Manuel Jesús Aedo Landeros, 25 years old at the time of the events, single, a master carpenter, with no political affiliation, residing in Mulchén, disappeared on September 18, 1973, during curfew hours, and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

On the afternoon of September 18, 1973, Manuel Jesús met his friends, the brothers Segundo Luis and Carlos Figueroa Anguita, in a public space and invited them to his home to have a few drinks to celebrate Chile's Independence Day, which was being commemorated that very day.

They spent a few hours socializing at Aedo Landeros's home before the three of them moved to the Figueroa Anguita brothers' home, where they continued the celebration. At approximately 23:00, Manuel Jesús expressed his intention to go to the "Brasil" cabaret, located at Calle Fierro No. 859 in Mulchén, an invitation that was rejected by his friends, who warned him that it was not advisable to leave the house at that time due to the curfew in effect.

Despite his friends' warnings, he left the house, informing them that he was heading to the aforementioned establishment. From that moment on, the whereabouts of Manuel Jesús Aedo Landeros have been unknown.

Inquiries made by his family lead to the conclusion that he was arrested on that occasion by police forces who made him forcibly disappeared. The Rettig Report gathered new information, which states that on that September 18, he was detained in a public place by Carabineros and taken to the Second Police Station of Mulchén.

The report also adds that the detention was acknowledged, but that he had been released the following day.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

The first efforts to locate his whereabouts were carried out by his mother, Mrs. Aurora Landeros López, who went to the Mulchén Police Station, where his detention was denied. Subsequently, she went to the offices of the Archbishopric of Concepción and Temuco to request help in the search.

Inquiries were made to the local governments of Lautaro, Victoria, Angol, Traiguén, and Collipulli in the IX Region, with no information found regarding his whereabouts. On April 26, 1974, a complaint for alleged misfortune was filed with the Mulchén Court of Letters, which was accepted for processing under case file 18759.

Before the court, Segundo Luis Figueroa Anguita testified, confirming the information provided by the victim's mother, which culminated in the disappearance of Manuel Jesús. For his part, Carlos Figueroa Anguita was not located by the court after having left the city, with his new address unknown.

The court also did not take a statement from the friend of the victim who had worked at the cabaret, as the establishment had ceased operations before this investigation was conducted (July 1975). On August 2, 1975, the 2nd Police Station of Mulchén informed the court that on September 8, 1973, at 3:30, Aedo Landeros had been detained for public drunkenness, and that after paying the corresponding fine, he had been released on provisional liberty at 06:30 that same day, and that the court had been notified of this at the time.

The official letter from the Carabineros concluded by stating that they had no record of other detentions of Manuel Jesús Aedo Landeros at that station. The National Executive Secretariat for Detainees (SENDET) also informed the court regarding this case, stating that it had no information on the person in question.

On August 30, 1975, the court declared the summary closed and temporarily dismissed the case, "bearing in mind that the perpetration of the crime investigated in these criminal proceedings, case file 18759, is not fully justified." On October 8, 1975, the Court of Appeals of Concepción confirmed the judge's resolution.

Source: Corporación Report

These are 14 former State agents and 2 civilians involved in the assassination of Víctor Jara and Littré Quiroga, the crime against Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria, Operation Condor, the Caravan of Death, the "Quemados" case, and the Laja-San Rosendo massacre.

The Caucoto Abogados Law Firm, an office specializing in human rights, provided a new updated list of 16 perpetrators who are fugitives from justice. These are 14 former State agents and 2 civilians, convicted of various crimes against humanity, involved in the assassination of Víctor Jara and Littré Quiroga; the crime against Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria, Operation Condor, the Caravan of Death, the "Quemados" Case, and the Laja-San Rosendo massacre, among other proceedings.

In November 2023, the Law Firm released an initial list that included 14 fugitive former agents, several of whom have been captured to date. However, new names have been added to the list, and they remain in impunity despite the sentences imposed.

The list is composed of former military personnel, Carabineros, former Navy officials, and civilians who were members of the dictatorship's repressive apparatuses, such as the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), the National Intelligence Center (CNI), naval intelligence, and the Joint Command, accused as authors and co-authors of qualified kidnapping, qualified homicide, illicit association, and the application of torture, among other crimes.

"It is the State's obligation that sentences be served"

For lawyer Francisco Bustos, responsible for compiling the list of fugitives, the number of fugitives is concerning, given that "the state duty to investigate, judge, and punish also implies the imposition of effective and proportional sentences. And, of course, it is the State's obligation that sentences be served."

Another concerning aspect, as Bustos explains, is the time elapsed in some cases: "The person who has been evading justice the longest is businessman Barrueto, almost two years after the sentence in the Santa Bárbara-Quilaco case.

All the others have arrest warrants from 2023 and 2024. In this sense, some of those who had been fleeing justice the longest have been caught, such as Rubén Morales, since the end of 2022, and Juan Opazo Vera, the last fugitive from the Paine case, who had been escaping since June 2022.

This is something that must also be recognized; all those convicted for that episode are serving their sentences."

In that sense, he points out that "we hope that the Judiciary and the police continue to deepen those measures implemented that have allowed for the reduction of these margins of impunity."

List of fugitives for crimes against humanity

1) Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning (businessman), sentenced to 10 years and one day as a co-author of seven qualified kidnappings (forcible disappearances) perpetrated in the commune of Santa Bárbara.

2) Federico Humberto Chaigneau Sepúlveda (Army officer, DINA), sentenced in the Conferencia II Episode to 12 years of major imprisonment for the crimes of qualified kidnapping of Fernando Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez, and to three years of imprisonment for the crimes of simple kidnapping of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Berríos.

Chaigneau also has convictions in the Operation Condor process and for the forcible disappearance of Reinalda Pereira Plaza. In Operation Condor, he is sentenced to two terms of 18 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree for the crimes of repeated qualified kidnapping of Alexei Jaccard Siegler and Héctor Velázquez Mardones; and as a co-author of the repeated crimes of qualified homicide of Ricardo Ignacio Ramírez Herrera, Jacobo Stoulman Bortnik, Matilde Pessa Mois, Hernán Soto Gálvez, and Ruiter Enrique Correa Arce.

He was recently sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment as a co-author of the kidnapping of Reinalda Pereira Plaza.

3) Alberto Roque del Sagrado Corazón Badilla Grillo (Navy officer), sentenced as the author of the crime of qualified homicide and application of torture against Enrique López Olmedo, to sentences of 12 years of imprisonment and 541 days, respectively.

4) Nelson Edgardo Hasse Mazzei (Army officer), convicted as a co-author of the qualified kidnappings and qualified homicides of Víctor Jara Martínez and Littré Quiroga Carvajal. A sentence of 10 years and one day was imposed for the kidnappings and 15 years of imprisonment for the homicides.

5) Guillermo Salinas Torres (Army officer), 6) Pablo Belmar Labbé (Army officer), 7) René Patricio Quilhot Palma (Army officer), convicted as co-authors of the crimes of qualified homicide of Carmelo Soria Espinoza and authors of illicit association.

For the first charge, a sentence of 15 years and one day was imposed on Salinas Torres, and 10 years and one day on the other two. For the crime of illicit association, a sentence of 541 days of imprisonment was imposed on each.

8) Juan de Dios Higueras Álvarez (Carabineros non-commissioned officer), convicted in the Mulchén Episode as a co-author of the qualified homicides perpetrated in (i) Fundo Carmen y Maitenes: Florencio Rubilar Gutiérrez, José Liborio Rubilar Gutiérrez, José Lorenzo Rubilar Gutiérrez, Alejandro Albornoz González, Luis Alberto Godoy Sandoval, Miguel del Carmen Albornoz Acuña, Daniel Alfonso Albornoz González; ii) of Fundo Pemehue: Alberto Albornoz González, Felidor Exequiel Albornoz González, Jerónimo Humberto Sandoval Medina, Juan de Dios Roa Riquelme, and José Fernando Gutiérrez Ascencio, which occurred on October 6 and 7, 1973; to a sentence of 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree, plus accessories.

Also in the same episode, he was convicted as a co-author of the crimes of qualified kidnapping of the following persons from (ii) Fundo El Morro: Juan de Dios Laubra Brevis, José Florencio Yáñez Durán, Celsio Nicasio Vivanco Carrasco, Edmundo José Vidal Aedo, Domingo Sepúlveda Castillo, and Guillermo José Albornoz González, perpetrated starting on October 5, 6, and 7, 1973, in the commune of Mulchén, to a sentence of ten years and one day of major imprisonment in its medium degree, plus legal accessories.

9) René Riveros Valderrama (Army officer), sentenced in the Operation Condor process to two terms of 18 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree for the crimes of repeated qualified kidnapping of Alexei Jaccard Siegler and Héctor Velázquez Mardones; and as a co-author of the repeated crimes of qualified homicide of Ricardo Ignacio Ramírez Herrera, Jacobo Stoulman Bortnik, Matilde Pessa Mois, Hernán Soto Gálvez, and Ruiter Enrique Correa Arce.

10) Jaime Ojeda Torrent (Army officer), convicted in the Caravan of Death process, La Serena episode, convicted as an accomplice to 15 qualified homicides, to a sentence of 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in its medium degree.

The victims are Óscar Aedo Herrera, Marcos Barrantes Alcayaga, Mario Ramírez Sepúlveda, Hipólito Cortés Álvarez, Jorge Contreras Godoy, Roberto Santa Cruz, Jorge Jordán Domic, Gabriel Vergara Muñoz, Carlos Alcayaga Varela, Jorge Osorio Zamora, José Araya González, Óscar Cortés Cortés, Manuel Marcarian Jamett, Víctor Escobar Astudillo, and Jorge Peña Hen.

11) Andrés Pablo Potin Lailhacar (civil engineer – Patria y Libertad – Joint Command). Convicted as a co-author of the crime of qualified kidnapping of Luis Emilio Maturana González, to a sentence of 5 years and one day of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, and as a co-author of the crime of kidnapping of Juan René Orellana Catalán, to a sentence of 400 days of minor imprisonment in its minimum degree.

12) Iván Humberto Figueroa Canobra (Army officer), sentenced to 20 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree, plus legal accessories, for the crimes of consummated qualified homicide of Rodrigo Rojas De Negri, and frustrated qualified homicide of Carmen Gloria Quintana Arancibia.

13) Luis Raimundo Quezada Chandía (former conscript), convicted as a co-author of the qualified homicides of Hernán Henríquez Aravena and Alejandro Flores Rivera, to a sentence of 17 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree.

14) José Isaías Vidal Veloso (commissioner of the Chilean Investigative Police – CNI), convicted as a co-author of the crimes of qualified homicide of Hugo Ratier Noguera and Alejandro Salgado Troquian, to a sentence of 20 years of major imprisonment in its maximum degree plus legal accessories.

Two convicted in the Laja – San Rosendo Episode

15) Alberto Juan Fernández Michell (Carabineros officer), convicted as the author of 19 qualified homicides, to a sentence of life imprisonment, plus legal accessories.

16) Mario Sebastián Montoya Burgos (Carabineros corporal), convicted as a co-author of 19 qualified homicides, to a sentence of 15 years and one day of imprisonment, plus legal accessories.

Fugitives captured to date

– Jorge Vargas Bories (Army officer and agent of the National Intelligence Center, CNI), who was transferred to the Colina I prison. The former uniformed officer was convicted as a co-author of the murder under torture of the high school teacher and former MIR militant, Federico Álvarez Santibáñez, which occurred on August 21, 1979.

– Manfredo Enrique Jurgensen Caesar (doctor, CNI), sentenced as a co-author of the qualified homicide of Federico Álvarez Santibáñez, to a sentence of 8 years of imprisonment. He was a fugitive from January, detained in Argentina in June 2023 while attempting to board a flight to Germany; his extradition was requested, but he passed away days later while deprived of liberty.

– Héctor Fernando Osses Yáñez (Carabineros officer, union leader of retired uniformed personnel), convicted as the author in nearly a dozen cases for murders in the San Gregorio neighborhood, who was a fugitive between 2021 and 2023.

– José Miguel Meza Serrano (Navy, DINA), and Eduardo Alejandro Oyarce Riquelme (Army non-commissioned officer, DINA), sentenced as co-authors of the crimes of qualified kidnapping of Fernando Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez, to a sentence of 12 years of imprisonment each, and of the crimes of simple kidnapping of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Berríos, for which they were sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment respectively.

– Juan Dionisio Opazo Vera (former conscript), sentenced as a co-author of 38 qualified homicides to a sentence of 10 years and one day, in the Paine case.

– Víctor Álvarez Droguett (Army, DINA), convicted as a co-author of the crimes of qualified homicide of Mr. Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Mr. Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Mr. Lincoyán Yalú Berríos Cataldo, to a sentence of 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree; convicted as a co-author of the crimes of qualified kidnapping of Mr.

Fernando Alfredo Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez, to a sentence of 12 years of major imprisonment in its medium degree; convicted as the author of the crimes of simple kidnapping of Mr. Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Mr.

Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Mr. Lincoyán Yalú Berríos Cataldo, to a sentence of 3 years of minor imprisonment in its medium degree, and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for the qualified kidnapping of Marta Ugarte Román.

– Juan Renán Jara Quintana (Army officer), convicted as a co-author of the qualified kidnappings and qualified homicides of Víctor Jara Martínez and Littré Quiroga Carvajal. A sentence of 10 years and one day was imposed for the kidnappings and 15 years of imprisonment for the homicides.

– Juan Daniel Marambio López (Army non-commissioned officer), convicted as a co-author of the qualified homicide of Francisco Javier Santoni Díaz, to a sentence of five years and one day of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, plus legal accessories.

He was also convicted as a co-author of the qualified kidnapping of Bernardo Cortés Castro, to a sentence of five years and one day of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, plus accessories.

– Miguel Fernando Gajardo Quijada (civilian Army employee, CNI), convicted as an accomplice in the Janequeo Episode, for the crimes of qualified homicide of Hugo Ratier Noguera and Alejandro Salgado Troquian, to a sentence of 10 years and 1 day of major imprisonment in its medium degree plus legal accessories.

– Rubén Aroldo Morales López (Carabineros officer), sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment as the author of the qualified homicide of Jorge Vásquez Matamala.

– Olegario Enrique González Moreno (Army, DINA), convicted as a co-author of a qualified kidnapping (forcible disappearance), to a sentence of 10 years and one day.

Source: radio.uchile.cl

Date: 11-26-2024

Prison sentences increased for those convicted of the murder of 18 peasants in Mulchén during the dictatorship

The Court of Appeals of Concepción increased and decreed effective prison sentences for the murder of 18 peasants from Mulchén in 1973, whose remains the Army made disappear six years later.

The ruling decrees the deprivation of liberty for 10 former Carabineros and former military personnel, who were held responsible as authors, co-authors, and cover-ups of the qualified homicides.

When the minister for human rights violation cases, Carlos Aldana, issued the first-instance ruling two years ago, the victims' families criticized the low sentences handed down, which ranged from 541 days to 10 years in prison, even acquitting some of the accused.

And since the sanction at the same time allowed for serving the sentence in freedom, this was precisely the main change made by the Court of Appeals of Concepción, which, by increasing the lowest sentences to 5 years and 1 day, up to the highest of 15 years and 1 day, makes serving time behind bars an obligation.

The plaintiff lawyer, Patricia Parra, welcomed the sentence of the appellate court, since in addition to punishing those who perpetrated the executions of the 18 peasants of Mulchén, the Court confirmed the existence of the "Operation Retiro de Televisores" (Operation Television Set Removal), which between 1978 and 1979 carried out the disappearance of the remains of victims murdered by the dictatorship.

However, given the more than 46 years since the crimes and the setback that the resolution of Minister Aldana in 2017 represented, the leader of the Association of Forcibly Disappeared Detainees, Norma Panes, expressed that the Court's ruling "reaffirms the hope they have that, despite the time, justice will be served."

The Mulchén case began by investigating the 1973 executions of the 18 peasants in the mountain range area at the hands of Carabineros and Army personnel from Los Ángeles, and later Minister Aldana opened the branch of the "Operation Retiro de Televisores," which, although it delayed the summary, allowed for proving—the plaintiff lawyer stressed—how and who made the bodies disappear.

Now the sentence will go to the Supreme Court for the final pronouncement, where the compensation of 1.6 billion pesos that the Treasury should pay to the wives, children, and siblings of the victims of the so-called Mulchén Massacre will also be reviewed.

Source: biobiochile.cl

Date: 01-03-2020

Former Carabineros to prison and military personnel on supervised release for the murder of 18 peasants in Mulchén

11 former military personnel and Carabineros were convicted with different sentences for their responsibility and participation in the so-called "Retiro de Televisores" case, Mulchén branch, in which 18 peasants were executed by the Military Dictatorship in 1973.

Retired Carabineros Jacob Ortiz, Juan Higueras, Osvaldo Díaz, and Héctor Guzmán must serve 10 years of effective prison for 12 qualified homicides, 5 more years for qualified kidnapping, and 300 more days for illegal inhumation, without the right to benefits.

In contrast, military personnel José Iturriaga, Jaime Miller, Julio Fuentes, Luis Palacios, Juan Balboa, Jaime García, and Julio Reyes were convicted for covering up to 3 years and illegal exhumation to 541 days; however, they will serve with supervised release.

"They were sentenced for crimes of qualified homicide, qualified kidnapping, and illegal inhumation—the Carabineros—whereas the military personnel, they participated in an event in '79, it was for the so-called 'Retiro de Televisores' in which they went to the scene of the events, dug up the skeletal remains of these executed people, so their sentence is as cover-ups, because they were neither authors nor accomplices," explained the visiting minister of the Court of Appeals of Concepción, Carlos Aldana.

A decision that left the victims' families dissatisfied. "We are not satisfied, because I consider that the years they have been given are few with respect to the number of victims who were murdered. They were from Army intelligence and they also tried to cover up, to hide everything horrific about the murders," said their spokesperson, Marina Rubilar.

The action to follow will be to file an appeal against the ruling. "We have spoken with the families and obviously the ruling must be analyzed in its entirety and see the filing of an appeal that allows the illustrious Court of Appeals to revoke the ruling and have it amended in accordance with the law," indicated the plaintiff lawyer, Patricia Parra.

The execution of the peasants occurred in October 1973 by Carabineros. In 1979, they were illegally exhumed by the Army and taken to the Los Ángeles regiment, where the remains were incinerated and made to disappear, according to a Supreme Court ruling in 2009, by the express order of Augusto Pinochet.

Source: sabes.cl

Date: 10-31-2017

Mulchén Massacre Historic Site: Fundo Carmen y Maitenes

The Mulchén Massacre Historic Site is located in an extensive bi-regional area, on both banks of the Renaico River, between the communes of Mulchén (Biobío region) and Collipulli (La Araucanía region).

This territory, deeply linked to the social struggles of the forestry and agricultural world and to the Agrarian Reform processes of the 60s and 70s, was the scene of the brutal repression executed after the 1973 Coup d'État.

During October 5, 6, and 7 of that year, 18 workers were persecuted, kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by State agents and civilians linked to the local latifundist power. The violence deployed not only physically eliminated the unionized leaders and workers but also dismembered entire family nuclei and communities, leaving indelible marks on the bodies and local memories.

Subsequently, the dictatorship implemented the so-called "Operation Retiro de Televisores," clandestinely exhuming the bodies to hide the crimes, an action that was recorded in the Rettig and Valech reports.

Since the founding of the Association of Relatives of Forcibly Disappeared Detainees of Mulchén (AFDDM) in 2003, an tireless struggle for truth, justice, and memory has been maintained. Through collective actions, this group managed to have the site declared a National Monument in 2017, making visible milestones such as the "Tree of Memory" and the CONAF house.

The site has been consolidated as a space for commemoration, testimonial archives, and human rights pedagogy, positioning itself as a benchmark in the construction of collective memories and guarantees of non-repetition.

Its work transcends the denunciation of the past: it seeks to influence the present and the future, building a more just, democratic society that is conscious of the value of life and human dignity.

Source: patrimoniocultural.gob.cl