Juan Félix Iturra Lillo, a widower, father of six, farmer, and member of the Communist Party, was detained in Liucura on October 23, 1973, in the presence of his minor children, by a Carabineros patrol from the Pemuco station led by Lieutenant Oscar Sepúlveda, who returned to this locality after the arrest.

On the road, in the General Cruz sector, the patrol detained Francisco del Rosario Jeldres Vallejos, a 25-year-old carpenter, who was forced into the same van carrying Iturra Lillo.

A brother of the victim, Mr. Fabián Iturra Lillo, stated in a sworn statement before a Notary:

"The reason for my brother's detention was never clarified, but I assume it was because he was a very beloved person in the sector and had a lot of influence among the neighbors; he was a member of the Communist Party, without holding any political position within the Party.

Carabineros, despite not being in their territorial jurisdiction, proceeded to detain him in the presence of his minor children. At the time of his detention, my brother was fifty years old and a widower in charge of six children, all minors; one of them was studying in Concepción and, due to the disappearance of his father, had to abandon his studies and assume the role of head of the household.

From the place of his detention, my brother was taken to the town of General Cruz, crossing the Liucura river by raft, where he was seen by the employees in charge of operating the raft.

In General Cruz, he was paraded before the population, taken through all the existing businesses, whose owners intervened for his freedom, citing the honorability of my brother, who was characterized by his generosity toward all his neighbors.

At lunchtime, the Carabineros (of the patrol) were served by my brother's neighbor, Mr. Carmelo Jara."

On that date, the victim's brother lived in Chillán, where he learned that Juan Félix Iturra Lillo had been detained. He sought the advice of a lawyer, who took them to the prison in search of information; reports on the detention were requested from the localities of Yungay and Pemuco, receiving only responses that denied his detention.

For fear of the physical integrity of the victim's children, no actions were taken before the Courts of Justice.

"I," recounts the victim's brother, "continued making inquiries but was detained and remained for more than six months in the Chillán Prison."

"After leaving prison, I continued searching for him, and in conversations with a neighbor from Liucura, Mr. Wilson Vivallos—now deceased—he told me that while traveling on horseback through the Hacienda Casa Blanca sector, located in the commune of Pemuco, on the road between Pemuco and General Cruz, he saw a corpse and assured me that he had recognized my brother, who was lying on the side of the road; subsequently, all evidence disappeared, and to this day we have not been able to know for certain the fate of my brother."

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

There were no actions taken before the Courts of Justice. Only reports were requested in those places where the victim might have been held, efforts that proved fruitless.

Source: Corporation

A first-instance sentence of 10 years in prison was handed down against retired Carabineros Captain Óscar Sepúlveda Tapia, as guilty of the aggravated kidnapping of the communist farmer Juan Félix Iturra Lillo, a case in which he was prosecuted in 2004.

The events date back to October 23, 1973, when the then-lieutenant in charge of the Pemuco station allegedly apprehended the member of the leftist party in person, in the Chequenes sector, near Bulnes, in the Bio-Bio Region.

"My brother (...) was a very beloved person in the sector and had a lot of influence among the neighbors," reads a statement before a notary made by Fabián Iturra, which is collected by Memoria Viva.com.

Carabineros, despite not being in their territorial jurisdiction, proceeded to detain him in the presence of his minor children. At the time of his detention, he was 50 years old and a widower in charge of six children, all minors; one of them was studying in Concepción and, due to the disappearance of his father, had to abandon his studies and assume the role of head of the household, it adds.

According to the testimony, from the place of his detention, Iturra was taken to the town of General Cruz, crossing the Liucura river by raft—the location of his home—where he was seen by the employees in charge of operating the raft.

In General Cruz, he was paraded before the population, taken through all the existing businesses, whose owners intervened for his freedom, citing his honorability, as he was characterized by his generosity toward all his neighbors.

"After leaving prison, I continued searching for him, and in conversations with a neighbor from Liucura, Mr. Wilson Vivallos—now deceased—he told me that while traveling on horseback through the Hacienda Casa Blanca sector, located in the commune of Pemuco, on the road between Pemuco and General Cruz, he saw a corpse and assured me that he had recognized my brother, who was lying on the side of the road; subsequently, all evidence disappeared, and to this day we have not been able to know for certain the fate of my brother," he adds.

Source: El Mostrador, March 13, 2006

Date: 03-13-2006

Freedom denied to retired Carabineros captain: Detained for disappearance of farmer in Bulnes

The Chillán Court of Appeals denied freedom to a former Carabineros captain accused of participating in the detention of a farmer who disappeared in Bulnes and also confirmed the indictment against him.

The court maintained the imprisonment of the former officer, Oscar Sepúlveda Tapia, a retired Carabineros captain, who was detained last week at his home in Concepción as the perpetrator of the kidnapping of the farmer Juan Félix Iturra Lillo, who was detained on October 23, 1973, in the Chequenes sector, near Bulnes.

The court's resolution was made known after the arguments presented yesterday in court. Representing the Iturra Lillo family was lawyer Ignacio Marín, while the defense for the former officer was handled by lawyer Carlos Rojas from Concepción.

On that occasion, Marín stated that the crime of kidnapping had already been proven in the case being followed by the Bulnes court, which demonstrates the former officer's participation in the events.

"Sepúlveda Tapia, then a lieutenant, was the officer in charge of the patrol that detained Juan Iturra, who was allegedly executed by firing squad along with two other people. According to initial information, the bodies were thrown into the Chequenes bridge, but were later removed, which is why they remain forcibly disappeared," explained Marín, who is a lawyer for the Ministry of the Interior's Human Rights Program.

According to the lawyer, the detention of Iturra Lillo, who resided in the Liucura sector, was marked by drama. "In reality, the patrol was on the trail of Iturra's brother, Fabián, who was a communist leader. Upon not finding him, they took Juan, who at that moment had been left a widower with six children, one of them a newborn," the lawyer recounted.

Support for Bulnes Judge.

After the arguments, the court chamber resolved unanimously to maintain the indictment and, by three votes to one (against, from Minister Christian Hansen), rejected the former captain's request for release.

Source: La Discusión, November 25, 2004

Date: 11-25-2004

Heroes and heroines of the people: Ñuble Region was present

In a solemn and emotionally charged act, the Communist Party of Ñuble presented the Luis Emilio Recabarren medal last Friday, November 9—the highest distinction awarded by the Party's Central Committee—to 8 of our prominent members whose lives were taken by the civic-military dictatorship and who remain forcibly disappeared to this day.

With the presence of comrade Jorge González, a member of the Party's central committee and leader of the Central Workers' Union (CUT), the activity began in the Schäefer hall of the University of BioBío, accompanied by relatives of the honorees, communist militants of the new Ñuble region, councilors from Chillán, a Deputy, and regional councilors, as well as friends and comrades from other progressive leftist parties, who also symbolically received a plaque in tribute to those who fell in the struggle during the dark days of the civic-military dictatorship.

It was a meeting with high political content regarding the common past and the future that we must build together for a fairer and more democratic country. Prior to the act, a press conference was held on Friday morning, inviting the entire community to attend the "Heroes and Heroines of the People" act and highlighting the importance of memory and the value of human life.

Relatives of Juan Félix Iturra Lillo, Leopoldo López Rivas, Cleofe del Carmen Urrutia Acevedo, and Carlos Alberto Sepúlveda Palavecino were present and received the posthumous medal.

Source: pcchile.cl 11/13/2018