The former military prosecutor in Cautín during the dictatorship, Oscar Alfonso Podlech Michaud, must serve seven years of effective prison time after being convicted as the perpetrator of the aggravated kidnapping of a lawyer, who was detained in Santiago and forcibly disappeared in Temuco.

The State, meanwhile, was ordered to pay 300 million pesos in compensation to the family of the disappeared man. The decision was issued by the minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Alejandro Madrid, who sentenced Podlech Michaud to an effective term of 7 years in prison plus legal accessories, in his capacity as the perpetrator of the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Jaime Emilio Eltit Spielmann.

This illicit act was perpetrated starting on September 13, 1973. In the ruling, the presiding judge also sentenced retired Army non-commissioned officers Orlando Moreno Vásquez and Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías to 5 years and one day of effective prison time, plus legal accessories, for their responsibility as co-perpetrators of the crime.

Likewise, the former civilian employee of the Army, Libardo Hernán Schwartenski Rubio, and retired officials of the Investigative Police, Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra and Daniel San Juan Clavería, were sentenced to 3 years and one day of prison, with the benefit of supervised release for the same period, in their capacity as accomplices to the kidnapping.

In the case, Minister Madrid acquitted Jaime Guillermo García Covarrubias of the prosecution's accusation that attributed participation in the aggravated kidnapping of Jaime Eltit to him as a co-perpetrator.

In the civil aspect, the ruling accepted the filed claims, ordering the State of Chile to pay 300 million pesos in compensation for moral damages to the victim's relatives. During the investigation stage, Minister Madrid established that Eltit Spielmann, a lawyer and member of the Radical Youth, was detained in Santiago on September 13, 1973, by members of a military patrol and taken to the Tacna Regiment, being transferred on October 7 to the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, where he was visited by family and friends, disappearing six days later, with his whereabouts remaining unknown to this day.

Source: biobio.cl, February 12, 2017

Italian Supreme Court confirms life sentences for 4 Chileans involved in Operation Condor

The convicted individuals are former DINA member Pedro Espinoza, military officer Daniel Aguirre Mora, PDI member Carlos Luco Astroz, and the former intendant, now deceased, Hernán Ramírez Ramírez. The Supreme Court of Italy confirmed the life sentences for 14 Chilean and Uruguayan military officers and leaders involved in Operation Condor, specifically accused of the deaths of Italian citizens.

The convicted Chileans are former DINA member Pedro Espinoza, military officer Daniel Aguirre Mora, PDI member Carlos Luco Astroz, and the former intendant, now deceased, Hernán Ramírez Ramírez. The Italian Court thus revalidated the July 2019 sentence issued by the Rome Court of Appeal, in the second instance, against 24 human rights criminals.

The investigation took more than 20 years, as it was opened in 1998, and holds high value as the sentences must be served in absentia. Regarding this confirmation of justice, human rights lawyer Cristian Cruz noted that actions are being taken based on the significance of the crimes. “These are sentences consistent with the gravity of the crime, with the way in which states operated through intelligence services and armed forces, where there was a community to commit crimes not only within each of the territories—Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina—but it has become clear that, in general, intelligence services and dictatorships operated even outside their own borders, outside the borders that formed the Condor community. One of the cases is the Letelier case or what happened to Bernardo Leighton in Italy.” “What the Italian justice system has done is recognize the responsibility of the agents in this entire web of evil that the governments and agents carried out,” he added. The Supreme Court's decision follows one already known last week, in which the conviction of Colonel Rafael Ahumada Valderrama, non-commissioned officer Orlando Moreno Vásquez, and Brigadier Manuel Vásquez Chauan was ratified. “I focus on Rafael Ahumada Valderrama because he has been convicted in Chile for the forced disappearance of 2 Uruguayan citizens and one Brazilian in September 1973; that is to say, prior to what has been called Operation Condor, at least one of these agents had already acted against citizens of other countries,” the lawyer Cristian Cruz stated regarding these convictions. Furthermore, regarding the international importance of this ruling and how it should be symbolic in Chile, the lawyer stated that “the correct perspective today is to demonstrate that these crimes are internationally prosecutable, that they generate international repudiation. Proof of this is that courts in other countries have investigated and ruled on events committed in Chile or in the Southern Cone.” “The magnitude of the sentences is also relevant. Here in Chile, there are not usually such high sentences, although our courts in general are certainly investigating. I believe they are changing their criteria regarding the statute of limitations, where the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has already given its opinion that it was not appropriate to apply it,” he added. On the other hand, Cruz highlighted that these types of convictions make evident the perseverance that relatives and human rights organizations have had in seeking justice despite the passage of time and in different places.

Source: radio.uchile.cl, July 9, 2021

Operation Condor: Extradition sought for former Chilean military officers convicted in Italy

An Italian delegation composed of a lawyer and representatives of the victims arrived in Chile to seek the extradition of former military officers convicted of human rights violations within the framework of Operation Condor during the Pinochet dictatorship.

Two of them remain at liberty. This Friday, an Italian delegation arrived in Chile, composed of a lawyer and representatives of the victims of Operation Condor, who are seeking the extradition of the former Chilean military officers convicted of human rights violations in this case.

This follows the conclusion of the so-called “Condor Process” by the Supreme Court of the European country in 2021, after more than 20 years of investigations and judicial proceedings, which began in 1998 following the arrest of dictator Augusto Pinochet in London.

The Italian litigation for Operation Condor sentenced 24 Latin American military officers and repressors involved to life imprisonment, six of whom are of Chilean nationality. In addition to seeking methods for extradition, the Italian delegation will make contact with the civil parties and witnesses of the trial that took place in Rome and visit the places where the events occurred.

Along with this, they will have various meetings with the victims' relatives, as well as with witnesses from the Rome trial, and with parliamentary and government authorities. The facts The military officers convicted in the trial are accused of torturing, forcibly disappearing, and murdering 43 Latin American citizens of Italian origin in the 1970s: six Argentines kidnapped in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil; four Chileans kidnapped in Chile; and thirteen Uruguayans kidnapped in Argentina.

To these are added another 20 Uruguayans kidnapped in Argentina, but whose disappearance is attributed to only one of the defendants, the Italian-Uruguayan Jorge Néstor Troccoli, who was a member of the Uruguayan Navy's intelligence service.

The convicted Chileans, all of whom received life sentences, are Daniel Aguirre Mora, former prefect of the Investigative Police; Carlos Luco Astroza, a PDI official (both currently at liberty); former non-commissioned officer Orlando Moreno Vásquez; former colonel Rafael Ahumada Valderrama; and former brigadiers and DINA members Pedro Espinoza Bravo and Manuel Vásquez Chahuán.

All were convicted for the disappearance, torture, and death of their victims within the framework of Operation Condor. So far, extradition has only been requested for the first three, while those for Ahumada, Espinoza, and Vásquez are in process.

The delegation is composed of Arturo Salerni, defense lawyer for relatives of Operation Condor victims; Jorge Ithurburu, representative for several of the civil parties in the trial, who also accompanied and assisted the families of the disappeared Chileans from their first complaints in 1999 until the sentences of 2019 and 2021; and Sofía Ithurburu, media officer for 24marzo.it, a non-governmental organization that promoted the action during these years and supported relatives and lawyers in the process.

The victims of the process Juan José Montiglio Murúa: 24 years old, PS, head of the GAP unit, was detained at the Palacio de la Moneda on the day of the coup d'état, taken to the Tacna Regiment, and murdered in Peldehue on 09/13/1973.

He remains a forcibly disappeared person to this day. Former colonel Rafael Ahumada Valderrama was convicted for his case, and his extradition has been requested and is pending resolution. Omar Roberto Venturelli Leonelli: 31 years old, former priest, MIR militant, professor in the Education Department at the Universidad Católica, Temuco branch.

He was detained in Temuco on September 25, 1973, when he presented himself voluntarily after being called by radio. He was taken to the Tucapel Regiment and then to the Temuco jail. The family stated they were informed that he had been released on October 4; from that date on, they searched for him without result.

Former PDI members Daniel Aguirre Mora and Carlos Luco Astroza, and former non-commissioned officer Orlando Moreno were convicted for his case. Juan Bosco Maino Canales: 27 years old, MAPU, student. He was detained on May 26, 1976, along with two other MAPU militants, the married couple Elizabeth Rekas Urra and Antonio Elizondo Ormaechea, at the couple's apartment.

All were taken to Villa Grimaldi, where they were last seen. Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo was sentenced to life imprisonment for his case. Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño: 41 years old, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, electrical mechanic, was detained on 05/05/1976 along with four other PC leaders in a "mousetrap" set up by DINA agents at the property located at Calle Conferencia No. 1587.

Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo was sentenced to life imprisonment for his case.

Source: eldesconcierto.cl, April 15, 2022

Operation Condor: House arrest for former DINA agents convicted in Italy

The military officers are currently facing an extradition process at the request of Italy to serve a life sentence in the foreign country. Supreme Court Minister Ángela Vivanco Martínez ordered house arrest for four former agents of the dictatorship, convicted of life imprisonment by the Italian justice system for the crime of 43 Latin American citizens of Italian origin in the 1970s, within the framework of Operation Condor.

Among them are four Chilean victims. These are former agents Orlando Moreno Vásquez, Manuel Vásquez Chahuán, Rafael Ahumada Valderrama, and Daniel Aguirre Mora. Of the other two sought, one is deceased and the other, Pedro Espinoza Bravo, is imprisoned in Punta Peuco serving various sentences for other crimes against humanity.

The military officers are currently facing an extradition process at the request of Italy, in which representatives of the victims have joined as parties. Among them, lawyers Nelson Caucoto and Francisco Bustos act on behalf of the daughter of Juan José Montiglio Murúa, one of the four Italian-Chilean victims.

Montiglio was 24 years old, a member of the Socialist Party, and head of the unit of the Personal Guard of President Allende (GAP). He was detained at the Palacio de la Moneda on the day of the military coup, subsequently taken to the Tacna Regiment, and murdered in Peldehue two days later.

To date, he remains a forcibly disappeared person. Previously, the criminals were under the precautionary measure of a national travel ban, which was modified at the request of the representation of the Republic of Italy, the Human Rights Program, and the plaintiffs, who requested a more intensive precautionary measure, for which they were granted total house arrest.

For lawyer Francisco Bustos, this new measure dictated by Magistrate Vivanco is of great importance, since "finding ourselves near the end of this phase of the process, the need to ensure that the requested individuals are at the disposal of the court is recognized.

Likewise, I am confident that we will demonstrate that all the requirements to grant the extradition are met and achieve the fulfillment of the sentences imposed by the Court of Rome." Conviction 20 years later The other Italian-Chilean victims are Omar Roberto Venturelli Leonelli (31), former priest, MIR militant, detained on September 25, 1973; Juan Bosco Maino Canales (27), MAPU militant, student, and detained on May 26, 1976; and Jaime Patricio Donato Avendaño (41), member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, electrical mechanic, detained on May 5, 1976.

In 1998, at the behest of their relatives, the Italian justice system initiated the investigation into this process, and only after 20 years did the Supreme Court of Italy issue the ruling that sentenced 24 Latin American genocidaires involved in Operation Condor to life imprisonment.

In April of last year, an Italian delegation composed of a lawyer and a representative of the victims visited our country to learn details of the process taking place in Chile, contribute to raising awareness about this historic trial in our country, and collaborate with the extradition of those involved and convicted in this case.

Source: eldesconcierto.cl, March 24, 2023

El Polvorín Case: Minister Álvaro Mesa convicts retired military and Army collaborators for homicides and illegal coercion of seven victims

In the civil aspect, the visiting minister accepted the filed claim and ordered the treasury to pay a total compensation of $2,780,000,000 (two billion seven hundred eighty million pesos) for moral damages to the victims' relatives.

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the jurisdictions of the Courts of Appeals of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued sentence number 78 on the matter and convicted 23 retired military officers and Army collaborators for their responsibility in the aggravated homicides and illegal coercion against Florentino Alberto Molina Ruiz, Juan Antonio Chávez Rivas, Víctor Hugo Valenzuela Velásquez, Juan Carlos Ruiz Mancilla, Amador Francisco Montero Mosquera, Pedro Juan Mardones Jofré, and Carlos Aillañir Huenchual, perpetrated in the commune of Temuco in November 1973. In the sentence (docket 113.089), Minister Mesa Latorre sentenced Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud to life imprisonment for his responsibility as the perpetrator of the 7 aggravated homicides and 10 years in prison for his responsibility as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of illegal coercion against the seven victims. Meanwhile, Daniel San Juan Clavería, Omar Burgos Dejean, Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra, Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, and Orlando Moreno Vásquez must serve a life sentence as accomplices to the 7 aggravated homicides and a 10-year prison sentence as perpetrators of illegal coercion. The accused Juan Guillermo García Covarrubias, Pablo Domingo Gran López, Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, Carlos Eduardo Oviedo Arriagada, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Norberto Francisco Uribe Moroni, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, and Juan Bautistas Labraña Luvecce will serve life sentences as accomplices to the 7 aggravated homicides and 427 days in prison as accomplices to the 7 crimes of illegal coercion. Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán will serve a life sentence as the perpetrator of the 7 aggravated homicides. In addition, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, and Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos will serve a life sentence as accomplices to the 7 aggravated homicides. Arnoldo Aedo Matus will serve a 20-year prison sentence as an accomplice to the 7 homicides. Libardo Hernán Schwartenski Rubio will serve a 10-year prison sentence as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of illegal coercion. Finally, José Raúl Inzunza Reyes was sentenced to 427 days in prison as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of illegal coercion. In the sentence, Minister Mesa Latorre established the following facts: A.- That, immediately after the military takeover of September 11, 1973, the armed forces and order forces took control of the city of Temuco, with the Colonel Commander of the "La Concepción" Regiment of Lautaro, Hernán Jerónimo Ramírez Ramírez (deceased), becoming Intendant; and the Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased), Commander of the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of this city, becoming Governor of Temuco, who also remained as Chief of the Temuco Garrison. B.- That on the same day, September 11, 1973, the Temuco lawyer Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, who was also a Reserve Lieutenant of the Chilean Army, was called to collaborate with the new regime to support the management of the Military Prosecutor's Office that operated inside the unit and was in charge of the Second Commander, Major Luis Jofré Soto (deceased). This officer, however, had to assume greater functions as Second Commander of the Tucapel regiment shortly thereafter. From that day forward, civilians began to arrive at the regiment who were called to appear before the Military Prosecutor's Office through communiqués published in the written press and on the radio, or who were brought in as detainees from different parts of the region by police and military patrols. Given the high number of detainees and people called to testify, the Military Prosecutor's Office was reinforced to carry out its work with officials of the Judiciary who were requested from the Temuco Court of Appeals by the aforementioned lawyer Podlech Michaud, who, acting as Ad-Hoc Prosecutor, made a presentation to the Plenary of the Court of Appeals, after which some clerks from different courts and a Rapporteur of the Court were assigned on commission of service. Due to the lack of knowledge in criminal procedural matters, added to the weak character he had and the work as Second Commander of the regiment, Major Luis Jofré Soto began delegating functions as Military Prosecutor to the lawyer Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, advisor to the Prosecutor's Office, who began to hold the position of de facto Prosecutor, to the point that he carried out jail visits and that lawyers, relatives, and even ecclesiastical dignitaries consulted him about the fate of the detainees. However, Major Jofré Soto continued to sign administrative documents most of the time and participated in some interrogations of detainees. C.- That the people called to appear before the Military Prosecutor's Office and those brought in as detainees were kept in facilities located next to the guardhouse and in the large gymnasium. Once interrogated by personnel of the Military Prosecutor's Office, by detectives Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra of the Investigative Police attached to the regiment, or by the officers themselves who participated in these activities, among whom were Jaime Guillermo García Covarrubias, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Pablo Domingo Gran López, Mario Hernán Arias Díaz (deceased), Carlos Eduardo Oviedo Arriagada, Norberto Francisco Uribe Moroni, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, and non-commissioned officers, among whom were Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce, Orlando Moreno Vásquez, Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, some of them were released, others were sent to their homes under house arrest, and others were taken to the public jail where they remained while their procedural situation was resolved. D.- That also by September 1973, in the No. 8 "Tucapel" Infantry Regiment of Temuco, there was the Second Section of Information and Intelligence, which was in charge of Captain Nelson Manuel Uldaricio Ubilla Toledo (deceased), under whose dependency some non-commissioned officers of that institution also performed functions, among whom were Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce, Orlando Moreno Vásquez, Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, work that was reinforced after September 11, 1973, with the addition of Investigative Police officials Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra, mentioned above, and Carabineros, among whom was Omar Burgos Dejean, who provided political information to the aforementioned officer about all those people subject to an investigation by the Military Prosecutor's Office. Likewise, some officers joined the intelligence tasks, among whom was Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, as well as enlisted men and conscripts of the regiment. As the days went by, the Military Prosecutor's Office and the Second Intelligence Section began to work together to interrogate the detainees, as in this case, who remained reclined in the jail or in some facility of the Tucapel regiment. To articulate this work, two locations were enabled in the military unit, located one between the Headquarters Company and the Mortar Company and another in an old disused gymnasium that was located to the side of the conscript soldiers' "mess hall." In this way, the detainees were taken and brought from the jail to the regiment by military personnel of the Second Section, being interrogated in the Military Prosecutor's Office and physically coerced in one of the facilities indicated above to "soften them up" before or after these interrogations, as in this case. In both interrogation and torture rooms, there were implements to tie up the detainees and apply electricity to different parts of the body, in addition to applying other types of torture such as kicks and punches, as in this case. Conscript soldiers participated in this task, among whom were Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Juan Humberto Carrillo Rebolledo, Libardo Schwartenski Rubio, and José Raúl Inzunza Reyes, and a Carabinero, Omar Burgos Dejean, who collaborated with Captain Nelson Ubilla Toledo and with the Investigative Police detectives who were there, Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra. Most of the officers of the "Tucapel" regiment and some non-commissioned soldiers of the Headquarters and Services Companies, among whom was José Raúl Inzunza Reyes, of the Mortar, Hunter, and Second Section companies, all of whom entered these facilities at different times, also participated in the interrogation and/or torture sessions of detainees in those places. E.- That within the aforementioned military unit, a special group called "Patrulla Brava" or "Patrulla Chacal" was formed, integrated by non-commissioned soldiers and conscripts of the Second Hunter Company, among whom were Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Juan Humberto Carrillo Rebolledo, and Libardo Schwartenski Rubio, under the orders of Second Lieutenant Manuel Espinoza Ponce (deceased), who in turn received orders from Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, who was in command of the Company. This group was in charge, among other functions, of guarding the detainees who were kept in the facilities of the "Tucapel" regiment of Temuco. F.- That during the days following September 11, 1973, a significant number of people were killed or disappeared in the IX region, with several of these deaths being explained by regional military authorities through the publication of communiqués issued either from the Intendancy or the Temuco Military Garrison. The communiqué that explained the events subject to this investigation, in light of the background gathered in this process, gives an implausible version of how the events of the night of November 10, 1973, unfolded, taking into consideration what was declared by Manuel Ángel Fernández Carranza, who, after the events of November 10, 1973, and once he arrived from a mission he was entrusted with toward the Pucón sector in search of guerrillas, was summoned by the then commander of the No. 8 Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased), to inform him that the assault on the ammunition dump had not been such, but rather an execution carried out at the shooting range, information he gave him personally so that he would not find out through rumors. G.- That Florentino Alberto Molina Ruiz, member of the Central Committee and Regional Secretary of the Communist Party, was detained and taken from his home on Monday, November 5, 1973, by two Carabineros members of the Civil Commission, who transported him in a red pickup truck to the Second Police Station of Temuco, where he spent the night in a dungeon. Early the next day, he was transferred to the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco by order of the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco, remaining reclined in that place until the night of November 10, 1973. During that period, his wife went daily to leave him clothes and food that were channeled through the guards at the entrance of the military compound. In turn, Molina Ruiz sent her his used clothes as a sign that he was still detained in that place. Molina Ruiz, who was missing an arm due to a work accident, was seen as a detainee inside the aforementioned military compound by Hermán Carrasco Paúl, who was also in the same condition, who pointed out that both were victims of illegal coercion. He was also recognized due to his disability by some conscripts who guarded them. H.- That Juan Antonio Chávez Rivas, a student at the State Technical University, Regional Secretary and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth, was detained on November 6, 1973, by two Carabineros members of the Civil Commission, who transported him in a red pickup truck to the Second Police Station of Temuco, where he spent the night. The next day, he was transferred to the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco. Relatives of the detainee approached the military unit to ask about him, where they were told that he was not there, despite the fact that he was seen in the courtyard of the military compound heavily guarded and in very poor physical condition. I.- That Víctor Hugo Valenzuela Velásquez, a public employee and propaganda secretary of the Communist Youth of Cautín, was detained on November 7, 1973, around 10:00 AM, at the Real Estate Registrar of Temuco, where he worked. The arresting personnel, who were dressed in civilian clothes, belonged to the Army Intelligence Service, one of them being a Sergeant of the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco. Relatives of the detainee went to the "Tucapel" Regiment, where they confirmed the effectiveness of the detention and for three days delivered clothes and blankets for him at the guardhouse. J.- That Juan Carlos Ruiz Mancilla, a Civil Construction student at the State Technical University and member of the Communist Youth, traveled to the city of Punta Arenas, where his parents lived, after September 11, 1973. In that place, he was detained on November 7 of that same year and transported by plane to Temuco, where he was taken to the "Tucapel" Regiment. K.- That Amador Francisco Montero Mosquera, an Electrical Engineering student at the State Technical University and member of the Communist Youth, was detained at his home on November 7, 1973, by personnel of the Carabineros Civil Commission and transported to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco. Relatives went to that place to find out about his situation and to deliver food and clothes. L.- That Pedro Juan Mardones Jofré, a student at the State Technical University, was detained at his home and transported to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco. The conscript soldier of the 2nd Section of the 2nd Hunter Company, Luis Humberto Llamunao Huaiquinao, assured that it was his turn to bring water to Mardones Jofré, who was reclined in a warehouse located inside a mechanical workshop. At that moment, he noticed that the detainee had a very injured hand, making it impossible for him to take the glass that was offered to him. M.- That Carlos Aillañir Huenchual, a farmer and sympathizer of the Popular Unity government, was detained on November 6, 1973, by a military patrol that was moving in an institutional 3/4 truck. The detention took place in the rural sector of Pelales, in the town of Quepe, where the house of a brother of the detainee was located. The military officer in charge of the patrol indicated that the detainee was going to be taken to the Tucapel regiment of Temuco. N.- That at the end of the day on November 10, 1973, in circumstances where the aforementioned detainees were reclined in the "small" gymnasium of the Tucapel regiment of Temuco, guarded by conscript soldiers of the 2nd Hunter Company belonging to the "Patrulla Chacal," Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, Commander of the aforementioned company, and Second Lieutenant Espinoza (deceased) appeared, accompanied by other military personnel from the regiment. In addition, an institutional truck parked at the place and backed up in front of the entrance to the compound where the victims were detained. Said vehicle, due to its characteristics, was recognized as the one in which meat and bread were usually transported, and on some occasions, conscripts were transported to carry out guard duty rotations. Immediately after, Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán instructed the subordinate personnel to make the detainees board the truck along with them. Immediately, the truck with the detainees plus the officers and their companions left the place. Regarding this same truck, the next day its cleaning was ordered, among others, to the conscript soldier Héctor Florentino Navarrete Leiva, who pointed out that it was full of human flesh and brain remains. Ñ.- That minutes later, sentinels of the surveillance post located in the entrance sector to the military compound called "Isla Cautín" saw a caravan of institutional vehicles enter the place, composed of at least one Toyota jeep and the truck indicated in the previous paragraph. O.- That in the last hours of November 10, 1973, the previously identified detainees were taken from the Tucapel regiment of Temuco, loaded into the aforementioned military vehicle, and transported to the shooting range sector of the "Isla Cautín" military compound by the officers and their companions. In that place, the victims of the case were tied to stakes that were arranged there in a row. Shortly after, Captain Rodolfo Vargas Campos (deceased), Sergeant Hernán Rodrigo Santiesteban Domínguez (deceased), and Sergeant Anacleto Aguirre Rivera (deceased), all from the 1st Hunter Company, plus Sergeant José Gajardo Gajardo (deceased) from the 2nd Hunter Company, joined the group of military personnel present in that sector. Sergeant 2nd Class of the First Hunter Company, Arnoldo Aedo Matus, was also part of this entourage. P.- That once the patrol commanded by Captain Vargas arrived at the place, he ordered its members to position themselves behind the detainees who were tied to the stakes, with the exception of Sergeant 2nd Class Arnoldo Aedo Matus of the 1st Hunter Company, whom he told to position himself in another, distant place and to proceed to fire shots toward the trees located in a certain sector of Isla Cautín. This Sergeant Aedo Matus was able to see that the Commander of the regiment, Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased), was present at the place, accompanied by an officer of medium-tall stature, and that two civilians were also witnessing the maneuvers in the same sector, recognizing one of them as the advisor lawyer to the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco, Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud. Q.- That subsequently, the detainees in those conditions were executed at the place one by one and finished off with bursts of gunfire, after which their bodies were sent to the morgue of the regional hospital of Temuco, where the required autopsy was performed, determining the causes of their deaths as indicated: Molina Ruiz, craniocerebral explosion, multiple contused gunshot wounds; Chávez Rivas, craniocerebral explosion, multiple contused gunshot wounds; Valenzuela Velásquez, craniocerebral attrition, multiple contused gunshot wounds; Ruiz Mancilla, shock, comminuted fracture of the pelvis and right femur, multiple gunshot wounds; Montero Mosquera, craniocerebral attrition, multiple contused gunshot wounds; Mardones Jofré, craniocerebral attrition, multiple contused gunshot wounds; Aillañir Huenchual, primary shock, multiple contused transfixing thoraco-abdominal and limb gunshot wounds. Finally, a military communiqué was drafted to be published in the press the following day, reporting an attempted assault on the Isla Cautín ammunition dump by a group of extremists. R.- That the day after these events occurred, the news appeared published in the local written press indicating that an assault had occurred on the Isla Cautín ammunition dump of the Tucapel Regiment, in which an indeterminate number of extremists had participated, news that was ratified by Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased), which must be contrasted with what was declared by Manuel Fernández Carranza, who, after the events of November 10, 1973, and once he arrived from a mission he was entrusted with toward the Pucón sector in search of guerrillas, was summoned by the then commander of the No. 8 Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased), to inform him that the assault on the ammunition dump had not been such, but rather an execution carried out at the shooting range, information he gave him personally so that he would not find out through rumors. During the following days, details continued to appear in the press about how these events had occurred and the way in which military personnel had repelled said attack and subsequently had gone out in search of the supposed extremists who were not killed in the confrontation and who managed to flee the place. In the civil aspect, the visiting minister accepted the filed claim and ordered the treasury to pay a total compensation of $2,780,000,000 (two billion seven hundred eighty million pesos) for moral damages to the victims' relatives.

Source: pjud.cl, September 21, 2023