José Francisco Zapata Andrade
Obrero Agrícola — 24 years old.
Background
José Francisco Zapata Andrade
Obrero Agrícola — 24 years old.
Case summary
José Francisco Zapata Andrade, a 24-year-old agricultural worker and communist union leader, was detained and executed on October 4, 1973, at the Las Canteras estate, Los Ángeles. One month later, his body was found with gunshot wounds, in a crime that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission attributed to the actions of State agents.
Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos[1]
On October 4, in the locality of Quillay Loma, located within the Las Canteras estate, two people were victims of political execution:
José Francisco ZAPATA ANDRADE, 24 years old, and José Silverio JOFRE JOFRE, both agricultural workers, union leaders, and militants of the Partido Comunista.
According to witness statements, both were apprehended by unknown individuals and transported in a pickup truck. One month later, their bodies were found with gunshot wounds, one in the Laja River and the other in a forest.
A judicial investigation was initiated (case files 15.815 and 15.824 of the 2nd Criminal Court of Los Angeles and case file 45.654 of the 1st Criminal Court of Los Angeles, a process to which the previous cases were joined), which yielded no results regarding the authorship of the deaths.
The Commissioner of Carabineros of Los Angeles reported "that the personnel of the El Alamo Station were focused on the location and detention of 'extremists,' many of whom fled along the banks of the Laja River, in the vicinity of the homes of the deceased workers, for which it is presumed, according to the version provided by Carabineros, that they were executed (by the extremists themselves) with the objective of silencing them in the face of possible interrogations."
The Commission was able to form the conviction that both victims lost their lives due to the actions of State agents or civilians protected by them, given their status as political militants and union leaders and the occurrence of many other similar events in the region.
Regarding the hypothesis that "extremists" were responsible for the executions, this is not credible to the Commission, given that there is no proven case of events of such a nature that would make it probable.
References
- 1Museum of Memoryhttps://interactivos.museodelamemoria.cl/victims/?p=1801