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Juan Carlos Merino Figueroa

Estudiante — 20 years old.

Background

StatusValech-Rettig Commission Violation of Human Rights
DateNovember 27, 1973
Locationlas Condes, Santiago, RM Metropolitana
Age20 years old
OccupationEstudiante
AffiliationPS

Case summary

Juan Carlos Merino Figueroa was a 20-year-old student and member of the Partido Socialista who was executed by a military patrol on November 27, 1973, in El Arrayán, Santiago. After being detained along with other companions while attempting to seek asylum in an embassy, his body was found with multiple gunshot wounds and clear signs of torture.

Automatically generated summary. Please consult the original sources below for verified information.

Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos[1]

On November 26, 1973, the following individuals were executed:

Juan Domingo ARIAS QUEZADA, 17 years old, single, student, militant of the Partido Socialista, from the José Martí cell.

Mario Francisco ZAMORANO CORTES, 33 years old, single, student, militant of the Partido Socialista, from the José Martí cell.

Juan Carlos MERINO FIGUEROA, militant of the Partido Socialista, from the José Martí cell.

Juan Jonás DIAZ LOPEZ, 24 years old, student, militant of the Partido Socialista of Osorno.

Que Phung TRAN HUYNH, Vietnamese, Doctor of Biochemistry and Nuclear Medicine.

In the early hours of November 27, residents of El Arrayán heard a heavy vehicle driving up the road, and around 04:00 hours, multiple gunshots. During the course of the same day, the lifeless bodies of all those mentioned were found by a neighbor on Plot No. 38 of El Arrayán with a sign alluding to the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR), labeling them as "traitors."

In the respective autopsy protocols, it was determined that they died from multiple large-caliber gunshot wounds. Several of the bodies presented injuries other than those caused by projectiles, such as "multiform abrasions distributed in the right frontal region," "multiple traumas, in multiple regions of the body, caused by blunt objects and burning objects," and "multiple ecchymotic lesions in various areas of the body." In addition to what is indicated, said protocols state that two of them were found tied up.

According to the accounts of family members, based on inquiries they conducted, the group had attempted to seek asylum in an embassy, only to be surprised by a military patrol, which detained them.

Also according to the accounts of family members, one of those affected had been sought at his home in the days prior by soldiers from the Regimiento Tacna, who stated that he had to report to that military unit.

Bearing in mind that, based on the known testimonies and autopsy reports, it has been established that they were executed during the curfew, with large-caliber weapons, and that their bodies also presented injuries consistent with torture prior to death, and given the circumstance that at least one of them had been sought by military personnel in the days prior, to which is added their common political militancy and the general characteristics of the period in which these events occurred, the Commission has reached the conviction that these persons were executed by State agents, being victims of a grave violation of their right to life.

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References

  1. 1

How to cite this record

DondeEstan.cl (2026). Juan Carlos Merino Figueroa. Retrieved on October 15, 2026, from https://dondeestan.cl/record/juan-carlos-merino-figueroa. Original sources: Museum of Memory (https://interactivos.museodelamemoria.cl/victims/?p=1745).