On September 14, 1973, José Eugenio CASTRO ALVAREZ, 22 years old, a shoemaker, and Ernesto MARDONES SOTO, a university student and militant of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR), were detained by Carabineros officers from Hualpencillo at the home of the former and taken to the police station.

Their families made countless efforts to locate them, without obtaining any information regarding their whereabouts. Two months later, the lifeless body of Ernesto Mardones Soto was found on the banks of the Bío Bío River, bearing gunshot wounds. José Castro Alvarez remains forcibly disappeared to this day.

The Commission has formed the conviction that Ernesto Mardones and José Castro were victims of human rights violations for which State agents are responsible. This conviction is based on the following: considering the evidence provided, it has been possible to verify the detention of both men, that Mardones appeared dead in the Bío Bío River with gunshot wounds, and that there is no news to date of Castro Alvarez, who was presumably also killed by State agents.

D.O.B. : 20/12/51, 21 years old at the time of detention Address : Pasaje 1, house 2946, Población Emergencia, Hualpencillo, Concepción Marital Status : Single, one daughter Occupation : Shoemaker Political Affiliation : No known political affiliation Date of Detention : September 14, 1973

José Eugenio Castro Alvarez, father of 1 child, a 21-year-old shoemaker, was detained on September 14, 1973, by Carabineros from Hualpencillo, at the home of his sister, Mrs. Sonia Mardones Castro, located at Pasaje 1, house 2984, in that locality.

On September 14, 1973, Carabineros belonging to the staff of the Hualpencillo Police Station arrived at that address; among them, it was possible to identify a Sub-officer surnamed Parra, a carabinero surnamed Zambrano, and members of the Carabineros civilian commission surnamed Santander and Vera.

They proceeded to detain the victim, his brother-in-law Segundo Rafael Camiroaga Gaete, and his friend Ernesto Mardones Soto, the latter a member of the MIR, in the presence of the victim's sister, Mrs. Sonia Mardones Castro. All three detainees were taken to the Armando Alarcón del Canto Police Station in the town of Hualpencillo.

The following day, September 15, Segundo Rafael Camiroaga Gaete was released, while José Eugenio Castro Alvarez and Ernesto Mardones Soto remained in detention. Two months later, the body of Ernesto Mardones Soto was found on the banks of the Bío Bío River with gunshot wounds.

During the days following the apprehension, the victim's family went to the police station daily, receiving only evasive answers. At first, they were told he was there and would soon be released; later, they were told he had been transferred to the Talcahuano Naval Base for being an "extremist." They went to that location as well, but did not find the name of José Castro Alvarez among the lists of detainees.

According to the relatives, on every occasion they went to request information, they were treated rudely, receiving insults and threats, and were not permitted to leave food or clothing for the detainee.

As of the date of this report, the whereabouts of José Eugenio Castro Alvarez remain completely unknown since the date of his detention by the Carabineros, and he remains in the status of forcibly disappeared.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

There are no records of legal actions taken by the victim. There is also no knowledge of any legal action having been initiated for Ernesto Mardones Soto, who was detained with him and whose body was found in the Bío Bío River in the same year, 1973.