The minister on special assignment for human rights violation cases for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, has prosecuted retired Army non-commissioned officer José Albino Krause Álvarez as the perpetrator of the consummated crime of qualified homicide against Ramón Carrero Chanqueo.

The illicit act was perpetrated in the commune of Temuco on November 21, 1973.

In the resolution (case file 113.992), the visiting minister ordered that Krause Álvarez be held in preventive detention at the No. 8 Tucapel Mountain Detachment in Temuco, considering that the accused’s freedom constitutes a danger to the security of society and given the legal penalty he faces.

During the investigation phase of the case, Minister Mesa Latorre established the following facts:

A.- That immediately following the military coup of September 11, 1973, the armed forces and order enforcement agencies took control of the city of Temuco. The Commander of the "La Concepción" Regiment of Lautaro, Colonel Hernán Jerónimo Ramírez Ramírez, was appointed Intendant, and the Colonel of the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of this city, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse, was appointed Governor of Temuco, who also served as head of the Temuco Garrison.

B.- That the aforementioned military unit was composed of various companies, which were made up of officers, non-commissioned officers, and conscript soldiers who were part of the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of Temuco, in addition to reserve personnel called to active duty.

These companies, in turn, formed patrols of military personnel that were stationed in different parts of the city for the purposes of curfew control and guarding locations classified as strategic by the military command.

C.- That these companies were also, on occasion, sent to the outskirts of the city to carry out patrols and military campaigns. Thus, a patrol from the No. 8 Tucapel Infantry Regiment of Temuco, composed of personnel from several companies plus reserve personnel called to active duty, under the command of Major Aquiles Huerta Infante, went to Fundo La Serena, on the road to the town of Cholchol, where they proceeded to carry out several raids in the area.

In one of these, a person was killed, whose body was later found by Carabineros from the Labranza Station at a distance of approximately 300 meters from his own house, in a small wooded area.

D.- That Ramón Carrero Chanqueo, 53 years old, a widower and father of two, was detained at his home located in Pivinco, a rural locality near Temuco on the road connecting this city to Cholchol, on November 21, 1973, by personnel from the No. 8 Tucapel Regiment of Temuco.

Carrero Chanqueo was accused by Major Huerta Infante of having stolen a horse some time earlier. He was also accused by the civilian José del Carmen Merino Curihuinca of having stolen firewood at Fundo El Carmen, which was located in the same sector as Fundo La Serena, on the road toward Cholchol. After taking him from his home, they moved him a certain distance away from his house.

E.- That immediately thereafter, Major Huerta ordered a group of soldiers, among whom was Chávez Etchepare, to accompany him along with the corporal of the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, José Albino Krause Álvarez, to the place where they were holding the detainee, ordering the rest of the patrol, among whom was Lorenzo Octavio Olave Pineda, to move away from the area.

After a certain interval of time, they returned to the place where the others were, and the soldier Chávez commented to them that they had executed the detainee, even mentioning that they had left him lying in the field.

F.- That according to the testimonies of Segundo Coloma Chanqueo, the victim's cousin; Julio Nahuel Carrero, the victim's nephew; and Juanita Marileo Panchillo, the victim's niece—all provided in case file No. 46.630 of the First Criminal Court of Temuco, dated November 27, 1973—they state that their cousin and uncle, respectively, was detained by military personnel from his home on November 21, 1973, at approximately 12:00 midnight, at which time he was sleeping in what was his property in the Pivinco sector, on the road to Cholchol.

His nephews were also sleeping in the same house. They forced them to get out of bed and interrogated Ramón Carrero Chanqueo in the presence of his nephew Julio Nahuel Carrero and the latter's wife, Juanita Marileo Panchillo, taking him away to an unknown destination.

G.- That three days after he was taken from his home, and following an inquiry at the Second Carabineros Station of Temuco by Julio Nahuel Carrero, the latter found his uncle's body on Friday, November 23, 1973, at about 11:00 a.m., in a ravine next to a hill at a distance of 300 meters from the victim's house.

The body was missing its right leg, with clear signs of having been eaten by animals and birds, and the left leg was separated from the torso at a distance of 20 meters. The torso was face down, according to the testimony of Julio Nahuel Carrero himself and Segundo Coloma Chanqueo, who was notified by Nahuel Carrero of the discovery of the body, and both went to see it.

Pedro Francisco Chanqueo Huenchuleo, the victim's cousin, was also notified by Julio Carrero Nahuel and went to see the body; he also noted that Ramón Carrero Chanqueo remained for about 15 days in the place where he was left by the army patrol, despite the fact that the incident was reported to the Carabineros de Chile.

H.- That on November 26, 1973, Segundo Coloma Chanqueo appeared at the Labranza Station of the Carabineros de Chile to file the respective complaint, which was received by Arturo Cona Meliqueo, a second sergeant of the Carabineros de Chile, who stated in relevant part: (…) "the undersigned, accompanied by Corporal Raúl Toledo Mora, arrived at the scene of the incident, verifying the facts stated by the complainant; the body of the deceased was found scattered inside a hill, with signs of having been devoured by animals, missing its right leg; the torso of the body was in a prone position, the skeleton of the left leg separated more or less 20 meters from the body"...

I.- That the autopsy performed on the victim states in its conclusions: (…) "1) The precise and necessary cause of death of Ramón Carrero Chanqueo was cranial-encephalic attrition, determined by a gunshot wound.- 2) It is possible that the projectile causing the cranial explosion penetrated through the oral cavity, where a tear of the lower lip is preserved, without causing dental alterations due to the numerous absences of teeth in the upper jaw, destroying the base of the skull and widely opening the right occipital cranial vault.- 3) Transfixing wounds from projectiles were also verified on the lateral sides of the neck and in the middle third of the left forearm with a fracture of the ulna. In the left thoracic region, another impact from a projectile was verified that perforated the left pectoral pocket of the jacket and the documents contained therein, and it is presumed that the projectile caused the destruction of the dorsal spine, with a part of this projectile being found freely in the widely opened thoraco-abdominal cavity.- 4) The characteristics of the piece of projectile found, the multiplicity of the bullet impacts, and their great destructive power suggest that the weapon used is of military origin.- 5) The body also shows advanced signs of putrefaction and signs of wear caused by the action of carnivorous animals." Temuco, November 28, 1973.-Signed Dr. Wolfang Reuter.

Source: tiempo21.cl, July 23, 2019

Former Army non-commissioned officer sentenced for crime against community member in Cholchol in 1973

The minister on special assignment for human rights violation cases for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, has sentenced a former Army non-commissioned officer to 13 years of effective imprisonment for his responsibility in the consummated crime of qualified homicide against Ramón Carrero Chanqueo, perpetrated in November 1973 in the rural sector of Pivinco, on the road to Cholchol.

By Darío Núñez

In the sentence (case file 113.992), the visiting minister sentenced José Albino Krause Álvarez, a corporal at the time of the events, as the perpetrator of the crime to a penalty of 13 years of effective imprisonment, plus the legal accessories of absolute perpetual disqualification for public offices and political rights, and absolute disqualification for professional titles for the duration of the sentence.

Due to the time elapsed since the crime was committed, the now-convicted man is the only remaining living defendant.

Ramón Carrero Chanqueo, 53 years old, a widower and father of two, was detained at his home located in Pivinco, a rural locality near Temuco on the road connecting this city to the town of Cholchol, on November 21, 1973, by personnel from the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco.

The detention was carried out at night by a uniformed patrol led by the then-Major Aquiles Huerta Infante (deceased), who accused Carrero Chanqueo of having stolen a horse some time earlier. He was also accused by the civilian José del Carmen Merino Curihuinca (deceased) of having stolen firewood at Fundo 'El Carmen', which was located in the same sector as Fundo 'La Serena', on the road toward Cholchol.

After taking him from his home, they moved him toward a nearby ravine, about 300 meters from the house, and proceeded to execute him there, leaving the body abandoned in the same place. The next morning, Carrero Chanqueo's relatives went to the station in the neighboring town of Labranza to ask about the detainee without obtaining news of his whereabouts; the same occurred in other places in Temuco where they went in search of him.

Days later, a nephew of the victim found the body in the wooded ravine where he had been murdered by the military.

The raids and punitive operations were organized by the commanders of the No. 8 'Tucapel' Infantry Regiment of Temuco, led by the then-Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased), who also served as commander of the Temuco military garrison.

The repressive operations were carried out by personnel from the "Tucapel" and reserve personnel who were called to active duty after the military coup. These companies, in turn, formed patrols that were stationed in different parts of the city for the purposes of curfew control and guarding locations classified as strategic by the military command; likewise, these companies were sent or deployed to the outskirts of the city to carry out military patrols and controls.

Thus, a patrol from the No. 8 Tucapel Infantry Regiment of Temuco, composed of personnel from several companies, under the command of Major Aquiles Huerta Infante (deceased), went to the sector known as Fundo 'La Serena', on the road to the town of Cholchol, where they proceeded to carry out several raids in the area, in one of which they detained and executed the community member Ramón Carrero Chanqueo.

Source: resumen.cl, November 22, 2022