On October 4, 1973, six workers from the Hogar de Cristo prefabricated housing construction plant were arrested at their respective homes or workplaces:

José Salvador ACUÑA YAÑEZ, 29 years old, laborer, treasurer of the Factory Union.

Luis Alberto MUÑOZ VASQUEZ, 22 years old, laborer.

José Remigio PADILLA VILLOUTA, 23 years old, laborer.

Ernesto Raúl SALAZAR SALAZAR, 38 years old, laborer.

Luis Hernán SAN MARTIN CARES, 22 years old, laborer.

Ernesto René TORRES GUZMAN, 22 years old, laborer.

Their arrests were carried out by personnel from the carabineros unit of the Ñuble Highway Station and by military personnel. Eyewitnesses to the arrests state that the agents carried a list with the names of those to be detained.

Following the arrests, the presence of the victims was denied to their families at all detention centers in the Region. Despite this, some claim to have seen them at the aforementioned station. The various judicial investigations carried out yielded no positive results, as authorities denied the fact of the arrests in response to every request for information.

The Commission reached the conviction that these six individuals were arrested and subsequently forcibly disappeared by State agents, which constitutes an act of grave violation of human rights. The number of those affected makes any other explanation for their disappearances entirely implausible, as none of the families have had any news of them since that time.

The arrests and detentions are verified for each of them, and the corresponding agencies have indicated that none of them have recorded any civil procedures mandatory for every Chilean citizen in the last seventeen years.

José Remigio Padilla Villouta, single, a worker at the "Hogar de Cristo" Prefabricated Housing Factory in Chillán, was detained on October 4, 1973, at his home in the city of Chillán, at approximately 19:00 hours.

The apprehension was carried out by a group of Military and Carabineros personnel who were traveling in a green ARO brand jeep and a green pickup truck, both bearing official government plates. The arresting agents forced the victim into the back of the pickup truck and then proceeded to violently raid the home, breaking furniture and forcing doors open with their weapons.

One of the uniformed men took the victim's mother outside and told her that if she wanted to see her son again, she should point out where the packages containing weapons and propaganda that he had brought were hidden.

After ransacking the place and breaking the furniture, they left, taking José Padilla with them. It should be noted that they did not present a search or arrest warrant. Furthermore, on that same day, 5 other workers from the Hogar de Cristo Housing Factory were detained: José Acuña Yáñez, Luis Muñoz Vásquez, Ernesto Salazar, Luis San Martín Cares, and Ernesto Torres Guzmán, all of whom remain forcibly disappeared.

Given that the start of the curfew was approaching, his family had to wait until the following day to take action. His mother went early on the 5th to the Regimiento N°9 in Chillán, where she was told to return the following morning as they could not yet give her any news about her son. This situation continued for a month.

Due to the bureaucratic stalling, Mrs. María Villouta, together with Mrs. Enriqueta Vásquez Alarcón—mother of Luis Muñoz Vásquez, who was also detained at the Hogar de Cristo Factory—requested an audience with the Governor of Chillán, who persistently refused to receive them.

Finally, one day, he sent them a note with the name of the Second Commander of the Regimiento N°9 "Chillán" so that they could go to him to inquire about their sons. This officer also stalled them until he finally granted them an interview. In it, the senior officer told them not to look for their sons, as they would not find them.

On October 5, while Mrs. Aída Parra was at the Tenencia de Carreteras Ñuble, she saw her husband, José Acuña, inside, along with José Padilla, Luis Muñoz Vásquez, and Ernesto Torres, all of whom remain forcibly disappeared to this day.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS

On June 30, 1975, Berta Padilla filed a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) before the Court of Appeals of Chillán on behalf of her brother, José Padilla Villouta, which was registered under case number 95.666.

When consulted by the Court, the Chillán Prison, the Military Prosecutor's Office of Ñuble, and the Ñuble Prefecture of Carabineros responded that they had no records of the affected party.

After 3 days, and based on the responses from the 3 agencies consulted, the Court rejected the writ of amparo, ordering the Criminal Court on duty in that city to open a summary proceeding for the alleged disappearance of the victim.

On July 3, the summary proceeding for the alleged disappearance was initiated under case file N°43.956 in the 2nd Criminal Court of Chillán. The Judge ordered an investigation by the Chillán Investigations Commissariat, whose personnel interviewed the victim's sister and made inquiries at the Chillán Regiment, the Carabineros Commissariats, the local prison, the hospital, and the morgue, without obtaining any information regarding the situation of José Padilla.

On July 17, the victim's mother and sister testified before the Judge, confirming the facts of the detention and disappearance under investigation.

On October 6, 1975, the Judge closed the summary proceeding and, given that "the perpetration of a crime is not fully justified," declared the case temporarily dismissed. On October 17, the Court of Appeals of Chillán upheld the ruling of the 2nd Criminal Court.

On September 12, 1979, his mother filed a criminal complaint for the kidnapping and possible homicide of José Padilla. The complaint was directed against Carabineros Corporal Osvaldo Ruiz Osorio and all those responsible for her son's situation. The outcome of this case is unknown.