The justice system sentenced General Joaquín Ramírez Pineda to a total of 18 years in prison for the execution of two of President Salvador Allende’s bodyguards, Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz, and to another 18 years in prison for qualified homicide and simple kidnapping of Wagner Herid Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Urcisinio Lara Ruiz, crimes perpetrated in Santiago in 1973.

The ruling by the special judge of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Patricia González, sentenced General Luis Ramírez Pineda to 15 and 3 years in prison for the homicides of Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz.

Ramírez Pineda was the commander of the Tacna Regiment, to which numerous advisors to Salvador Allende and La Moneda officials captured at the seat of government were taken following the bombing and assault on the La Moneda palace during the military coup of September 11, 1973.

Salinas Muñoz and Lara Ruiz belonged to the security team, but on the day of the coup, they were in the city of Talca for work reasons. Upon learning of the events, they traveled immediately to Santiago, but were detained on the highway by carabineros who handed them over to the military, and they were finally taken to the Tacna Regiment.

During the investigation, the ruling notes, it was established that Ramírez Pineda personally ordered Captain Luis Guillermo Mena to execute by firing squad two people, Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz, whose identity cards he even handed to him when issuing said order.

Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara were members of the Partido Voluntario and, like all members of Salvador Allende's security, performed those duties voluntarily. Salinas, who professed the evangelical religion, had also been a prominent amateur boxer, multiple-time champion of Chile, South American champion, and Latin American heavyweight champion.

Ramírez Pineda Convicted in Caravan of Death Case

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Patricia González Quiroz, sentenced retired Army General Luis Joaquín Ramírez Pineda to 15 and 3 years of effective prison time for his responsibility in the crimes of qualified homicide and simple kidnapping of Wagner Herid Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Urcisinio Lara Ruiz, crimes perpetrated in Santiago in 1973.

In the resolution (case file 2182-98), the presiding minister convicted the retired military officer for his responsibility in the case known as the "Caravan of Death. Curicó Episode." In the investigation stage, Minister González Quiroz established the following facts: "That effectively, in the days following September 11, 1973, an exceptional situation existed in the country, and even more so in the regiments, where there were indeed detainees; specifically, this also occurred in the Tacna Regiment, whose commander was the defendant Ramírez Pineda.

And although his defense argues that his client did not order the detention or the killing, and while in part that may have been the case, he nevertheless made himself a participant in said situation by tolerating it in the unit under his command.

And although it is possible that some intelligence units may have acted within the regiment, as the defense alleges—a matter that has not been conclusively proven—nevertheless, the responsibility of the Regiment and the events and facts that occurred within it remain the responsibility of the Chief of the place, who was Ramírez Pineda.

Therefore, it is not consistent with reality to conclude that he lacked control over the events. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that, as has been established, it was Ramírez Pineda who personally ordered Captain Luis Guillermo Mena to execute by firing squad two people, Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz, whose identity cards he even handed to him when issuing said order.

All the above reasons are contrary to the defense's argument that the accused Ramírez Pineda lacked control over the events." For these same facts, on November 27, Minister González issued an acquittal in favor of Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech.

Source: reddigital.cl, December 23, 2015

Conviction in Chile for Five Pinochet Agents

The convicted individuals were found guilty of the 1973 murder of two of Salvador Allende's bodyguards and the 1974 disappearance of two MIR militants at the headquarters of the DINA, the secret police of the dictator Pinochet.

The Supreme Court of Chile yesterday condemned, through two rulings, five former agents of Augusto Pinochet, whom it found guilty of two homicides and two qualified kidnappings—in this case, disappearances—of opponents during the dictatorship.

In the first ruling, the Second Chamber of the highest Chilean court sentenced former Army officer Carlos Massouh Mehech to five years and one day in prison for the kidnapping and homicide of Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz, crimes committed on September 11 and October 5, 1973, respectively.

The victims were part of President Salvador Allende's security team and were detained in the city of Curicó, south of Santiago, while traveling to the capital after learning of the military coup that overthrew the socialist president's government that day.

Both were taken to Santiago and executed by firing squad on October 5 at a military camp in the municipality of San Bernardo. Salinas was also a well-known boxer, amateur champion of Chile and Latin America.

In the civil court, the tribunal ordered the State to pay compensation of 500 million pesos (755,000 dollars) to the victims' families. In the second ruling, the Supreme Court sentenced brigadiers Miguel Krassnoff and Pedro Espinoza and former non-commissioned officer Basclay Zapata to ten years and one day, and Colonel Rolf Wenderoth to five years and one day for the disappearance of two opponents in the framework of the so-called Operation Colombo.

The victims were students Rafael Araneda Yévenes and Carlos Terán de la Jara, detained in December 1974 and forcibly disappeared by the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Pinochet's secret police, in the framework of Operation Colombo.

Both, members of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), a force that fought the dictatorship, disappeared after being seen in torture centers, according to testimonies from surviving prisoners. Colombo was a DINA operation in collaboration with repressive agencies in Argentina and Brazil in 1975 to cover up the disappearance of 119 political prisoners, with the argument that they were extremists killed in internal MIR purges that occurred abroad.

To give the case more credibility, they published unique editions of newspapers in Argentina and Brazil in which the version of the purges appeared, which was echoed by Chilean media controlled by the dictatorship under headlines such as "Exterminated like rats." In the civil part, the court ordered the Chilean State to pay compensation of 200 million pesos (300,000 dollars) to the victims' families.

The measure adopted yesterday by the Chilean Court is in addition to a decision by a trans-Andean tribunal that confirmed at the beginning of June a five-year prison sentence for three former agents of the Pinochet dictatorship accused of torturing two political prisoners in 1974.

The Santiago Court of Appeals ratified the sentence by unanimous ruling against Army Colonel Ricardo Lauriani Maturana, Carabineros Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Lawrence Mires, and non-commissioned officer Basclay Zapata Reyes.

Rosalía Martínez Cereceda and Julio Laks Feller were the victims of the torturers and were kept imprisoned in a clandestine detention and torture center in the Santiago municipality of Ñuñoa between September and October 1974.

The three convicted men, all members of the DINA, face sentences for other crimes against humanity. Ricardo Lawrence Mires fled while enjoying the benefit of provisional release and remains a fugitive.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court of Chile granted freedom, also at the beginning of June, to two former uniformed officers imprisoned in the Punta Peuco prison who were convicted of human rights violations committed during the military dictatorship.

The decision benefited, in the first place, retired Colonel Hernán Reinaldo Ovalle Hidalgo, who participated on September 12, 1973—one day after the coup d'état against the government of Salvador Allende—in the intervention of the Sumar textile company in the so-called Cordón Vicuña Mackenna.

At the same time, the chamber revoked a sentence of the Court of Appeals and granted conditional release to José Florentino Fuentes Castro, a second sergeant of the Carabineros and former member of the institution's Communications directorate, sentenced to life imprisonment as the perpetrator of the kidnappings and homicides of José Manuel Parada, Manuel Guerrero, and Santiago Nattino on March 30, 1985, in Santiago.

Source: pagina12.com.ar, July 7, 2017

Supreme Court Rejects Review Appeal of Ruling Convicting (Ret.) Military Officer for 1973 Homicides

In a unanimous ruling, the Second Chamber of the highest court—composed of ministers Hugo Dolmestch, Carlos Künsemüller, Lamberto Cisternas, Manuel Antonio Valderrama, and Jorge Dahm—ruled out contradictory sentences in the case.

The Supreme Court summarily dismissed the review appeal filed by (ret.) Army officer Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech, convicted as the perpetrator of the qualified homicide of Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz, perpetrated in 1973.

In a unanimous ruling, the Second Chamber of the highest court—composed of ministers Hugo Dolmestch, Carlos Künsemüller, Lamberto Cisternas, Manuel Antonio Valderrama, and Jorge Dahm—ruled out contradictory sentences in the case. "That the basis of the claim does not comply with the requirements of the first alleged ground, since it is pointed out that there are two final convictions that are contradictory: one that convicts Luis Ramírez Pineda as the perpetrator of the qualified homicides of Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara, and another that convicts the appellant Carlos Massouh Mehech as the perpetrator of said homicides, in circumstances where Captain Mena Sepúlveda confessed to having been the person who fired the shots that caused the death of the two aforementioned victims," the ruling maintains. The resolution adds: "In effect, there are no contradictory sentences in this case, only rulings that sanction two people for acts that could perfectly well have been committed by more than one, as was established in the factual statements of the final judgments pronounced, which establish that a military contingent carried out an operation whose purpose was the execution of the identified persons, with the appellant being part of that group." "That—it continues—in relation to the second ground, it is pointed out that there are three facts that constitute it. The first consists of the contradictions that exist between the replacement sentence that leaves two considerations of the annulled one in force and which, in the appellant's opinion, establish precisely that the convicted person did not shoot at the two victims. He states that the second fact is given by the expert report carried out during the current year, which establishes that the weapon used by the convicted Massouh did not scientifically have the capacity to cause the death of Wagner Salinas or Francisco Lara, as its characteristics do not correspond to the projectiles found in the bodies of both victims." "Finally, he indicates that a third fact consists of two documents that were not considered at the time of sentencing, which is the ruling of December 16, 2015, which convicts Luis Ramírez Pineda for the same facts, and Bando 24, of September 12, 1973, issued by the Military Junta, which established that people who did not cease armed resistance would be executed by firing squad," it adds. "Such background information in no way accounts for any truly new fact or document from which the innocence of the convicted person can be predicated, especially by virtue of the factual circumstances established in the conviction, reasons for which the appeal in question will not be admitted for processing," the resolution states. Therefore, it concludes that: "the review appeal filed by lawyer Arturo Massuh Aleuanlli, on behalf of the convicted Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech, is summarily dismissed."

Source: elmostrador.cl, May 29, 2019

Supreme Court Rejected Freedom Appeal Filed by Punta Peuco Inmate Convicted for Homicide of Allende's GAP Members

(Ret.) Army officer Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech is being held in the Punta Peuco prison, serving since October 2, 2017, a sentence of 5 years and one day as the perpetrator of the qualified homicide of Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara—both belonging to the GAP—in 1973.

The Supreme Court rejected the amparo appeal filed by the defense of (ret.) Army officer Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech against the Conditional Release Commission of the Santiago Court of Appeals, which denied him the benefit last April.

Massouh is being held in the Punta Peuco prison, serving since October 2, 2017, a sentence of 5 years and one day as the perpetrator of the qualified homicide of Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara—both belonging to the Personal Friends Group (GAP) of President Salvador Allende—in 1973.

The highest court reported that the ruling was unanimous and justified its decision on the fact that Massouh Mehech does not meet the requirements demanded for the granting of conditional release. "The Second Chamber of the highest court—composed of ministers Manuel Antonio Valderrama, Jorge Dahm, Leopoldo Llanos, and (i) lawyers Ricardo Abuauad and Pía Tavolari—revoked the challenged sentence, issued by the Santiago Court of Appeals, considering that the appellant does not meet the requirements demanded for the granting of conditional release," emphasizes the sentence published on the judicial body's web portal. For this, the Judiciary argued that Chile ratified the Rome Statute in 2009, in which convictions for crimes against humanity are established. "That the 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court, also called the Rome Statute, is an international treaty ratified by Chile in 2009. This instrument establishes a complementary jurisdiction to national criminal jurisdictions to prosecute the most serious international crimes, among them, those against humanity. The consideration of these rules constitutes an international standard required for the execution of any conviction for the aforementioned crimes; in such a way that the rules of domestic law must be interpreted in accordance with international human rights law, and among the possible interpretations, the one that best coincides with the latter must be preferred," the ruling states. The resolution adds: "That Part X of the cited Statute, referring to the execution of sentences imposed for such crimes, establishes in its article 110 that they may be reduced or their alternative fulfillment may be arranged, concurring, among other requirements, that their conduct reveals their dissociation from the crime (awareness of the crime and the damage caused), requirements that, as appears from the merit of the background information, are not met in this case. Said requirement was, furthermore, included by article 2 No. 3 of Decree Law 321, in its current wording." For the Supreme Court: "(...) from the merit of the background information, it is evident that regarding the protected person, the requirements demanded by Decree Law No. 321 for the granting of conditional release are not met, and in accordance also with the provisions of article 21 of the Political Constitution of the Republic, the appealed sentence of June 25, 2021, issued by the Santiago Court of Appeals, in Court Entry No. 1.475-2021, is revoked and, in its place, it is declared that the amparo appeal filed in favor of Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech is rejected." Massouh Mehech had achieved freedom thanks to a ruling in June by the Court of Appeals that ignored the recommendations of the conditional release committee, which concluded that there were "risk factors for recidivism," refers the portal El Periodista. The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Patricia González Quiroz, acquitted him in 2015 for failing to acquire the conviction of his participation in the events that led to the death of the two members of the Personal Friends Group (GAP) of President Salvador Allende.

Homicide of Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara

The crimes of qualified kidnapping and qualified homicide of Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz, perpetrated in October 1973, are framed in the so-called "Curicó episode" of the Caravan of Death case.

Both belonged to the security team, but on the day of the coup, they were in the city of Talca for work reasons. Upon learning of the events, they traveled immediately to Santiago, but on September 11, 1973, they were detained on the highway by carabineros who handed them over to the military.

Subsequently, they were taken to the Curicó Regiment and then transferred to the city jail after giving statements to the military authority of the time. On September 30, 1973, they were transferred to the Tacna Motorized Artillery Regiment in Santiago, where they remained deprived of liberty until October 5, 1973, when they were executed by firing squad.

Both were militants of the Partido Voluntario and, like all members of Salvador Allende's security, performed those duties voluntarily. Salinas, who also professed the evangelical religion, had also been a prominent amateur boxer, multiple-time champion of Chile, South American champion, and Latin American heavyweight champion.

During the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), according to official figures, some 3,200 Chileans died at the hands of State agents, of whom 1,192 are still listed as forcibly disappeared.

Source: elciudadano.cl, September 2, 2021

Court of Appeals Grants Freedom to Punta Peuco Inmate with "Risk of Recidivism" According to Conditional Release Commission

With the votes of minister Juan Cristóbal Mera and lawyer Jorge Benítez, the court granted the conditional benefit to Carlos Massouh Mehech, who was serving a sentence for the homicide of Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara—both belonging to the GAP—in 1973.

Minister Verónica Sabaj opposed the measure. Last Friday, the Santiago Court of Appeals accepted an amparo appeal filed by the defense of Carlos Massouh Mehech—deprived of liberty for the qualified homicide of Wagner Salinas and Francisco Lara in 1973—against the Conditional Release Commission, which is in charge of deciding whether or not to grant this benefit.

This commission had decided unanimously to deny the benefit to Massouh after preparing a psychosocial report that concludes "the existence of risk factors for recidivism" that advised against releasing him.

Carlos Massouh is serving a sentence of 5 years and one day in the facility for human rights violators, Punta Peuco. With two years remaining on his sentence and with the votes in favor of minister Juan Cristóbal Mera and member lawyer Jorge Benítez and the vote against by minister Verónica Sabaj, the Court granted conditional release to the former military officer.

In 2020, Juan Cristóbal Mera had already acquitted—or reduced the sentence of—16 criminals accused of human rights violations, in addition to benefiting Pedro Espinoza, head of operations of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), with the same verdict.

In Sabaj's opinion, there were grounds that justified denying freedom to Massouh, noting "negative elements in the personality of the protected person, such as, for example, a lack of motivation and a tendency toward denial; he maintains a system of narratives that favor tendencies to minimize and justify his behavior," in addition to demonstrating that he maintains "scant possibilities for the applicant to reintegrate adequately into society." It is for this reason that, in the minister's opinion, the Conditional Release Commission "denied the granting [...] requested by the appellant without incurring any illegality." From the other side, minister Mera and lawyer Benítez granted conditional release to Massouh, asserting that the three requirements for granting it were met. In the opinion of both, the risk of recidivism exposed by the Conditional Release Commission "is unfounded as it does not correspond to reality," being also contradictory to a second psychosocial report prepared by the Gendarmerie, which indicates that he has a low risk of recidivism. The other two necessary requirements are impeccable conduct and the fulfillment of a certain amount of the sentence. In April 2020, minister Juan Cristóbal Mera Muñoz had already acquitted—or reduced the sentence of—16 criminals accused of human rights violations, in addition to benefiting Pedro Espinoza, who was head of operations of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), with the same verdict. The minister was of the opinion that, at that date, gender identity did not exist and that "no arbitrary discrimination has existed since, being effectively a man at that time, that was the bathroom he had to use." That month, INTERFERENCIA published a profile of Mera, where the minister's participation in the case of a transgender woman discriminated against when trying to enter the women's bathroom of a bar located in the Bellas Artes neighborhood is also recounted. The minister was of the opinion that, at that date, gender identity did not exist and that "no arbitrary discrimination has existed since, being effectively a man at that time, that was the bathroom he had to use, in accordance with all the regulations indicated by the defendant in her appeal."

Source: interferencia.cl, June 27, 2021

Punta Peuco: Supreme Court Rejected Criminal's Appeal and Confirmed Refusal to Grant Conditional Release

(Ret.) Army Colonel Carlos Massouh Mehech is serving a sentence for a homicide carried out in the context of the "Caravan of Death's" passage through Curicó. On June 9, the Supreme Court rejected an amparo appeal filed by the defense of Punta Peuco inmate Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech against the decision of the Conditional Release Commission of the Santiago Court of Appeals, which had given a negative response regarding granting the benefit to the uniformed officer.

Carlos Massouh is a (ret.) Army colonel who is serving a sentence of 5 years and one day in prison as the perpetrator of the crime of qualified homicide, an act that occurred during the passage of the so-called "Caravan of Death" through the city of Curicó during the dictatorship.

In the sentence, the Second Chamber of the highest court considered that there was no arbitrary action in denying the benefit, because the requirements demanded by the Rome Statute for alternative sentences in cases of human rights violators were not met.

Source: lavozdelosquesobran.cl, June 13, 2022