On December 14, 1973, Juan López Torres, a miner, former mayor of that city, and member of the Partido Comunista, was killed by Carabineros from Vallenar. The victim had been summoned by a proclamation issued by the Chief of the Plaza of Vallenar; consequently, immediately after September 11, he attempted to cross into Argentina.

According to the official version provided through Proclamation 39, issued by the same authority on December 14, 1973, López Torres was killed that same day at a site known as Mina La Restauradora while attempting to flee from a patrol composed of Carabineros tasked with his capture.

According to this version, López Torres was armed and had already fled from the same patrol once before, on September 12.

For this Commission, the explanation of Juan López's death during an attempted escape is discredited, as it presumes that a patrol tasked with capturing a fugitive is normally in a position to apprehend them alive if the individual, as occurred in this case, does not offer resistance.

This conclusion is reaffirmed by the fact that Juan López was buried in the Huasco Bajo Cemetery by the authorities, and a three-year period was established during which his remains could not be exhumed. If the official version had been true, there is no explanation for this measure, which prevented his remains from being examined to determine the nature of the wounds that caused his death.

This Commission reaches the conviction that Juan López was executed by State agents outside of all legality and that this act constitutes a violation of his human rights.