In the civil sphere, the court upheld the filed claim and ordered the state to pay a total compensation of $100,000,000 for moral damages to a relative of one of the victims.

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases for the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, sentenced the Army captain at the time of the events, Sergio Hernán Valenzuela González, and the then-soldiers Exequiel Eugenio Trullenque Sepúlveda, Eduardo Urrutia Ronda, and Ariel Valdemar Reyes Figueroa to effective prison terms of 20 years; and Jorge Octavio Temer San Martín to 19 years of effective imprisonment, as perpetrators of the consummated crimes of simple homicide of INDAP official Eliseo Jara Ríos and student Pedro Muñoz Apablaza. These crimes, classified as crimes against humanity, were perpetrated in October 1973 in the commune of Victoria.

In the ruling (case file 57.067), the visiting minister also sentenced retired officers Hernán Augusto Salazar Schifferli and Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez, and former soldiers Carlos Enrique Molina Cabrera, Jacinto Mansilla Villarroel, and Juan Bautista Santibáñez Hermosilla to 15 years in prison as accomplices to the crimes.

Meanwhile, the officers at the time of the events, Darío Alejandro Reyes Núñez and Alfredo Hernán Parra Uslar, must serve 5 years of imprisonment as accessories to the crimes.

In the civil sphere, the court upheld the filed claim and ordered the state to pay a total compensation of $100,000,000 for moral damages to a relative of one of the victims.

Executions

In the sentence, Minister Mesa Latorre established the following facts as proven:

“A. That after September 11, 1973, the commander of the Transport Battalion No. 4 of Victoria, Lieutenant Colonel Luis René Vega Fonseca (deceased as recorded on page 3,857, Volume XI), had to assume the duties of governor of the city, exercising both tasks in parallel, while the second-in-command of the Battalion, Major Humberto Julián Torres Torres (deceased as recorded on page 4,432, Volume XII), who was also the unit’s Intelligence officer, remained in charge of the military duties of the Regiment.

The Battalion commander also brought Major Hernán Augusto Salazar Schifferli (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) to the Governorate as his assistant to collaborate in the tasks of that office, who also worked daily at the Victoria Hospital as a dentist.

B. That during the second half of October 1973, a group of approximately 120 military personnel belonging to the Third Army Division arrived in the country’s Ninth Region under the orders of Army General Nilo Floody Buxton (deceased as recorded on page 3,875, Volume XI), to carry out various missions in the area aimed at developing the so-called ‘Operation Peineta,’ which sought to neutralize subversive activities in the zone.

One of the patrols deployed for the aforementioned purposes went to the city of Victoria, where it was received by the second-in-command of the Transport Battalion of that city, Major Torres (deceased as recorded on page 4,432, Volume XII), who provided them with lodging, weapons, and transportation to carry out the missions.

Said patrol was under the orders of Army Captain Sergio Hernán Valenzuela González (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), from the Divisional Unit of the ‘Buin’ Regiment, and was also composed of at least two officers of the rank of lieutenant who came from the Railway Engineer Regiment of Puente Alto, one of them Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz (deceased, as recorded on page 3,876, Volume XI), and the other Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), plus a group of non-commissioned officers numbering more than 20 personnel from both military units. This group operated in the area for approximately one week, entering and leaving the Victoria military unit with full access.

C. That Eliseo Segundo Jara Ríos, Area Chief of the Institute of Agricultural Development (INDAP) of Victoria and a member of the Socialist Party, was arrested and transferred to the jail of that city on September 16, 1973, by order of the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Victoria, which was in charge of Army Captain René Castro Lobos (deceased as recorded on page 3,859, Volume XI), of the Transport Battalion No. 4 of that commune.

During the following days, Jara Ríos was subjected to interrogations at the Military Prosecutor’s Office, was released, and was re-arrested at least three times, the last apprehension being on October 16, 1973.

Throughout this process, there were other detainees in the Victoria jail who were separated in Patio No. 5, all for political reasons, who noticed Jara Ríos’s deteriorated state of health. During that period, they also received a visit from the second-in-command of the Victoria Battalion, Major Humberto Julián Torres Torres (deceased as recorded on page 4,432, Volume XII), who told them that they were being held under the custody of the Governorate.

D. That while he was deprived of liberty in the Victoria jail, Eliseo Jara Ríos was taken to the home of his sister-in-law, Mrs. María Eugenia Gándara Pellet, and subsequently, this home was raided by a military patrol from the Victoria Transport Battalion, commanded by a lieutenant nicknamed ‘Parrita,’ whose name was Alfredo Hernán Parra Uslar (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accessory on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI).

After searching the home, the patrol withdrew.

E. That during the stay of the military personnel from Santiago in the Victoria area, Captain Sergio Hernán Valenzuela González (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) and the two Army lieutenants from the Railway Engineer Regiment of Puente Alto, Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz (deceased, as recorded on page 3,876, Volume XI) and Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), attended a social gathering at the Victoria Hospital.

There, they were approached by a civilian named Jorge Octavio Temer San Martín (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), an active member of the Patria y Libertad movement, who recognized Captain Valenzuela, as both had spent time together years earlier in Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales when Valenzuela was assigned to the Pudeto Regiment and the civilian was based in Puerto Natales, where he had married.

After a while, Jorge Octavio Temer San Martín invited the officers to his home to continue the conversation more privately.

F. That at the home of Jorge Octavio Temer San Martín (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), the officers Sergio Hernán Valenzuela González (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz (deceased, as recorded on page 3,876, Volume XI), and Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) began a conversation that was overheard by the rest of the occupants of the property, whose identities and testimony are kept in the Secret File. Said witnesses indicated that Temer San Martín had a room adjacent to the main bedroom that he used as a living room where he received his visitors. There, he had a large number of weapons on the walls and kept a small bar. The witnesses pointed out that one night, he arrived with some ‘Black Beret’ military officers and settled into the living room with them, a situation that caused surprise to the declarants because Jorge Octavio Temer San Martín did not maintain friendships with uniformed personnel. One of the witnesses added that all the officers wore black berets, which they left on the bar floor. The owner of the house, Temer, offered them beer and food. One of them was of short stature and was the one who gave the impression of being in charge of the rest (Captain Sergio Valenzuela González). They began to talk about killing some people; the witness could not hear the names of the potential victims, but clearly heard them planning to murder one or more people. One of the witnesses added that the military personnel Sergio Hernán Valenzuela González, Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz, and Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez, plus Jorge Temer San Martín, left the house at dawn, not returning until nightfall, also accompanied by the same military personnel with whom he had been the night before. They arrived euphoric and laughing a lot, with one of the witnesses recalling that, among many profanities, they indicated that they had given some people a ‘false release’ and had shot them in the back. They also indicated in their conversations that the event had occurred near Victoria on the road to Curacautín. After a long time of drinking and socializing, the officers said goodbye because they were returning to an unspecified location and had to take a helicopter.

G. That on the morning of October 27, 1973, Captain Sergio Valenzuela González (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) organized two groups with the majority of the military personnel under his command, consisting of instructors and conscript soldiers, providing a truck and a jeep for each.

He led the first group, appearing moments later at the Victoria jail guard post, where he requested that the detainee Eliseo Jara Ríos be handed over to carry out proceedings in the case being held against him, with it being recorded in the logbook that, by verbal order of the Military Prosecutor of Victoria, the detainee was handed over to the requesting officer.

According to a witness, Jara Ríos was handcuffed. Subsequently, the group headed toward the Transport Battalion No. 4 of Victoria, where Valenzuela (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) ordered Lieutenant Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez of the Railway Engineer Regiment (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) to get into the jeep in which he was traveling, which was driven by Corporal Luis Alberto Cortés Beltrán (case dismissed on page 5,578, Volume XV).

Both the truck transporting the detainee and the jeep headed toward the rural sector of the city. The second group of military personnel remained under the command of Lieutenant Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz (deceased, as recorded on page 3,876, Volume XI) of the Railway Engineer Regiment of Puente Alto; this group included, in addition to conscript soldiers and non-commissioned officers, Jorge Octavio Temer San Martín, who the night before had invited Valenzuela and his companions to his home.

The latter was provided with camouflage clothing and military gear.

H. That Pedro Mario Alonso Muñoz Apablaza, a 21-year-old young man with no political affiliation, was arrested in the morning hours of October 27, 1973, outside his home by a military patrol under the command of Lieutenant Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz (deceased, as recorded on page 3,876, Volume XI) of the Railway Engineer Regiment of Puente Alto.

Muñoz Apablaza was put into a military truck in the presence of his parents, with the officer telling them that they were taking him to ask him a few questions.

I. That both military patrols coincided with the two detainees in the vicinity of the California estate, which was owned by the Army and located on the road to Curacautín. At that location, they made Eliseo Jara Ríos and Pedro Muñoz Apablaza get out of the vehicles, with Captain Valenzuela taking Jara Ríos and Lieutenant Barriga taking Muñoz Apablaza, leading them to places distant from one another where they executed them by firing bursts of rifle fire.

Said executions received the active collaboration of the non-commissioned soldiers who made up each patrol, namely: Exequiel Eugenio Trullenque Sepúlveda (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Eduardo Urrutia Ronda (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Ariel Waldemar Reyes Figueroa (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Carlos Enrique Molina Cabrera (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Jacinto Mansilla Villarroel (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Juan Bautista Santibáñez Hermosilla (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), Luis Alberto Cortés Beltrán (case dismissed on page 5,578, Volume XV), José Mercedes Videla Gallardo (deceased as recorded on page 4,556, Volume XII), Jorge Humberto Bravo Campos (case dismissed on page 5,550, Volume XV, whose consultation was approved by the Illustrious Court of Appeals of Temuco on page 5,562, Volume XV), as well as that of the civilian, Jorge Temer San Martín (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), who was integrated into one of these, with this action being witnessed by the other lieutenant of the Railway Engineer Regiment, Manuel Alfonso Fernández Domínguez (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accomplice on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), and some conscript soldiers. Subsequently, Captain Valenzuela (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI) gathered his entire group and ordered silence regarding what had happened there.

J. That once the second-in-command of the Transport Battalion No. 4 of Victoria, Major Humberto Julián Torres Torres (deceased as recorded on page 4,432, Volume XII), learned of the events, he went to the scene of the incident and subsequently informed the commander and governor, Luis René Vega Fonseca (deceased, as recorded on page 3,857, Volume XI), who gave instructions for the removal of the bodies and their subsequent delivery to the families.

Likewise, he ordered the lieutenant nicknamed ‘Parrita,’ namely Alfredo Hernán Parra Uslar (prosecuted on page 2,367 et seq., Volume VII, and accused as an accessory on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), to go and offer condolences to the families of Eliseo Jara Ríos and Pedro Muñoz Apablaza.

K. That the bodies were taken to the Victoria hospital morgue by the same patrol that killed them, where they were received, in the first instance, by the pathologist’s assistant, Mrs. Isidora María Angélica Morales Morales (page 140 et seq., Volume I).

Subsequently, the Health officer of the Victoria Battalion, Captain Darío Alejandro Reyes Núñez (prosecuted on page 629 et seq., Volume II, and accused as an accessory on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), performed the autopsies on the bodies before delivering them to the respective families in sealed coffins.

L. That the non-commissioned officer of the Victoria Battalion, Sergio Sigifredo Agüero Vásquez (statements on page 82, Volume I; 134 to 136, Volume I; 394 to 395, Volume II; 552 to 553, Volume II; 558, Volume II; 559, Volume II; 560, Volume II; 561, Volume II; and 904 to 905, Volume III), father of Muñoz Apablaza’s girlfriend, was able to see the bodies of both victims at the morgue and also spoke with the perpetrators of their deaths and with the second-in-command, Major Humberto Julián Torres Torres (deceased as recorded on page 4,432, Volume XII), asking for explanations about what had happened. Likewise, Muñoz Apablaza’s father was able to confront Captain Sergio Hernán Valenzuela González (prosecuted on page 573 et seq., Volume II, and accused as a perpetrator on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), who was in command of the patrol that arrested and killed his son.

M. That in the following days, a Bando (official decree) was issued from the Governorate and published in the local and regional press, stating that the detainees Jara Ríos and Muñoz Apablaza were dangerous extremists who had been ‘discharged’ for attempting to escape while being interrogated by a patrol of the Army’s Special Forces.

N. That there is no evidence to ensure that the required legal autopsy was performed on the bodies, although there is evidence in the case file establishing that the bodies were examined by the Health doctor of the Transport Battalion No. 4 of Victoria, Darío Alejandro Reyes Núñez (prosecuted on page 629 et seq., Volume II, and accused as an accessory on page 3,878 et seq., Volume XI), who, despite the statements of those who saw the bodies of Muñoz Apablaza and Jara Ríos—who pointed out that they had multiple bullet impacts—only reported that the cause of death for both people was acute anemia, omitting any mention of the prior and concurrent actions that caused this situation.

Ñ. That despite the knowledge of the crime by the military contingent of the Transport Battalion No. 4 of Victoria, in their capacity as public officials, they have permanently concealed all information regarding the events that occurred, in addition to not having reported or informed military superiors or any other authority of the crime, nor is there any record that an investigation was carried out or any report filed as a consequence of the commission of this crime.”

Source: Judiciary, January 17, 2024