Furthermore, it is being said that the crimes are prescribed. It is true that homicide cases can prescribe, but the cases handled in Italy are disappearances, and according to the Brazilian Penal Code, disappearance is a continuous crime. As long as the body or the person does not appear, the crime continues. The Brazilian justice system has a challenge in its hands: to decide on this issue, which can also serve for other cases. There are some countries that can extradite, and my perception is that several will do so; in any case, with these international arrest warrants, these people will not be able to leave their countries for fear of being captured and transferred to Italy. -What has been the reaction of people to this news? -I will give you an example. After the news coming from Italy broke, many people I don't know stop me and greet me on the street, they congratulate me. The same thing happened to me in Argentina and Uruguay. I think that if this brutality that happened in our region had happened in Europe, they would have already made books, movies, academic studies, but in this part of the world, it is much more difficult, and when something like what happened in Italy occurs, people are encouraged and have new hope. -How can people in Italy and in the world participate in this new stage of the struggle to reach the truth? -They can manifest by addressing the institutions that are involved in our countries, and they can even send letters of support for the work being done to our email. Note (1) Daniel Álvaro Banfi Baranzano, Gerardo Gatti, Maria Emilia Islas de Zaffaroni, Armando Bernardo Arnone Hernandez, Juan Pablo Recagno Ibarburu, Andrés Humberto Domingo Bellizzi, Ileana Sara Maria Garcia Ramos de Dossetti, Edmundo Sabino Dossetti Techeira, Yolanda Iris Casco Ghelpi de D’Elia, Julio Cesar D’Elia Pallares, Raul Edgardo Borelli Cattaneo, Raul Gambaro Nuñez, Hector Orlando Giordano Corazzo, Guillermo Tamburini, Maria Cecilia Magnet Ferrero, Luis Faustino Stamponi Corinaldesi, Mafalda Corinaldesi de Stamponi, Alejandro José Logoluso Di Martino, Dora Marta Landi Gil, Horacio Domingo Campiglia Pedamonti, Lorenzo Ismael Viñas Gigli, Juan José Montiglio Murua, Omar Roberto Venturelli Lionelli, Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño, Juan Bosco Maino Canales.

Source: alai.info.cl 9/1/2008

Date: 01-09-2008

Calle Conferencia: Court of Appeals dismisses case against General (ret.) Manuel Contreras

The Second Chamber of the Santiago Court of Appeals dismissed and exonerated the former head of the dissolved Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), General (ret.) Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, of all responsibility.

The retired officer, according to lawyer Juan Carlos Manss, was being investigated for the kidnappings suffered by the leadership of the Partido Comunista in 1976, a case known as "Calle Conferencia." According to ministers Dobra Lusic, Rosa María Maggi, and the participating lawyer Ángela Radovic, it is appropriate to apply the principle of res judicata.

In 2002, the summer chamber of the capital's appellate court dismissed Contreras's participation in the disappearances of Jorge Muñoz, Mario Zamorano, Jaime Donato, Víctor Díaz López, and Eliana Espinoza Fernández, who were detained in an operation deployed between April and August 1976, which was aimed at neutralizing PC militants in the underground.

Later, the resolution was confirmed by the Supreme Court, and the special judge Juan Guzmán Tapia had to desist from investigating him. Lawyer Manns stated that with this ruling, it is clear that his client had no participation in the illicit acts being investigated.

Source: September 2, 2005 La Nacion

Date: 09-02-2005

Conferencia Case: Judge Guzmán issues final dismissal for Contreras

Special judge Juan Guzmán Tapia decided to definitively dismiss the case against the former director of the DINA, General (ret.) Manuel Contreras, for the Calle Conferencia case, where the disappearance of the leadership of the Partido Comunista after the 1973 military coup is being investigated.

Defense lawyer Juan Carlos Manns declared to Radio Cooperativa that the judge applied the final dismissal because a decision of this type had already been adopted previously by the Santiago Court of Appeals.

In this case, the disappearance of communist leaders detained on May 4, 1976, at Conferencia 1587 is being investigated. Among the victims is Jorge Muñoz (husband of Gladys Marín), Mario Zamorano Donoso, Jaime Donato Avedaño, Uldarico Donaire Cortés, and Elisa Escobar Cepeda.

In addition, it is estimated that Víctor Díaz López, father of the president of the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos, Viviana Díaz, died in the crime. Primera Linea June 25, 2002 Conferencia Case: Plaintiffs appeal Contreras's dismissal The plaintiff lawyer in the Calle Conferencia case, Nelson Caucoto, appealed to the Santiago Court of Appeals against the resolution of special judge Juan Guzmán to dismiss the case against the former director of the dissolved DINA, General (ret.) Manuel Contreras.

The magistrate closed the process against Contreras by applying the principle of "res judicata," ratifying a similar resolution from the capital's appellate court. For the professional, the resolution affects his clients, the children of Bernardo Araya, former secretary of the Central Unica de Trabajadores (CUT), who has been disappeared since an apartment on Calle Alejandro Fierro on April 30, 1976.

Caucoto explained that it is not possible to apply the principle of "res judicata" since the facts of these detentions, known as the Calle Venecia case, parallel to the Calle Conferencia case, were never investigated.

In this case, the disappearance of communist leaders detained on May 4, 1976, at Conferencia 1587 is being investigated. Among the victims is Jorge Nuñez (husband of Gladys Marín), Mario Zamorano Donoso, Jaime Donato Avedaño, Uldarico Donaire Cortés, and Elisa Escobar Cepeda.

In addition, it is estimated that Víctor Díaz López, father of the president of the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos, Viviana Díaz, died in the crime.

Source: Primera Linea June 21, 2002

Date: 06-21-2002

Exclusive: Italian prosecutor investigates Pinochet's footprint in disappearances in Chile

Since Sunday, Italian prosecutor Giancarlo Capalbo has been in the country to advance the investigation into the forced disappearance of four Italian-Chilean citizens detained during the dictatorship. Although it is a process initiated in Italy that is still in its investigative stage, the case has already been the subject of a request to Chile asking for the designation of a lawyer for Augusto Pinochet.

The instructor's trip aims to collect background information on the cases of Juan Bosco Maino Canales, Omar Roberto Venturelli Leonelli, Juan Montiglio Murúa, and Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño. The latter two appear in the Armed Forces report as having been thrown into the sea off the coast of San Antonio.

Capalbo has already met with the victims' families, the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos, and this morning, he will hold a meeting with human rights lawyers Hugo Gutiérrez, Fabiola Letelier, and Julia Urquieta.

On the prosecutor's agenda for Thursday is the interrogation of some witnesses and a meeting with the judge in charge of the Caravana de la Muerte process, Juan Guzmán, still without a set time. Although the process is still in its preliminary stage, Italian sources assured Primera Línea that, at least in the Venturelli case, the indicted General Augusto Pinochet, Colonel (ret.) Marcelo Moren Brito, lawyer Alfonso Pollec Michaaud, as well as civilians Máximo Vivanco, Pablo Márquez, Pedro Calderón, and Nelson Ubilla would be involved.

The investigation of the case was triggered in 1998, after Green Party Senator Stefano Boco requested the clarification of Venturelli's disappearance. One of the particularities of the Italian judicial system is that the trial can be held "by right of blood," which implies the initiation of proceedings in absentia for crimes committed anywhere in the world against citizens of the peninsula.

In fact, the former director of the DINA, Manuel Contreras, and former agent Raúl Iturriaga Neumann were prosecuted and sentenced to 20 and 18 years in prison, respectively, for the attack against Bernardo Leighton and his wife Anita Fresno, perpetrated in Rome in October 1975.

Once the criminal complaint is filed, a prosecutor is designated to act as a public accuser (in this case, Capalbo), in a process similar to the designation of a first-instance judge. When he concludes his investigation, and if he believes that the necessary background exists, the instructor can initiate a formal accusation, which must be resolved by the Corte de Assise, a tribunal composed of two magistrates and six other people.

In August of last year, the prosecutor sent a request to Chile regarding the disappearance of the four mentioned cases, all recorded in the Rettig Report. However, Italian sources assured that on that occasion, it was only a notification for Augusto Pinochet to designate a lawyer in Rome in charge of his defense in the trial.

In addition, other sources assured that at this stage of the process, several Chileans have already testified as witnesses, including socialist deputies Carlos Montes and Isabel Allende, writer Luis Sepúlveda, and the vice president of the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos, Mireya García.

Source: Primera Linea June 13, 2001

Date: 06-13-2001

Italy: Relatives of the disappeared hopeful about process against Pinochet

The vice president of the Association of Relatives of the Disappeared during the Chilean military dictatorship, Mirella García, expressed in Rome her hope that Italy will open a process against General (ret.) Augusto Pinochet for the detention and subsequent disappearance of five Italian-Chileans under his regime (1973-90).

Mirella García testified before prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo, who is in charge of the preliminary investigation to determine if the conditions exist to initiate a process not only against Pinochet but also against the head of his secret services, Manuel Contreras.

Capaldo leads the investigation into the disappearance of Juan Montillo, Omar Venturelli, Giovanni Maino, Jaime Donato, and Dignaldo Pizzini.

Source: TERCERA- Rome, July 6, 2000

Date: 07-06-2000