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Juan Manuel Varas Silva

Mecánico — 37 years old.

Background

StatusValech-Rettig Commission Violation of Human Rights
DateJuly 3, 1984
LocationSan Miguel, Santiago, RM Metropolitana
Age37 years old
OccupationMecánico
AffiliationMIR

Case summary

Juan Manuel Varas Silva, a 37-year-old mechanic and militant of the MIR, was executed by CNI agents on July 3, 1984, in San Miguel, Santiago. Although the official version alleged a confrontation during a raid, his death was classified by the Truth Commission as a human rights violation for which the state was responsible.

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

Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos[1]

On July 2, 1984, Héctor Patricio SOBARZO NUÑEZ, a teacher and MIR militant, and Enzo MUÑOZ AREVALO, a Communist militant, were killed in Santiago.

According to the official version, "On July 2 at 11:50 p.m., CNI personnel detected the presence of suspects traveling in a vehicle on Avenida José Pedro Alessandri, meters from the Rotonda Departamental. From inside the vehicle, the suspects fired at security personnel, who repelled the attack, resulting in a confrontation that ended with the deaths of Enzo Muñoz and Héctor Sobarzo."

The official version is not truthful according to the evidence gathered, especially the statements of witnesses who indicate that at 11:30 p.m., Enzo Muñoz and Héctor Sobarzo parked the vehicle they were traveling in at the Rotonda Departamental in front of the Don Camilo housing complex, with the latter getting out to make a phone call.

At that moment, numerous vehicles appeared with armed plainclothes personnel who fired at Enzo Muñoz and arrested Héctor Sobarzo while he was still alive, forced him into a vehicle, and shot him further away.

The Commission, considering the evidence gathered, has reached the conviction that the victims were executed by CNI personnel, considering their deaths to be human rights violations for which state agents are responsible.

On July 3, 1984, in a confrontation subsequent to the previous one, as officially reported, Ana Alicia DELGADO TAPIA, an agricultural engineer and Partido Comunista militant, and Juan Manuel VARAS SILVA, a mechanic and MIR militant, were killed in Callejón Lo Ovalle.

That official version indicates that hours after the previous confrontation and continuing with the investigations aimed at clarifying recent attacks, at Callejón Lo Ovalle, upon reaching the eight-hundred block, while conducting a raid, they encountered three men and one woman, as a result of which Juan Varas and Ana Delgado died.

The evidence gathered by this Commission, and considering especially the falsity of the official version regarding the manner in which Enzo Muñoz and Héctor Sobarzo died, allowed the Commission to acquire the conviction that both were executed by state agents, who thus violated their human rights.

View original source

References

  1. 1

How to cite this record

DondeEstan.cl (2026). Juan Manuel Varas Silva. Retrieved on October 15, 2026, from https://dondeestan.cl/record/juan-manuel-varas-silva. Original sources: Museum of Memory (https://interactivos.museodelamemoria.cl/victims/?p=3242).