Representative Status: Former Intendant of Cautín, Deputy for Cautín, member of the Radical Party. Date of Detention: October 5, 1973

REPRESSIVE SITUATION

Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos, married, father of 4, former Intendant of Cautín, Deputy for Cautín, and member of the Radical Party, was detained for the first time on September 13, 1973, by Carabineros officers from the Pitrufquén police station at his home in that town.

He was taken directly to that police unit, from where he was transferred to the Second Carabineros Police Station in Temuco. There, a Lieutenant ordered that his head be shaved. The following day, at 15:00 hours, he was paraded through the downtown streets of Temuco (for which there is photographic evidence) before finally being taken to the Tucapel Regiment.

On that occasion, Military Prosecutor Alfonso Podlech authorized him to be taken to his home in Pitrufquén under house arrest. He remained in that condition until October 5, the date on which Carabineros officials, under the command of then-Lieutenant Carlos Moreno, appeared at his home and transferred him to the Second Police Station of Temuco.

Later, by order of Carabineros Prosecutor Gonzalo Arias González, he was taken to the Public Jail of Temuco, where he remained until October 11. On that day, at 18:30 hours, he was taken to the Carabineros Prosecutor's Office, where the Prosecutor informed him that he was being granted unconditional release due to a lack of evidence.

The Prosecutor also issued him a safe-conduct pass that authorized him to travel only to his home in Pitrufquén. He was released at 19:40 hours, and the curfew began at 20:00 hours, leaving him 20 minutes to reach Pitrufquén, located 30 kilometers from Temuco, without money, documents, or a watch.

However, his release was merely an administrative formality; credible witness accounts state that the victim was placed on a helicopter bound for an unknown destination. Since then, his family has known nothing of the victim's fate.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On June 15, 1979, his family filed a complaint for alleged disappearance with Investigating Judge Alfredo Maynet González in case 2-79, which was opened to investigate the cases of the forcibly disappeared persons from the Department of Temuco.

In July 1979, the Cautín Carabineros Prefecture informed the court that there were no records in the Second Police Station of that institution related to the detention or subsequent release of Gastón Lobos Barrientos.

In August of that year, the Investigative Police carried out the court's order to investigate, during which they interviewed the victim's family and consulted the Public Jail; none of these actions provided new information that would lead to the victim's whereabouts.

On October 25, the Investigating Judge declared himself incompetent to continue overseeing the summary proceedings and referred the case files to the IV Military Court of Valdivia, on the grounds that the persons whose disappearance was being investigated had been detained by uniformed personnel in the line of duty, presuming that they bore some degree of responsibility for the events.

The Military Justice system ordered the opening of case 1192-79 at the Military Prosecutor's Office of Cautín. Before this latter court, in February 1980, the Inspector General of Carabineros of Punta Arenas informed the Prosecutor that, at the time of the events, in his capacity as the duty Military Prosecutor, he had initiated proceedings against Gastón Lobos Barrientos and that, within the legal timeframe, he had decided to grant him unconditional release due to a lack of evidence, issuing the aforementioned safe-conduct pass.

Carabineros Captain Germán Uribe Santana, who was the Prosecutor's Secretary at the time, testified to the same effect before the Prosecutor's Office. In April 1980, Carabineros Captain Carlos Hernán Moreno Mena, who at the time of the events was the Sub-commissioner of the Pitrufquén police station, testified to the court that he had been required to carry out superior orders related to the detention of various people involved with extremist elements and coup-related problems.

He stated he was under the orders of the Commissioner and that, on all occasions, he only had to carry out his orders and detain certain people, of whom he only remembered the case of Gastón Lobos Barrientos, whom he handed over to the police station, after which he knew nothing more about the matter nor had any further connection with that person.

On October 24, 1980, the Military Judge dismissed the case totally and definitively by virtue of the 1978 Amnesty Decree Law.

Source: (Corporation Report)

The family, exhausted by the tortuous steps of the Chilean justice system, lost hope of receiving justice for the disappearance of the head of the household. A civil judgment from a Temuco court, subsequently backed by the Temuco Court of Appeals, was annulled by a ruling from the Supreme Court, which accepted a cassation appeal filed by the State Defense Council.

A strange situation surrounds the final hours of Deputy Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos, which illustrates how the dictatorship carried out murders and disappearances of people through its State agents. 48 years have passed since then, and there is still no justice in Chile.

On October 13, 2014, under Roll No. 25.921, a Cassation Appeal on the Merits was filed with the Supreme Court of Justice by the State Defense Council against the civil judgment of the Temuco Court of Appeals, which had confirmed the judgment of the 3rd Civil Court of Temuco, which in turn had accepted the lawsuit filed by the widow and children of the radical Deputy Gastón Lobos Barrientos, currently a forcibly disappeared person.

The ruling of the Temuco Court of Appeals confirmed the first-instance judgment that ordered the Chilean Treasury to pay the sum of 375 million pesos to his family members for moral damages. In the criminal aspect, (the family represented by lawyer Jaime Madariaga), previously, on August 10, 2010, the Supreme Court, while hearing a cassation appeal, had issued a conviction against Juan de Dios Fritz Vega, a Carabineros official who, in the exercise of his duties, committed the crime of permanent qualified kidnapping against Gastón Lobos Barrientos, events that occurred during the months of September and October 1973, investigated by Fernando Carreño Ortega in his capacity as an investigating minister. The regrettable part is that said conviction, regarding the only judicially established perpetrator, could not be executed because the convicted person in this case, Fritz Vega, had died one month earlier, on July 1, 2010, increasing the harmful consequences for the family members of Gastón Lobos Barrientos by provoking a sense of impunity and a lack of timely justice. Due to the above, in 2011, the family filed a civil lawsuit against the Chilean Treasury to obtain reparation in the context of what was established by the norms of Jus Cogens or International Humanitarian Law and regarding Human Rights Treaties duly ratified by Chile, and the pertinent constitutional provisions. In that context, the Third Civil Court of Temuco finally issued a conviction against the Chilean Treasury, which was confirmed by the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Temuco, and which, at that date, was before the Supreme Court to hear a Cassation Appeal filed by the State Defense Council. On behalf of the family, lawyer Cristian Dulansky and the prominent Human Rights lawyer Héctor Salazar appeared judicially in said Cassation Appeal. The case was effectively argued in the Supreme Court on November 24, 2014, remaining in a state of agreement, that is, with the decision made. In parallel, the Court ordered the suspension of the agreement and summoned the parties to a conciliation on December 15, 2014. Considering that the President of the Supreme Court also met on these issues with the President and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies. The intention of this party was to attempt, through the Chamber of Deputies and its members and/or representatives, or the instances deemed appropriate, an attitude from the State Defense Council, just as has been done in other cases of public importance such as the case of the assassination of Tucapel Jiménez Alfaro, or the case of Chancellor Orlando Letelier, and surely also the case of Carlos Prat and others, in which we understand that the case of Deputy Gastón Lobos Barrientos—the only active deputy forcibly disappeared during the dictatorship—is "equated" in terms of status, in which a conciliation process was finally produced between the parties to put an end to the judicial proceedings. On December 15, 2014, a daughter of the forcibly disappeared deputy, Marcela Lobos, together with her lawyers, met with the State Defense Council. The result of the conciliation process was that no agreement was reached; there was no opportunity for dialogue because "everything was already defined, only a messenger was presented to communicate what was determined by the Defense Council," she told Tiempo21. Following that, the Supreme Court announced its ruling, which was against the family's lawsuit. The family realized that the ruling had already been decided and was reserved for after the conciliation process. The sentence was pronounced on January 30, 2015, by the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court, composed of ministers Héctor Carreño, Pedro Pierry, Rosa Egnem, and María Eugenia Sandoval. The participating lawyer, Jorge Lagos, did not sign because he was absent, despite having attended the hearing and the agreement of the case. Today, in 2021, years later and in the midst of a pandemic, and having lost hope of finding the truth and seeing justice served, a new light appears for the wife and family of the forcibly disappeared deputy. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported that it declares admissible the petition made by the family and their lawyers regarding the judicial guarantee, judicial protection, life, liberty, security, and integrity of the person, protection against arbitrary detention, and the obligations that the State of Chile has given the status that Gastón Luis Lobos Barrientos held at the time of his detention, kidnapping, and subsequent disappearance. The family has received this news with hope and serenity; it is known that it is one more step taken, and that the possibilities of finding truth and justice are possible. The importance is given to the fact that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights considers that the case of Gastón Lobos Barrientos, former Intendant and Deputy of the Republic in office (1973), must be handled in a way that gives confidence, security, and conviction that things will now be done well. Placed on a helicopter: According to a document from the Radical Party, on October 5 (1973), Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos was detained again at his home by the same Carabineros personnel, "being transferred to the Temuco Jail. The authorities of the facility reported that Gastón Lobos was released from that detention center on October 1 at 18:50 hours, by order of the Cautín Carabineros Prosecutor's Office. Subsequently, the family claims to have been informed by that Prosecutor's Office that Lobos was released on October 1 at 19:40 hours (the curfew was in effect from 19:00 hours), being granted a safe-conduct pass to return to his home. Credible witness accounts state that Gastón Lobos was placed on a helicopter. Testimonies that reached the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation indicate that his body was found at the mouth of the Imperial River and buried in a place not yet identified, by the same person who found him and who knew him personally. A strange situation surrounds the final hours of Deputy Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos, which illustrates how the dictatorship carried out murders and disappearances of people through its State agents, because of his work as a public servant, disappearing a Deputy and trying to eliminate the highest Republican values that were represented by human beings like Don Gastón, some like socialism, secular humanism, and democracy."

Source: litoralpress.cl, April 9, 2021 Date: 04-09-2021

La Araucanía: Plaque reinstalled in tribute to former Intendant disappeared during the military dictatorship

The plaque in tribute to the former deputy and Intendant for La Araucanía, Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos, a forcibly disappeared person during Pinochet's military dictatorship, was reinstalled in the La Araucanía building.

Lobos, an accountant by profession and a member of the Radical Party, was appointed Intendant for Cautín in 1970 by President Salvador Allende, a position he held until 1972, before being elected as a deputy for the region.

Two days after the military coup, Luis Lobos was detained by Carabineros and placed under house arrest, but on October 5, he was again taken from his home by police personnel, and his whereabouts have been unknown since then.

His career was remembered this Thursday during a ceremony at the Intendancy of La Araucanía, which concluded with the reinstallation of a plaque in his memory, which had been removed after the February 2010 earthquake.

Marianela Lobos, one of Luis Gastón Lobos's daughters, indicated that this is a contribution to the country's history so that there will never again be forcibly disappeared persons. Another of the Radical member's daughters, Marcela Lobos, said that her father's memory remains alive.

Two Carabineros were held responsible for the detention and disappearance of Luis Gastón Lobos, but they died before they could be convicted by the justice system. The family's lawyer, Cristian Dulansky, detailed that in 2011 they filed a lawsuit against the State of Chile to pursue the culpability of civilians, since the criminal sentence ratified that there were responsibilities.

This tribute is also part of the commemoration of the National Congress Day.

Source: emol.cl, July 3, 2014 Date: 07-03-2014

Family of deputy disappeared during the dictatorship files multi-million peso lawsuit against the State

The Chilean Treasury is facing a lawsuit for 10 billion pesos after the family of the disappeared deputy for Cautín, Gastón Lobos, filed a civil action, supported by the criminal conviction of the Supreme Court against a Chilean state agent for the crime of qualified kidnapping of the parliamentarian.

Before the Temuco Court of Appeals, this Wednesday morning, a civil lawsuit was filed against the State of Chile by the family of the disappeared deputy for Cautín, Gastón Lobos, an action initiated by the surviving wife and three children of Lobos Barrientos, who are suing the Treasury for 10 billion pesos.

The Supreme Court issued a criminal conviction a year ago for the crime of qualified kidnapping against a state agent for the disappearance during the military dictatorship of the man who also held the position of Intendant of the province, said lawyer Cristian Dulansky on behalf of the Lobos family.

The lawsuit for damages and the corresponding procedure in the Courts of Justice must meet a deadline of nearly two years of litigation to arrive at a resolution or ruling.

Source: radiocooperativa.cl, August 3, 2011 Date: 08-03-2011

Supreme Court sentences former Carabinero to three years in prison for forcibly disappeared person case

The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court sentenced former Carabinero Juan de Dios Fritz Vega to three years and one day in prison without benefits for the qualified kidnapping (and disappearance) of Luis Lobos Barrientos, which occurred on October 11, 1973, in Pitrufquén.

In the same case, the court acquitted former Carabineros Gonzalo Arias González and Eduardo Riquelme Rodríguez. The investigating minister of the Temuco Court of Appeals, Fernando Carreño, had initially sentenced the three defendants to eight years in prison, which was ratified by the Temuco Court of Appeals.

Source: radio.uchile.cl, August 11, 2010 Date: 08-11-2010

Temuco Court issues conviction for kidnapping of former radical deputy

The Temuco Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence for the qualified kidnapping of former radical deputy Luis Lobos Barrientos, which occurred after the military coup in the town of Pitrufquén, Araucanía Region.

In a unanimous ruling, ministers Héctor Toro, Víctor Reyes, and Julio César Grandón ratified the ruling of minister Fernando Carreño, who on August 29 sentenced Gonzalo Arias González, Eduardo Riquelme Olivares, and Juan Fritz Vega to eight years in prison.

This is the eleventh conviction issued by the Temuco Court of Appeals in a human rights violation case and the 13th since 2004. Lobos Barrientos was detained for the first time on September 13, 1973, by Carabineros officers from the Pitrufquén police station at his home.

He was taken directly to that police unit, from where he was transferred to Temuco, and from there to the Tucapel Regiment. On that occasion, the former military prosecutor Alfonso Podlech—currently imprisoned in Europe—authorized him to be taken to his home in Pitrufquén under house arrest.

He remained in that condition until October 5, the date on which Carabineros officials, under the command of then-lieutenant Carlos Moreno, appeared at his home and transferred him to the Second Police Station of Temuco, and later, by order of Carabineros prosecutor Gonzalo Arias González, he was taken to the Public Jail of the regional capital.

He remained in that prison until October 11, the day he was taken to the Carabineros prosecutor's office, where he was granted unconditional release due to a lack of evidence. He was released at 19:40 hours, and the curfew began at 20:00 hours, so he had 20 minutes to reach Pitrufquén, 30 kilometers from Temuco, without money, documents, or a watch.

However, his release was only an administrative formality, as witness accounts state that the victim was placed on a helicopter bound for an unknown destination.

Source: lanacion.cl, December 5, 2008 Date: 12-05-2008

First stone laid in Plaza Los Héroes in Pitrufquén

The Regional Governor of La Araucanía, Luciano Rivas Stepke, together with the mayor of Pitrufquén, Jacqueline Romero Inzunza, municipal councilors, regional councilor Eduardo Hernández, and neighborhood leaders of the downtown sector, participated in the symbolic ceremony to begin the remodeling works of Plaza Los Héroes.

The project, which has an investment of $1.4 billion financed by the Regional Government, includes the creation of children's play areas, green zones, public restrooms, a historical zone, an amphitheater area, and a memorial landmark for those forcibly disappeared during the military dictatorship.

Governor Rivas highlighted the importance of recovering public spaces, stressing that the modernization of Plaza Los Héroes will contribute to the quality of life of the residents of Pitrufquén, improving commerce, traffic, and the value of the area. "A plaza like this gives a new face to the city, and we are committed to supporting initiatives that positively impact the lives of citizens," said Rivas.

For her part, Mayor Romero recalled that this project was originally proposed during the administration of former mayor Humberto Catalán and, after being rescued and adjusted, was presented for financing to the Regional Government. "This project had been sitting in a drawer for eight years.

Today, thanks to the support of the governor and the regional councilors, we are fulfilling this dream," affirmed Romero, adding that the works have an execution period of 420 days. Nancy Catalán, representative of the COSOF, expressed her enthusiasm for the progress of the commune and the participation of the leaders in the start of the works. "We are excited about the change and progress that our commune is having.

This is going to be very beautiful, and the most important thing is that the progress of our commune is visible," she concluded. These works have a completion deadline of 420 days, so the project will not only transform the plaza but will also include a memorial to remember the victims of political violence in the communes of Pitrufquén, Freire, and Gorbea.

Source: radiouniversal.cl, 7/24/2024

Remembering the past for the challenges of the future

Inhabiting the Republic means taking up the words of our fellow party member President Pedro Aguirre Cerda and strongly pointing out that "politics is not only in La Moneda, but also in the miner and the apir, the industrial worker, the teacher and the wage earner, the farmer and the laborer, whose pains and aspirations we represent." The new Chile needs a new progressivism, which can be none other than recovering the old progressive sentiment, that for which Luis Gastón Lobos fought: patriotic, popular, and a defender of the oppressed.

As 49 years have passed since the Coup d'État and after losing the plebiscite that was going to end the dictatorial legacy, it is necessary to reflect on our future as progressives. This is the best way to honor the memory of our compatriots who were tortured, executed, and disappeared.

The legacy of our radical fellow party member, Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos, who is one of the two deputies forcibly disappeared by the dictatorship, is a light that serves us to reflect on the future of radicalism and the center-left.

In his last speeches in Congress, Lobos recalled that radicals would give all our effort and votes so that workers "who truly deserve much more than what has been given to them until now" would not continue to be deceived.

What would Luis Gastón Lobos say if he saw his fellow party members and allies belittling the popular and sovereign decision of the people of Chile? What would our martyr deputy say if we looked down on the people's love for their homeland and their traditions?

President Boric called on us to inhabit the Republic to discover the different corners, stories, and realities of our territory, but inhabiting the Republic is also inhabiting it from the popular, urban, and rural sectors.

Inhabiting the Republic is inhabiting the country, without fear of its people, without fear of its citizens and their visions. Without belittling the people of Chile when their different nations and cultures take a different path than the vision we have.

Inhabiting the Republic means taking up the words of our fellow party member President Pedro Aguirre Cerda and strongly pointing out that "politics is not only in La Moneda, but also in the miner and the apir, the industrial worker, the teacher and the wage earner, the farmer and the laborer, whose pains and aspirations we represent." The new Chile needs a new progressivism, which can be none other than recovering the old progressive sentiment, that for which Luis Gastón Lobos fought: patriotic, popular, and a defender of the oppressed.

The new progressivism (and above all the new radicalism) is a promise to the citizenry that there will be no people, companies, or private or public institutions powerful enough to put their foot on the rest.

The new center-left is built from our history and with our colors, but in order to be able to create a new future. Our forcibly disappeared persons must be for us a light that reminds us of the side of the field we must be on: where those who fight to overcome the legacies of that dictatorial power of the old Constitution are.

That will be our greatest tribute to them. After the electoral defeat of Sunday the 4th, it is necessary to renew our spirits and also our hopes. People want and need a new and good Constitution. It is our responsibility to rise to the occasion, as people like Lobos Barrientos did years ago, to face the challenge of empowering to build the long-awaited new Chile.

Source: elmostrador.cl, September 13, 2022

Note: We received the following email via Memoriaviva:

Regarding the family data, Luis Gastón Lobos Barrientos has 5 children: Irma Gina, Gastón Roberto, Marianela, Nelly Sofía Lobos Salvo, and Marcela Lobos Felber. Nelly Sofía Lobos Salvo is recognized by her father. She was born in Temuco, and her father gave her the name of his mother, Sofía. Nelly Sofía lives in Santiago and studied law.