Jorge Hernán Espinoza Farías, 19 years old, with no known political affiliation, was detained on October 7, 1973, at approximately 06:30 hours at his home in the Población San Gregorio. This occurred as a result of a vast operation carried out in that sector by joint forces of the Military, Carabineros, and investigative personnel, who proceeded to raid houses and remove all males over 15 years of age from their respective homes, leading them to a soccer field located in front of the local Carabineros station.

From the victim's parents' home, his father, Raúl Espinoza, 63 years old, his brother Carlos Antonio, 23 years old, and the victim, Jorge Hernán Espinoza, were forced to leave. Another brother, Jaime Espinoza Farías, was also detained at his home.

On the aforementioned field, the detainees remained in groups, in rows; there were approximately one thousand people, all residents of the sector where the operation took place, which included Avda. Serena, Avda.

Américo Vespucio, Avda. Punta Arenas, and Avda. Tomé. They were forced to remain standing for long hours while waiting for their records to be checked. Through loudspeakers, it was ordered that those who did not carry an identity card move to another row, an order the victim complied with. His father was able to observe how they beat him and marked his back with white paint.

At approximately 14:00 hours, the victim's father and his brothers, Jaime César and Carlos Antonio, were released, but this did not happen for Jorge Hernán. That same day, the family made various efforts to find his whereabouts, all of which were unsuccessful.

Following the advice of neighbors, they went to the Legal Medical Institute for three weeks, but among the bodies they were allowed to see, they did not recognize their relative. There, they were able to see the bodies of several young people from the Población San Gregorio; one named Julio, who was in a cast, another named Carlos Costa, and a third, known as "Juancho," who had collaborated with the Carabineros by informing on people with political ideas or criminal records in the neighborhood.

All these circumstances were recounted by the victim's sister in the report of alleged disappearance filed with the criminal justice system.

Months later, the family went to the Tres Alamos detention camp, where they were initially told that Jorge Hernán was being held there, but it later turned out to be a case of mistaken surnames, as the detainee was named Oscar Espinoza Farías.

A person detained in the same operation as the victim, who survived a massacre of residents carried out by Carabineros personnel from the Población San Gregorio unit, has shed light on the fate of some of the residents detained on that October 7th who did not regain their freedom that same day.

Indeed, Mr. Carlos Hugo Saavedra Guerra, a carpenter, in a sworn statement made before a Notary Public, states in part that he was detained on October 7, 1973, at his home in the Población San Gregorio and taken along with all males over 16 years of age to a soccer field located in front of the sector's police unit.

He adds that "...after remaining on said soccer field and having our identities checked by investigative officials, I was transferred along with a group of approximately one hundred people to the facilities of the Población San Gregorio Carabineros station.

All of this must have happened around 14:00 hours that day. The majority of the people detained and transferred to said police unit had criminal records for common crimes.

Around 24:00 hours, I was taken out of said police facility along with a group of approximately thirty people. We were made to board a Chevrolet pickup truck; there must have been about two pickup trucks plus a Carabineros jeep.

We were told at that moment that we were being transferred to the National Stadium. In the aforementioned vehicles, we were lying on the floor, one on top of the other, all under the charge of a Carabinero from the Población San Gregorio station.

At a certain point in the journey, the vehicles stopped on the bank of the San Carlos Canal, between Walker Martínez and Avenida Departamental. At that moment, I heard someone say 'the ride ends here' while they made us get off the trucks amidst insults and shoves with the butts of their weapons.

We were placed in a row facing the canal, with the uniformed men positioning themselves behind us. Up to that point, none of the detainees thought it would be a massacre. No one even tried to run or ask for anything.

We were without bindings or blindfolds. I managed to hear the Carabineros say 'ready,' and the discharge of machine guns and rifles began on our bodies. I felt an impact on my left arm and another on my left maxillo-facial area, which caused me to collapse to the ground; at no time did I lose consciousness, nor did I emit groans despite the intense pain; I felt blood running from my jaw, which fell in a thin stream to the ground.

Next to me, all the other bodies were lying; groans could be heard; one of the Carabineros said, 'these ones aren't dead yet...'; having said this, they began to finish us off with bursts of machine-gun fire.

I was hit again, this time with a bullet in the back with an exit wound at the level of the heart. Again, I found myself conscious and aware of the situation around me. At that moment, I heard the uniformed men say: 'they are all ready, let's start throwing them into the canal... on this side... no, over there.' They began to throw the bodies into the bed of the San Carlos Canal.

When they were reaching the place where I was, I heard the Carabineros say again, 'how many are left?', another replied 'two,' 'alright, just leave them there, let's go.' After that, I heard them drive away in the vehicles they brought us in.

Finding myself alone, I realized there was a corpse near me; I did not approach it. The place was completely in the dark. I decided to leave the place and try to reach the 14th stop of Vicuña Mackenna in some way, in order to ask for help from a relative who lived in the sector. I began to move with great difficulty due to my wounds and the loss of blood I was suffering at that moment."

Later, the witness recounts how he managed to reach his home and subsequently the Barros Luco Hospital, where he received medical attention.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

The family of Jorge Hernán Espinoza Farías made multiple efforts to find the victim's whereabouts. They visited police stations, the Legal Medical Institute, and the Tres Alamos prisoner camp, without obtaining positive results.

On January 29, 1991, they filed a report of alleged disappearance of the victim with the San Miguel Criminal Court, which was registered under case number 8813-6. Without establishing the victim's fate, the judge declared a temporary dismissal. This resolution was appealed, and as of March 1992, the ruling of the Presidente Aguirre Cerda Court of Appeals was pending.

The anthropomorphic records of Jorge Hernán Espinoza Farías were attached to case 4449 AF of the 22nd Criminal Court of Santiago, regarding the crime of illegal burial in Patio 29 of the General Cemetery of unidentified persons who died between September and December 1973.

The investigating judge of the case ordered the excavation of 108 graves in September 1991. From there, 125 bodies were exhumed and sent to the Legal Medical Institute. Currently (late 1992), the expert identification reports are pending.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity

The book "Breaking the Silence of Children and Adolescents Who Were Political Executions During the Civic-Military Dictatorship 1973-1990" incorporates testimonies, photographs, letters, and other documents that families and friends provided or wrote specifically to be published.

It was produced by the Association of Relatives of Political Executions (AFEP) with the support of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage, through the Culture, Memory, and Human Rights Unit, and the Human Rights Chair of the University of Chile.

The publication, based mainly on the Report of the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (1991) and the Report of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (1996), seeks to reconstruct each of the victims' lives and stories in a comprehensive and careful manner.

During the research, the archive of the Association of Relatives of Political Executions was accessed, where documents that families have preserved over the years are kept. Illustrations by Álvaro Gómez were also included.

The creation process was a complex challenge that involved combining delicacy, respect, and methodological rigor to state a painful and inescapable truth in this work.

Source: cultura.gobierno.cl 20/4/2023

Date: 04-20-2023

PATIO 29 BEHIND THE IRON CROSS (book)

Patio 29 Behind the iron cross

INTRODUCTION

The reasons for creating this book are evident. The history of Patio 29 is certainly one of the most intense and painful human experiences that the dictatorship has left us, as well as one of the most unknown; of course, until that fateful April of 2006 when we learned of the scandal caused by the error in identities.

To the damage caused by the violence of those 17 years, the eternal anguish of the encounter that does not happen was added. When it was thought that the search had ended, that recognition had been achieved, and that one could face life with different eyes, the feeling of deep pain and uncontrollable anguish returned. (excerpt) Javiera Bustamante / Stephan Ruderer

Source: academia.edu 2009, ocholibros: Santiago