Address : Cienfuegos 230, Apt. 502, Santiago Marital Status : Single Occupation : Employee; former student of Copper Metallurgy, Universidad Técnica del Estado Political Affiliation : Communist Party; former union leader of the San Juan de Dios Hospital Employees' Union (1973) Date of Detention : April 29, 1976 Juan Elías Cortés Alruiz, single, student at the Universidad Técnica del Estado, former union leader, and Communist militant, was last seen by his family on April 29, 1976, around 09:30 hours.

He was never seen again. However, through information obtained by his family, it has been possible to establish that Juan Elías was detained around May 7 (information also held by the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation) on a public street, without witnesses, by agents of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), an agency that at the time was conducting an intense crackdown against members of the Communist Party.

Although there is a lack of information regarding the specific circumstances surrounding his apprehension, it is known that his detention and disappearance were part of a major DINA offensive against the Communist Party—its Central Committee members, leaders of various important party structures, their liaisons, and militants—which occurred in May 1976.

During that period, many leaders were detained, all of whom, including the victim, remain in the status of forcibly disappeared. Other forcibly disappeared persons during those days were Juan Elías Cortés and the group consisting of Mario Jaime Zamorano, Onofre Jorge Muñoz, Uldarico Donaire, Jaime Patricio Donato, and Elisa Escobar, who were detained in connection with the "rat trap" (ratonera) set up by the DINA on Calle Conferencia (the address where the Political Commission of the Communist Party met).

Subsequently, on May 7, Fernando Antonio Lara and José Manuel Guggiana were detained. On May 9, Lenín Adán Díaz was detained, and the following day, Marcelo Renán Concha Bascuñán. On May 12, the Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party, Víctor Manuel Díaz López, was detained.

Eliana Espinoza was also detained that day. On May 18, Rodolfo Marcial Núñez was detained, and on the 19th of that same month, César Domingo Cerda Cuevas. The fate or whereabouts of all these individuals remain unknown.

Regarding these events, the Dirección Nacional de Comunicación Social (DINACOS), in public statements issued in July 1976, stated that "the Intelligence Services were aware that the Communist Party had ordered mass asylum requests and political acts on the occasion of the Organization of American States (OAS) Assembly to be held in Santiago." Faced with this situation, said services "decided to act against the 'mailbox houses' (32 in total in Santiago) that this Party maintains for liaison between the Political Commission and the different regional offices." It was added that "in the mailbox houses, those members of the clandestine Communist Party who were dedicated to this type of liaison were detained."

In a second statement on July 17, 1976, DINACOS reported that the Government had deemed it appropriate to "provide only a portion of the abundant information, having to reserve, for obvious reasons, all those that affect the ongoing investigation regarding the subversive action of the Communist Party." Finally, it was officially stated that in said operation "an important group of clandestine communist leaders was detained." For its part, the press of the time (Revista "Qué Pasa," August 12, 1976) reported that, according to what was declared by the Government, 32 mailbox houses had been dismantled in an operation carried out against communists in May 1976. The journalistic article provided the names of detained persons, among them Bernardo Araya, Uldarico Donaire, and Víctor Díaz, who remain disappeared to this day.

The victim's family visited detention centers, hospitals, the Legal Medical Institute, police stations, the Investigations police, and went to the National Service for Detainees (SENDET), etc., without obtaining information on the whereabouts of the victim, who, after September 11, 1973, had to report to the Investigations police in his capacity as a union leader to provide a statement.

After his details were taken, he was released, with the warning that "he could be detained at any moment."

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On June 17, 1976, a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) was filed for the victim in the Santiago Court of Appeals, registered under No. 534-76. On July 1, the family withdrew the petition.

Subsequently, amparo No. 874-76 was processed, filed in the same Court on September 9, 1976. In the filing, Cecilia Maggie Cortés, the victim's stepsister, stated that they possessed certain information that the person in question had been detained for several months.

With only the report from the Minister of the Interior stating that the victim was not being held by order of that Ministry (September 17, 1976), the Court rejected the appeal on September 22, 1976, agreeing to refer the records to the corresponding Criminal Court.

An appeal was filed against the resolution before the Supreme Court, which confirmed the ruling on September 29, 1976.

The records were consolidated with case No. 85.150-7 of the Second Criminal Court of Santiago, initiated for the alleged disappearance of the victim on June 24, 1976. During the processing of this case, the authorities once again denied the detention of the victim.

Colonel Roberto Guillard Marinot, Undersecretary of War, responded to a court order stating that any inquiry regarding arrests made under the State of Siege should be directed to the Ministry of the Interior.

For his part, the Minister of the Interior and Division General, Raúl Benavides Escobar, responded stating that the victim was not being held by order of that Ministry (July 1, 1976). Carabineros Captain Juan Manuel Vergara Villalobos, Acting National Executive Secretary of SENDET, reported that the Ministry of the Interior had communicated that it had no record of the victim (October 7, 1976).

Seven months after the disappearance of Juan Elías Cortés, and without any progress in the investigation, the family requested that the DINA be ordered to provide information. On December 16, 1976, Minister Benavides stated that "for exclusive reasons of national security, it has been ordered that all information regarding persons arrested or presumably detained for violation of the provisions in force regarding the State of Siege be analyzed through this Department of State."

On December 28, 1976, Cecilia Maggie Cortés informed the Court that, through persons who had regained their freedom, she was informed that her brother Juan Elías was being held incommunicado at Villa Grimaldi, a secret DINA detention and torture center.

As a result, she requested that the Judge visit said facility. Indeed, on February 28, 1977, at 19:20 hours, the Judge arrived at Villa Grimaldi. However, the procedure could not be carried out "because it is a military facility." At 19:30 hours, the Court had to withdraw from the site.

A year and a half later, on July 18, 1978, the Ad Hoc Group of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights visited Villa Grimaldi, accompanied by General Odlanier Mena, then Director of the Central Nacional de Informaciones (CNI), the successor to the DINA; by Colonel Pantoja; by Miguel Alex Schweitzer; and by two witnesses who had been held at that location.

On that occasion, the Ad Hoc group was convinced—having previously verified each of the pieces of information provided—that Villa Grimaldi was in fact used as a detention center by the CNI and the DINA.

Despite the weight of all the accumulated information, the former Director of the DINA, General Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, in a statement given to Visiting Minister Servando Jordán López in January 1980, reaffirmed once again that Villa Grimaldi was only a transit point, where detainees were registered before being released or sent to detention centers designated by the Ministry of the Interior.

As the Court did not conduct the inspection at Villa Grimaldi, it chose to close the summary proceedings on March 7, 1977. The Court of Appeals revoked the measure on April 12, 1977, ordering the Court to carry out the inspection at Villa Grimaldi, which took place on May 11 of the same year.

The Judge, Raquel Camposano, noted that there were numerous numbered rooms, but found no detainees at the site. The procedure was ended, and on May 20, the summary was closed again and the case was temporarily dismissed. The Court confirmed the ruling on July 15, 1977.

In June 1980, Medalia Alruiz, the mother of the disappeared, filed a criminal complaint for the crime of kidnapping before Visiting Minister Servando Jordán López, appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate cases of forcibly disappeared persons reported in Santiago (March 1979).

The filing identified a clandestine organization dependent on the DINA as responsible for the crime and requested the summoning to testify of Army Captain Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz, who participated in the detentions that occurred in 1976; Carabineros 2nd Corporal Emilio Hernán Troncoso Vivallos, for the same reasons; Julio Lorenzo Leyton Robles, who had also been a member of the DINA; Carabineros 1st Sergeant Heriberto del Carmen Acevedo; the physician Luis Hernán Santibáñez Santelices; and the former head of the DINA, Army Lieutenant Colonel Vianel Valdivieso Cervantes.

Minister Jordán accepted the complaint and reopened the summary on July 15, 1980, ordering the aforementioned agents to be summoned to the Court.

Luis Hernán Santibáñez Santelices acknowledged on July 17, 1980, that he had been a member of the DINA as a physician. He reported that the London Clinic existed on Calle Almirante Barroso, which was in charge of Dr.

Tarico and where a DINA official had allegedly been treated. When shown a photo of the victim, he said the face looked familiar and that he might have seen that person at the San Juan de Dios Hospital. He reported that the London Clinic had treated Vianel Valdivieso, whom he always saw in civilian clothes.

For his part, Carabineros Sergeant Heriberto Acevedo said he had belonged to the so-called "Lautaro Brigade," dependent on the DINA, whose chief was Germán Jorge Barriga, and which was composed of Luis Hernán Troncoso and Julio Lorenzo Leyton.

He reported that he worked in a "renoleta" (Renault 4) with Troncoso Vivallo. He said they were given the names of some people, they would find their addresses in the Cabinet, verify that the person was indeed at the location, and report to Germán Barriga. He claimed not to have participated in detentions.

Emilio Hernán Troncoso Vivallos confirmed Acevedo's version. A Carabineros 1st Corporal, he had joined the DINA in November 1973, forming part of the "Caupolicán Brigade," which was later renamed the "Lautaro Brigade." He said the head of this was Major Juan Morales Salgado and that Colonel Vianel Valdivieso was Morales's superior.

He claimed not to remember if he was responsible for finding the whereabouts of Communist Party members in 1976. He added that he had stood guard at Londres 38 and Villa Grimaldi, but that these were not detention centers.

When Julio Lorenzo Leyton Robles, an Army 1st Corporal, came to testify, he said he had never belonged to the DINA, but that his brother, who died on March 29, 1977, had belonged to the Intelligence Services.

The medical certificate of Dr. Osvaldo Leyton Bahamondes was attached to the case, confirming the death of Manuel Jesús Leyton Robles due to an epileptic seizure and cardiac arrhythmia. The death certificate lists the place of death as Calle Almirante Barroso No. 76, the address where the London Clinic operated.

Manuel Leyton Robles and Heriberto del Carmen Acevedo were directly involved in the assault and violent robbery committed against the merchant Marcel Duhalde Garat on March 21, 1977. While the latter was driving his 1971 Renault vehicle, he was intercepted by the two agents, who were driving another Renault with similar characteristics.

Leyton and Acevedo took Duhalde, bound and gagged, to the La Obra sector, where they abandoned him after stealing his vehicle, money, watch, and documents. The search for the Renault was assigned to the specialized Carabineros service; this specialized team arrested Leyton and raided his home on March 24, 1977.

The agent confessed that his accomplice was Acevedo, who was also arrested. In the raids carried out on their respective homes, among other things, weapons of different types and calibers were found (rifles, revolvers, knives, 190 rounds of AK ammunition, etc.); thirteen cards with confidential files and photos of people; identity cards; a wooden case containing photos of people; DINA identification cards; vehicle registrations; numerous license plates from 1976; a DINA Renault car; and a vehicle belonging to the forcibly disappeared person Daniel Palma.

Both agents regained their freedom through the intervention of Army Lieutenant Colonel Vianel Valdivieso.

For her part, Mireya Barra Bustamante, wife of Manuel Leyton, declared in August 1980, before the Visiting Minister and in the case followed for the disappearance of Miguel Ovalle Narváez, that her husband had been taken to a clinic located on Calle Almirante Barroso by his colleagues.

She added that he died the following day as a result of cardiac arrest and that the DINA had covered all funeral expenses.

When Minister Jordán summoned Vianel Valdivieso and Germán Jorge Barriga to testify, Lieutenant Colonel Raúl Benavides Escobar, then Minister of National Defense, responded that "due to the nature of the functions performed by said Officers, it is not possible for them to be absent from the place where they are providing their services; for this reason, and in order to collaborate with the action of justice, it is requested that you be pleased to arrange for the procedure to be carried out by the duty Prosecutor in Santiago" (October 15, 1980).

On October 23 of the same year, the Visiting Minister responded to Benavides that said Officers appear "as accused/defendants in three cases (including the victim's) and, because of this, this Investigating Minister is not authorized to delegate functions."

Only on November 26, 1980, did Army Major Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz come to provide testimony. He testified that he had joined the DINA in mid-1974, remaining in said organization until the end of 1977.

He reported that his specific work consisted of carrying out investigations commissioned by Director Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda. He stated that it was false that he was part of any group called "Lautaro" or "Caupolicán." However, he acknowledged having worked alongside Emilio Hernán Troncoso, Heriberto Acevedo, and Manuel Jesús Leyton.

He says his Unit did not have the specific task of detaining Communist Party members, adding that, as a result of the investigations they carried out, they sometimes detained people, who were handed over to Tres Alamos. He claimed to be unaware of the existence of Cuatro Alamos.

Also on November 26, Vianel Valdivieso Cervantes, Army Lieutenant Colonel, testified, acknowledging his participation in the DINA from 1974 until its dissolution. His specific work was related to electronic engineering (professionally he is an Electronic Engineer), and he had never belonged to any Unit called "Lautaro" or "Caupolicán." He affirmed that he had never participated in detentions.

Although Major Juan Morales Salgado, named by Emilio Hernán Troncoso as head of the "Lautaro Brigade," did not testify in the victim's case, he did so in the case regarding the disappearance of Gabriel Castillo Tapia.

In that process, in July 1980, he acknowledged his membership in the DINA, having served as a Captain at the Linares Artillery School, and having been in charge of the "Lautaro Brigade" for one month, receiving direct orders from Manuel Contreras.

On March 13, 1981, the summary was closed. An appeal was filed against the resolution, and on July 20 of the same year, the Court of Appeals confirmed the Visiting Minister's measure. On August 20, 1981, the case was temporarily dismissed, a resolution that was approved by the Court of Appeals on November 16, 1981, after the corresponding appeal.

Source: (Corporation Report)

Testimony of Rosa Venegas, who worked in the laundry service of the San Juan de Dios Hospital since 1962. She recounts that she knew the eight colleagues from the Hospital who were detained and disappeared or were murdered, some of them denounced by doctors or colleagues.

She recounts the detention and execution of Father Joan Alsina. She remembers the presence of military personnel inside the hospital, the raids and inspections they carried out, which lasted for a month after the Coup.

She recounts that she was persecuted and stopped going to the Hospital; her house was raided. Later, in December 1973, she was transferred as punishment to a clinic, where she spent 3 years. She recounts that some colleagues were detained and others had to leave for exile. Testimony recorded on August 26, 2003.

Source: archivomuseodelamemoria.cl undated

This Friday, the Universidad de Santiago will grant, as a posthumous and symbolic grace, professional university degrees to 38 students who were forcibly disappeared or politically executed during the military dictatorship.

Emilio Daroch, president of the UTE-Usach Solidarity Corporation and manager of this initiative, explained that this University was a place where the dictatorship applied violence most forcefully. "It is significant to make amends and provide justice for situations of extreme violence that were experienced over several years at our University," he noted.

This initiative makes sense as a way to make amends to people who, during their participation as students in the university community, suffered the consequences of the dictatorship, such as the emblematic cases of Gregorio Mimica in 1973 or Mario Martínez, a student leader murdered in the late 80s.

At the ceremony, it will be the family members who receive the diplomas. "We were in permanent contact with the families of some disappeared colleagues, but there were two or three cases where we could not find anyone," lamented Daroch, who explained that this Friday's will be the first delivery of degrees, as there are records of more executed or disappeared persons during the period. "This process has not closed; these are the cases that could be verified...

We hope to carry out another graduation like this one later on." The student victims of the dictatorship who will be awarded degrees posthumously are: Rafael Araneda Yévenes, Jorge Aravena Mardones, Jaime Buzzio Lorca, Ricardo Campos Cáceres, Claudio Contreras Hernández, Renzo Contreras Jorquera, Juan Elías Cortés Alruiz, Manuel Cortéz Joo, Alfonso Díaz Briones, Antonio Elizondo Ormaechea, Oscar Fuentes Fernández, Luis González Mella, Francisco González Ortíz, Patricio Guarategua Quinteros, René Lucero Muñoz, Zacarías Machuca Muñoz, Rafael Madrid Gálvez, Juan Bosco Maino Canales, Adolfo Mancilla Ramírez, Agustín Martínez Meza, Mario Martínez Rodríguez, Gregorio Mimiça Argote, Eugenio Montti Cordero, Leopoldo Muñoz Andrade, Ramón Núñez Espinoza, Eduardo Ojeda Disselkoen, Fernando Olivares Mori, Pedro Oyarzún Zamorano, Michelle Peña Herreros, José Peña Maltés, José Manuel Ramírez Rosales, Enrique Reyes Manríquez, Hugo Ríos Videla, Ricardo Rioseco Montoya, Carlos Santibáñez Romero, Carlos Terán de la Jara, Jaime Vásquez Sáenz, and Francisco Viera Ovalle. The ceremony, which will be led by the rector of the U. de Santiago, Juan Manuel Zolezzi, will take place in the university's Great Hall (Aula Magna) on Friday the 6th, at 11:30 hours. Subsequently, in the courtyard of the former School of Arts and Crafts, a commemorative plaque with the names of the graduates will be unveiled.

Source: biobio.cl 5/9/2013

Date: 05-09-2013

MEMORIAL BOOK OF THE UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA DEL ESTADO AND THE UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE (excerpt)

Report of the University Reconciliation Commission of 1991, updated 40 years after the 1973 coup d'état. "When I was getting up, they called from the university to warn me that a group of people in civilian clothes had assaulted the UTE radio station, destroyed the antenna, and machine-gunned the transmission room.

Later we learned that it was people from the Navy, from the unit they had in Quinta Normal. [...] The students met and agreed to stay at the UTE." Enrique Kirberg, Rector of the Universidad Técnica del Estado USACH Editorial Seal, first edition September 2013

Source: usach.cl 9/2013