On February 26, 1984, Augusto Pinochet witnessed the displeasure of the people of Punta Arenas as he paraded through the city's main square, where the national anthem was unable to drown out the shouts and slogans of the people. That same year, in October, a bomb attack by the Army left one soldier dead: 34 years after these events, memory becomes paramount.

They said it to his face!

Manuel Rodríguez, a sociologist and political scientist, leans back in his chair as he remembers the first months of 1984. He was one more person resisting the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and from his trench, the "Grupo de los 24," a circle of academics who conducted constitutional studies, he remembers the arrival of the dictator in Punta Arenas and that key year for the regional opposition.

"These events, 'El Puntarenazo' and the 'Fátima Bombing,' have a prelude," he points out, referring to the cabildos: open meetings held behind closed doors. These were made up of various social organizations, from the Comando Multigremial to the different political parties in the area, crossing paths with citizen entities, human rights groups, women's groups, and youth groups.

Since any type of permit to meet would be denied by municipal directives, the convening organizations turned to the Catholic Church. "Bishop Tomás González ceded different church grounds so that we could meet, and that is how we made use of the halls of four local churches: the San Miguel parish, the Cristo Obrero gymnasium, (the parish of) Cristo Redentor in Playa Norte, and the Nuestra Señora de Fátima parish," he detailed.

The dynamic of these meetings consisted of an initial speech, given by a leader, who then gave the floor to anyone who wanted to express their grievances, ideas, or projects regarding what was being gestated at that time. "Because we were an opposition different from the rest of the country, much more united, since the center coalitions did not work here," explains Rodríguez.

Front page of La Prensa Austral the day after the Puntarenazo

Thus, and through the four cabildos held—the last one convened just two days before the arrival of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Army—at the Fátima Parish in the 18 de Septiembre neighborhood, the idea of a demonstration was solidified, the shouts, slogans, and banners that would confront him that day.

At 11 in the morning on February 26, the protesters began to arrive at the Plaza de Armas, exchanging glances and gathering in one of the corners, among the spectators of the military parade. An hour later, the classic Mercedes Benz appeared after the bugle call, and Pinochet stepped out. "The national anthem begins, and as he starts to parade, the shouting also begins," the sociologist recalls.

The shouts echoed due to the location of the protesters, close to one of the tallest buildings in the city, the Cathedral of Punta Arenas, making the noise much more enveloping: "And it will fall! And it will fall!" Then a little laugh escapes Rodríguez. "Pinochet was red with rage, but not an eyelash moved, not even when they threw a dead rabbit at him," he remembers.

The song ends, he returns to his car, and the Carabineros launch themselves against the protesters who had fled toward the church.

But it was not just that; soldiers from the Pudeto Regiment surrounded the cathedral with their bayonets. Something that—Rodríguez asserts, still with astonishment in his eyes—"had never been seen in all the years of the dictatorship." The parish priests and church officials, such as Marcos Buvinic, decided to let the protesters in and intervene for them with the police force; however, 16 people had already been detained.

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It would be this demonstration that would provoke the so-called Fátima Bombing, the failed attempt by the Chilean Army that culminated in one of its own men being killed due to the impact of the bomb, only eight months later.

Fátima Bombing

"In the (18 de Septiembre) neighborhood, the wind always blows like this," says the receptionist inside the Nuestra Señora de Fátima Parish when the wind becomes much more violent and whistles through the window. We both wait for Marcos Buvinic, the parish priest of the church and an eyewitness to the October 1984 attack.

The church has been completely remodeled; however, it has several symbols that recall what happened 34 years ago. The most striking is the figure of a virgin at the entrance; her hands, however, are on a glass-covered shelf that came loose as a result of the impact.

The door opens and Marcos Buvinic appears, tall and gray-haired, with a half-smile on his face. Although he was "raised in the north," as he explains himself, his whole life was linked to Punta Arenas, where he finally settled after finishing his specialization in Santiago.

The conversation, as it turns toward the attack and the repression of the dictatorship in Punta Arenas, becomes more solemn. "1984 was a very hard year, of much fear, of much intimidation," he says with his eyes fixed on the wooden desk, and adds: "We were constantly followed."

The Catholic Church became the new focus of the dictatorship after what happened in February; a month later they placed a noise bomb in the San Miguel Parish, which set fire to the doors of the temple. Buvinic crosses his legs while he recounts: "They had become obsessed with Bishop Tomás González, who for them was the ringleader of all this, and they later took me prisoner for a day."

Finally, in the early hours of October 6, that tension became evident and inevitable. According to the account of a guard at the kindergarten located in front of the church grounds, four soldiers entered it, disappearing inside and leaving after a few minutes. "But one of them returns, I don't know if something went wrong or what, but it was there that it detonated, killing him instantly," the priest describes.

Patricio Contreras Martínez, the DINE agent who died, served as a lieutenant in the Pudeto Infantry Regiment, located fifteen minutes from the parish. "Everything suggests that he was leaning over at the moment of the detonation; that would explain how his body ended up," Buvinic points out.

"We collected all the pieces of flesh and it resulted in a little pile of no more than five kilos," says Buvinic, moving his hands, mimicking a bundle on the desk. "I arrived in the early morning, I didn't understand anything, they were calling me from the adjacent houses when everything was in the dark," he adds, recounting that while illuminating the entrance of a house with the headlights of his truck, they received him by handing him a military boot: the foot was inside it.

The wind continues to blow just as furiously as hours ago, however, Marcos Buvinic has dull eyes, trapped in the past. "When it cleared up, we found the TIFA (Armed Forces Identification Card) of Patricio Contreras Martínez, half-scorched against one of the fences that surrounded the temple, which was partially destroyed due to the impact of the bomb," he remembers.

Days later, Tomás González held a gathering at the remains of the Fátima Parish. Thousands and thousands of people from different sectors of Punta Arenas arrived at the 18 de Septiembre neighborhood, raising their hands in the air, a gesture that demonstrated their innocence. "There was not only the fear that it would be repeated, but that they would take anyone and kill them, since they had already reached these limits," Buvinic confesses.

However, similar acts were not recorded again in Magallanes. For its part, the Army never assumed its responsibility until the year 2003, when it decided to offer a reparatory act to the church, fixing and painting some rooms inside. In legal terms, the case was closed in 2007, leaving the other identified soldiers, Gonzalo Jara Padilla, Humberto Olmedo Álvarez, and Milton Muñoz Campos, free.

"I think that as a police case it is closed, there are identified culprits, there is institutional recognition, a reparatory work; from a formal point of view it is closed," says Father Buvinic finally, who adds: "But another thing is an ethical point of view and I think that is never closed. What are the institutional, psychological mechanisms that make it possible for this to be reached?"

It is a constant questioning, which is only answered with a culture of regional and national memory born from the citizenry. Punta Arenas has a virtual memory museum, a House of Human Rights soon to become a Memory Museum, and likewise, every year for Human Rights Day, a commemorative walk is held through all the sites that were touched by the dictatorship.

Actions that, definitely, should be repeated in all parts of the country.

Source: elciudadano.com, February 26, 2018

The investigating judge accuses them of terrorist conduct. Among those prosecuted is a retired general.

The judge of the Punta Arenas Court of Appeals, Renato Campos, resolved last Thursday to prosecute three retired military officers for the attack on the Fátima parish temple, which occurred in 1984. On October 6 of that year, the community was shocked after a bomb almost completely destroyed this religious site, located in the 18 de Septiembre neighborhood.

The three prosecuted for the so-called "Fátima Bombing" are Gonzalo Jara Padilla, who retired from the institution in 2002 with the rank of general; retired non-commissioned officer Humberto Olmedo Álvarez; and retired non-commissioned officer Milton Muñoz Campos.

As a consequence of this event, the agent of the military government's security agencies and material author of the act, Captain Patricio Contreras, died at the scene after the explosive device he was carrying and manipulating while in a state of intoxication was activated.

After years of investigation and the dismissal of the case, information was obtained through Judge Sergio Muñoz, who was investigating the murder of union leader Tucapel Jiménez.

Muñoz obtained relevant information about the case through interrogations of former intelligence agents, among them retired non-commissioned officer Humberto Olmedo.

In the year 2000, the judge received a statement for Judge Campos that gave an account of what happened in the early hours of October 6, 1984, and that contained the name of a second person participating in the attack, along with the deceased officer.

However, when he was interrogated by Judge Campos, he denied any connection to the case, just as another former soldier did, who retracted what he had declared to Sergio Muñoz.

The plaintiff lawyer for the Bishopric of Punta Arenas, Luis Díaz, requested the revocation of the dismissal of the case in June 2004; to decree proceedings and to prosecute a former Army sergeant for the crime of obstruction of justice.

In parallel, the Supreme Court ordered the case to be reopened. With this, the investigating judge requested several proceedings, among them, calling Humberto Olmedo to testify again, who is being prosecuted for obstruction of justice.

Once Judge Renato Campos's investigation was concluded, he determined to also prosecute Gonzalo Jara and Milton Muñoz. All three must be detained by resolution of Judge Campos as co-authors of the crime of "terrorist conduct."

The plaintiff lawyer, Luis Díaz, specified that there was sufficient evidence confirming that Captain Patricio Contreras had not participated alone in this attack, especially due to the statements of the other people who were part of this case.

Source: El Mercurio, March 20, 2006

Supreme Court ruled against the Bishopric of Punta Arenas regarding CNI attack on a parish

Applying a criterion of legal procedure, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled against the Bishopric of Punta Arenas by rejecting an appeal in cassation that sought to annul the benefit of the statute of limitations due to the passage of time, granted by the Punta Arenas Court of Appeals to three former CNI agents—retired General Gonzalo Jara and retired non-commissioned officers Humberto Olmedo and Milton Muñoz—prosecuted as authors of the explosive attack on the Fátima parish that occurred on October 6, 1984.

The plaintiff lawyer, Luis Díaz Coñuecar, based his cassation by appealing to the preeminence of international law over local law, as it was a crime against humanity because it was a reprisal for the protests against Augusto Pinochet.

But the Criminal Chamber did not enter into the substantive analysis but rather dismissed the appeal for failure to comply with criminal procedural procedure. Thus, the attack that destroyed the parish remained without sanction, since against the resolution of the Criminal Chamber, no further appeal is possible.

The attack occurred shortly after the so-called "Puntarenazo," with which the population of Punta Arenas protested against the dictator's visit. The demonstration was linked to the period of the great street protests against the dictatorship, which in several cities and especially in Santiago left dozens dead.

Source: La Nación, October 9, 2007

Supreme Court puts an end to the Fátima Case

After 23 years, the Supreme Court put an end to the Fátima case. The country's highest court rejected as inadmissible the appeal for cassation filed by the Bishopric's lawyer, the plaintiff in the case.

They applied the statute of limitations regarding the case followed against three soldiers who were being prosecuted for terrorist conduct. After the dismissal of the former Army personnel, the bombing attack was closed definitively without culprits.

The Supreme Court of Justice put an end to the criminal process opened in October 1984 regarding the tragic bombing attack that destroyed the Fátima temple in Punta Arenas and that cost the life of Army Lieutenant Patricio Contreras Martínez.

As of yesterday, the Criminal Chamber confirmed the statute of limitations in the investigation against retired General Gonzalo Jara Padilla and retired non-commissioned officers Humberto Olmedo Álvarez and Milton Muñoz Campos, who were being prosecuted for violation of Law 18.314, on terrorist conduct, for placing a bomb in the aforementioned Catholic parish.

In a unanimous ruling, the judges Alberto Chaigneau (president and drafter), Nibaldo Segura, Jaime Rodríguez, Rubén Ballesteros, and Hugo Dolmestch rejected the appeal for cassation presented by the Bishopric's plaintiff lawyer, Luis Díaz Coñuecar.

In this way, the ruling of the Court of Appeals of this city, which on January 23 applied the statute of limitations to the criminal action, was fully confirmed.

This means that the responsibility for the investigated events is totally and absolutely extinguished regarding the three former soldiers prosecuted in the case, a resolution that meant—at the beginning of last year—remaining detained in Army facilities in Punta Arenas.

"Historic Day"

In the opinion of one of the defense lawyers, Daniel Mackinnon, yesterday, October 8, was a historic day, as 23 years ago, on a day like yesterday, the criminal process for the bombing attack against the Fátima temple formally began in Punta Arenas.

From a professional point of view, Mackinnon expressed his full satisfaction with the work carried out during this year and a half that he was responsible for defending the three former uniformed officers. "It was an arduous and diligent team effort (alluding to the work carried out jointly with his colleague Dagoberto Arias), being able to demonstrate in the end that the participation of our prosecuted clients was reduced to zero."

The lawyer highlighted that it is a consistent ruling, of 15 considerations, clearly establishing that the appeal for cassation promoted by the plaintiff party was poorly filed, as it did not contain any of the seven grounds for nullity required by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The hearing of the case—before the Supreme Court—took place last Wednesday, September 26, with the participation in the arguments of lawyers Luis Díaz Coñuecar, for the plaintiff party, and professionals Daniel Mackinnon and Dagoberto Arias, for the prosecuted.

The plaintiff lawyer tried to reverse the decision of the Punta Arenas Court of Appeals, invoking for that purpose international conventions and treaties, which maintain that crimes against humanity are imprescriptible and not subject to amnesty. The opposing party, meanwhile, argued that the statute of limitations was fully applicable in this case.

The statute of limitations for this case after little more than two decades of investigation was agreed upon at the local level—in January of this year—with the votes of judges Hugo Faúndez and Virginia Bravo.

A third judge, María Isabel San Martín, did not share that opinion, leaning in favor of what was resolved by the trial judge Renato Campos, who denied giving way to the claim expressed by the defenses of the prosecuted.

Resolutive Part

After 9 months of the previous ruling, as of yesterday, the magistrates of the Supreme Court considered that the appeal for cassation filed by the Bishopric is not the way to appeal against the Punta Arenas sentence, since it is an appeal of strict law. "As can be observed, it is evident that the appellant does not point out or presuppose any of the seven exhaustive grounds established by article 546 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the only path that allows for founding an appeal for cassation in criminal matters," the ruling says.

And it adds: "That, given the failure to comply with an obligation that corresponded exclusively to the appellant to observe, regarding specifying concretely the ground or grounds invoked for the acceptance of the appeal, to then develop it and link it with the legal norms that it considers infringed, which is not fulfilled; given the insufficiency of its explanation and generic civil citation, they prevent this Court from entering to analyze its admissibility, since it would mean for these judges entering to suppose the ground and the foundations of the appeal, which does not allow determining, with complete precision, in what the error of law consisted, which will lead to its rejection."

After this sentence, which exonerates the three former soldiers prosecuted in the case, the attack remains without culprits.

Source: La Prensa Austral of Punta Arenas, October 9, 2007

Commander-in-Chief of the V Army Division is willing to collaborate with justice

The Commander-in-Chief of the V Army Division is willing to collaborate with justice if the judge investigating the Fátima case requests custody for the three prosecuted in the case.

Ricardo Hargreaves Butron, Commander-in-Chief of the V Division and Southern Military Region, indicated that he has not yet had contact with Judge Renato Campos, who is investigating the Fátima case, but if he wishes to bring the prosecuted to the region, he will collaborate in everything that is at his disposal.

In this way, General Hargreaves referred to the matter when asked by regional media about whether the security conditions are in place to keep the three former soldiers detained in the military barracks of Punta Arenas, due to any provision adopted by Judge Campos.

Regarding the prosecuted, they are Gonzalo Eugenio Pedro Jara Padilla, retired general of the Air Force, and former retired non-commissioned officers Humberto Artemio Olmedo Álvarez and Milton César Muñoz Campos, upon whom, in the opinion of the investigating judge of the case, falls the responsibility of co-authors of terrorist practices provided for and sanctioned in Law 18.314, which determines terrorist-type conduct and also sets its penalty.

Regarding these three prosecuted, it was reported from the capital that they are already in the status of detainees.

Source: radiomagallanes.cl, March 23, 2006

Attack against Catholic Temple will remain unpunished

On other occasions, I have called attention to the aggressions of the Pinochet dictatorship against the Catholics of the country. Perhaps it was logical to expect that the military regime would consider followers of a religious ideology based on piety, solidarity, and social justice as enemies.

A significant case of this stance against Catholics was the attack of October 6, 1984. That day, a group of soldiers placed a bomb in the Fátima Temple of Punta Arenas, destroying it. The soldiers thought they would blame leftist groups for the attack.

The stratagem failed them. The bomb exploded prematurely, causing the death of one of the anti-patriots (Lieutenant Patricio Contreras Martínez). The other participants in the attack (General Gonzalo Jara Padilla and retired non-commissioned officers Humberto Olmedo Álvarez and Milton Muñoz Campos) will never pay for this crime, since the Supreme Court of Chile, in a ruling that again calls into question the progress of justice in matters of human rights trials and the subordination to international legislation, has just dismissed the case, alleging its statute of limitations (despite the fact that the international norm is that crimes of terrorism cannot be prescribed). It seems that the judges have considered it sufficient punishment that one of the cowards lost his life. The news that I share below was published today in the newspaper La Prensa Austral of Punta Arenas. Supreme Court Puts an End to Fátima Case [Santiago/Punta Arenas, Chile]. After 23 years, the Supreme Court put an end to the Fátima case. The country's highest court rejected as inadmissible the appeal for cassation filed by the Bishopric's lawyer, the plaintiff in the case. They applied the statute of limitations regarding the case followed against three soldiers who were being prosecuted for terrorist conduct. After the dismissal of the former Army personnel, the bombing attack was closed definitively without culprits. The Supreme Court of Justice put an end to the criminal process opened in October 1984 regarding the tragic bombing attack that destroyed the Fátima temple in Punta Arenas and that cost the life of Army Lieutenant Patricio Contreras Martínez. As of yesterday, the Criminal Chamber confirmed the statute of limitations in the investigation against retired General Gonzalo Jara Padilla and retired non-commissioned officers Humberto Olmedo Álvarez and Milton Muñoz Campos, who were being prosecuted for violation of Law 18.314, on terrorist conduct, for placing a bomb in the aforementioned Catholic parish. In a unanimous ruling, the judges Alberto Chaigneau (president and drafter), Nibaldo Segura, Jaime Rodríguez, Rubén Ballesteros, and Hugo Dolmestch rejected the appeal for cassation presented by the Bishopric's plaintiff lawyer, Luis Díaz Coñuecar. In this way, the ruling of the Court of Appeals of this city, which on January 23 applied the statute of limitations to the criminal action, was fully confirmed. This means that the responsibility for the investigated events is totally and absolutely extinguished regarding the three former soldiers prosecuted in the case, a resolution that meant—at the beginning of last year—remaining detained in Army facilities in Punta Arenas. "Historic Day" In the opinion of one of the defense lawyers, Daniel Mackinnon, yesterday, October 8, was a historic day, as 23 years ago, on a day like yesterday, the criminal process for the bombing attack against the Fátima temple formally began in Punta Arenas. From a professional point of view, Mackinnon expressed his full satisfaction with the work carried out during this year and a half that he was responsible for defending the three former uniformed officers. "It was an arduous and diligent team effort (alluding to the work carried out jointly with his colleague Dagoberto Arias), being able to demonstrate in the end that the participation of our prosecuted clients was reduced to zero." The lawyer highlighted that it is a consistent ruling, of 15 considerations, clearly establishing that the appeal for cassation promoted by the plaintiff party was poorly filed, as it did not contain any of the seven grounds for nullity required by the Code of Criminal Procedure. The hearing of the case—before the Supreme Court—took place last Wednesday, September 26, with the participation in the arguments of lawyers Luis Díaz Coñuecar, for the plaintiff party, and professionals Daniel Mackinnon and Dagoberto Arias, for the prosecuted. The plaintiff lawyer tried to reverse the decision of the Punta Arenas Court of Appeals, invoking for that purpose international conventions and treaties, which maintain that crimes against humanity are imprescriptible and not subject to amnesty. The opposing party, meanwhile, argued that the statute of limitations was fully applicable in this case. The statute of limitations for this case after little more than two decades of investigation was agreed upon at the local level—in January of this year—with the votes of judges Hugo Faúndez and Virginia Bravo. A third judge, María Isabel San Martín, did not share that opinion, leaning in favor of what was resolved by the trial judge Renato Campos, who denied giving way to the claim expressed by the defenses of the prosecuted. Resolutive Part After 9 months of the previous ruling, as of yesterday, the magistrates of the Supreme Court considered that the appeal for cassation filed by the Bishopric is not the way to appeal against the Punta Arenas sentence, since it is an appeal of strict law. "As can be observed, it is evident that the appellant does not point out or presuppose any of the seven exhaustive grounds established by article 546 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the only path that allows for founding an appeal for cassation in criminal matters," the ruling says. And it adds: "That, given the failure to comply with an obligation that corresponded exclusively to the appellant to observe, regarding specifying concretely the ground or grounds invoked for the acceptance of the appeal, to then develop it and link it with the legal norms that it considers infringed, which is not fulfilled; given the insufficiency of its explanation and generic civil citation, they prevent this Court from entering to analyze its admissibility, since it would mean for these judges entering to suppose the ground and the foundations of the appeal, which does not allow determining, with complete precision, in what the error of law consisted, which will lead to its rejection." After this sentence, which exonerates the three former soldiers prosecuted in the case, the attack remains without culprits.

Source: atinachile.cl, October 9, 2007