Disappearances of individuals linked to the escape of a criminal

Between October 18 and October 25, 1974, in the vicinity of Parral, seven people disappeared following their detention, all of whom were linked by family ties. The captors were all Carabineros from the police station in that city.

The entire situation originated after a well-known criminal from the area broke his parole. From that moment on, this individual hid in various places throughout the area, demanding food and places to sleep from peasants and passersby.

For his search and capture, the Carabineros counted on reinforcements from Ejército troops and the assistance of helicopters. One of the places where this criminal hid was in the house of José Apolinario MUÑOZ SEPULVEDA, 33, and Benedicto de la Rosa SEPULVEDA VALENZUELA, 64, who were not present at the time, but whose families were.

Upon being discovered by Carabineros on that occasion, the fugitive shot and killed two police officers and fled on horseback. The remaining uniformed officers entered the Sepúlveda family home and took everyone into custody.

José Muñoz and Benedicto Sepúlveda presented themselves at the police station on October 18, 1974, in exchange for the release of their relatives. This was the last time they were heard from.

In connection with the same case, Edelmiro Antonio VALDES SEPULVEDA, 42, and Rolando Antonio IBARRA ORTEGA, 32, were summoned to report to the Parral police station due to their connections with "El Aguila." Both were renting a plot of land from the partner of this criminal. They presented themselves on October 25 of that year, and that was the last time they were seen.

Armando Haroldo PEREIRA MERIÑO, 49, and Luis Alcides PEREIRA HERNANDEZ, 31, were also forced to report to the same police station as they knew the aforementioned criminal; they were apparently accused of having provided him with assistance during his flight.

Armando Pereira had even been a classmate of his. They also presented themselves on October 25, and from that moment on, nothing more has been known of them.

The detention and subsequent disappearance of Alcibíades VALENZUELA RETAMAL, 29 years old, is also related to the same fugitive. Carabineros from Parral arrived at his home to look for him, and upon not finding him, according to the account of his relatives, they detained his parents.

Upon turning himself in on October 21, Alcibíades Valenzuela's parents regained their freedom. Of him, however, nothing was ever known again.

In the report sent by the Carabineros to the Court of Appeals of Chillán, the detention of Alcibíades Valenzuela on the date already indicated is acknowledged, and it is added that he was placed at the disposal of a security agency in the area. The Writ of Amparo (Habeas Corpus), therefore, on the basis that the detention had emanated from competent entities, was dismissed.

In all these cases, legal actions yielded no results. All those mentioned remain in the status of forcibly disappeared.

This Commission has formed the moral conviction that the seven individuals identified above are forcibly disappeared as a consequence of illegal acts carried out by State agents, who thus violated their human rights.

Indeed, not only is there full identification of the captors; there are also witnesses who attest to either the detention or the circumstances under which some of them turned themselves in to the Carabineros.

José Apolinario Muñoz Sepúlveda, married, farmer, with no known political affiliation, was detained on October 18, 1974, along with his brother-in-law Venedicto Sepúlveda Valenzuela, single, farmer, when they presented themselves to the Carabineros of Fuerte Viejo, a locality situated in Parral.

They had been witnesses to the death of two Carabineros that occurred during a confrontation with the habitual criminal José Rogelio Hernández Manríquez, nicknamed "El Aguila" (The Eagle). These events took place when Carabineros and military personnel arrived at the home of Venedicto Sepúlveda in search of "El Aguila," who was at that location and attempting to escape; it was under these circumstances that the confrontation occurred.

In the midst of this shootout, a sister of Sepúlveda, Bella Aurora Sepúlveda Valenzuela, was also killed.

On that occasion, the wanted man—Rogelio Hernández—and the two victims managed to escape, but the uniformed officers proceeded to detain other members of the family who were at the scene. Due to these arrests, Venedicto Sepúlveda and José Muñoz went to the police station in exchange for the freedom of their relatives, among whom was Sepúlveda's mother—and Muñoz's mother-in-law—Liduvina Valenzuela, 90 years of age.

Despite the fact that both surrendered without resistance, the elderly woman remained detained for two days and the rest of the relatives—all women—for forty days.

In the Santiago newspaper El Mercurio dated October 23 of that year, a photo of José Apolinario Muñoz was published on the front page as he was being led away in detention by plainclothes Carabineros. The caption of the photo stated that the affected individual was a "lieutenant" of "El Aguila" and that he had been detained at the house of a brother, near the Parral railway station.

It became known that they were subsequently transferred to the Chillán Prefecture and later to the Public Jail of that city. In the latter facility, they were seen by two neighbors from Mallocavén—where they lived—fifteen days after their arrest, in poor physical condition.

According to the response given by the Minister of the Interior to their relatives, Venedicto Sepúlveda and his brother-in-law José Apolinario Muñoz had been released on October 25, 1974.

On the other hand, the Military Prosecutor of Chillán stated to Muñoz's spouse, Marta Sepúlveda, that her husband had been released.

In relation to these same events, Aroldo Pereira Meriño, his son Alcídes Pereira Hernández, Rolando Ibarra Ortega, his brother-in-law Edelmiro Valdés Sepúlveda, and Alcibíades Valenzuela Retamal were also detained in the following days; all of them have been forcibly disappeared since then, just like José Apolinario Muñoz Sepúlveda and Venedicto Sepúlveda Valenzuela.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

In November 1978, Marta Sepúlveda filed a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) on behalf of her husband, José Apolinario Muñoz Sepúlveda, before the Court of Appeals of Chillán. On November 8 of the same year, it was dismissed by the court.

She also made a submission to the Minister of the Interior regarding her husband and her brother, to which he responded on September 3, 1975, that Venedicto Sepúlveda had entered the Chillán Public Jail on October 18, 1974, and that Muñoz Sepúlveda had voluntarily presented himself to testify at the Military Prosecutor's Office of Ñuble on October 25, 1974, with both being released that same day.

The records of the case that should have been initiated due to the death of the two Carabineros in the confrontation with the habitual criminal José Rogelio Hernández are unknown.