On April 29, 1976, PC militants Manuel Guillermo RECABARREN GONZALEZ, his brother Luis Emilio RECABARREN GONZALEZ, and the latter’s spouse, Nalvia Rosa MENA ALVARADO—who was three months pregnant—along with their two-year-old son, were detained in an operation carried out by DINA agents in the area of Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.

A few hours later, the child was abandoned near the home of his paternal grandparents.

The following day, April 30, the father of the victims, Manuel Segundo RECABARREN ROJAS, also a PC militant and former President of the JAP of San Miguel, went out to make inquiries to determine the whereabouts of his family members.

However, he was also detained and taken to Villa Grimaldi, the place from which all trace of him was lost in August 1976. There has been no further news of any of the four detainees.

The Commission is convinced that the disappearance of all these individuals was the work of DINA agents, who thereby violated their human rights.

Address : "Cantares de Chile" No. 6271, Paradero 16 de Sta. Rosa, San Miguel, Santiago Marital Status : Married, one child, pregnant Occupation : Homemaker Political Affiliation : Militant of the Communist Youth Date of Detention : April 29, 1976 * Name : LUIS EMILIO RECABARREN GONZALEZ ID No. : 5.473.525 from Santiago Date of Birth : 02-06-47, 29 years old at the time of his detention Address : "Cantares de Chile" No. 6271, Paradero 16 de Sta.

Rosa, San Miguel, Santiago Marital Status : Married, one child Occupation : Graphic Technician. Photomontage artist Political Affiliation : Former leader of the Association of Employees of the State Technical University.

Militant of the Communist Party Date of Detention : April 29, 1976 * Name : MANUEL GUILLERMO RECABARREN GONZALEZ ID No. : 7.311.072-6 from Santiago Date of Birth : 09-18-53, 22 years old at the time of his detention Address : "Cantares de Chile" No. 6271, Paradero 16 de Sta.

Rosa, San Miguel, Santiago Marital Status : Married, two children Occupation : Plumber Political Affiliation : Militant of the Communist Party Date of Detention : April 29, 1976 * Name : MANUEL SEGUNDO RECABARREN ROJAS ID No. : 1.464.283 from Santiago Date of Birth : 09-18-25, 50 years old at the time of his detention Address : "Cantares de Chile" No. 6271, Paradero 16 de Sta.

Rosa, San Miguel, Santiago Marital Status : Married, six children Occupation : Retired Political Affiliation : Former president of the Editorial Universitaria and Editorial Nacimiento unions. Former national leader of the Graphic Workers' Union. President of the Supply and Price Control Boards (JAP) of San Miguel. Leader of the Communist Party Date of Detention : April 30, 1976

REPRESSIVE SITUATION

Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado, married, one child, three months pregnant, homemaker, militant of the Communist Youth; her spouse Luis Emilio Recabarren González, graphic technician, former union leader; her brother-in-law Manuel Guillermo Recabarren González, married, two children, plumber; both militants of the Communist Party, and her father-in-law Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas, married, six children, retired, former graphic union leader, militant of the Communist Party, were detained by the DINA between April 29 and 30, 1976.

On April 29, around 9:30 PM, Nalvia Rosa Mena was detained—in the company of her husband Luis Emilio Recabarren González, their two-and-a-half-year-old son Luis Emilio Recabarren Mena, and her brother-in-law Manuel Guillermo Recabarren González—by DINA agents in an operation set up in the area of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa.

That day, at approximately 7:30 PM, Nalvia Rosa, accompanied by her son, went to her husband's workplace, located at 47 Nataniel Street, to head home with him and her brother-in-law Manuel Guillermo, which they did around 9:00 PM; however, they never reached their destination.

The only one who arrived near the residence was little Luis Emilio, who was abandoned around 11:30 PM at the location by a tall, heavy-set individual who was traveling in a taxi.

Through subsequent inquiries and information from neighbors who were eyewitnesses to the apprehension, it was learned that Nalvia Rosa—three months pregnant—had been struck in the abdomen with the butt of a submachine gun, despite her screams and pleas, and, in an unconscious state, was forced into one of the vehicles used by the agents.

The following day, Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas, father of the Recabarren González brothers, left home very early and was detained at 7:10 AM as he was preparing to board a bus to begin efforts to locate his relatives who had been detained the night before.

From there, Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas was taken by his captors to the barracks known as Villa Grimaldi, a clandestine DINA detention center, where he was seen by other detainees. Some of them, who later regained their freedom, declared before the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation that they had lost track of him in August 1976.

It was noted in that Commission's report that, since that date, there has been no further news of any of the four detainees.

It should be noted that, although the military government denied the detention of those affected, there are statements from July 14 and 17, 1976, from the National Social Communication Division (DINACOS), through which it was announced that, following operations carried out by security services, thirty-two "mailbox houses" (safe houses) of the Communist Party had been dismantled, which served as a link between the National Directorate of said party and its Regional Committees; in addition to the detention of militants of said group, it was added that no further information could be provided so as not to hinder the ongoing investigations.

Another piece of evidence regarding the action of security agencies in the disappearance of those affected appeared in the August 12, 1976, edition of the weekly "Qué Pasa," in which an article titled "From the MIR to the PC" indicates that militants and leaders of the Communist Party had been detained following operations carried out by security agencies.

It even provided the names of some of the detainees.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On April 30, 1976, a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) was filed before the Santiago Court of Appeals on behalf of Luis Emilio Recabarren González, Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado, Manuel Guillermo Recabarren González, and Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas, which was registered under No. 352-76.

During its processing—and only 20 days after it was filed—the Division General and Minister of the Interior, Raúl Benavides Escobar, officially reported that none of the individuals were being held by order of that Secretariat of State, adding that the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) had no records regarding the victims (May 20, 1976).

On May 26 of the same year, Minister Benavides reiterated this information. On June 1, 1976, and without further proceedings, the Court rejected the amparo. The Supreme Court confirmed the resolution on June 7, 1976, ordering the Court of Appeals to arrange for the transfer of the records to the corresponding Criminal Court.

Thus, case file No. 109.195 was initiated in the 2nd Criminal Court of San Miguel on June 24, 1976, which was consolidated with case file No. 20.027-9, originating from a kidnapping complaint filed by the victims' family on June 18, 1976, before the same Court.

On August 26, 1976, Division General and Minister of the Interior Raúl Benavides Escobar reported that none of the victims were being held by order of that agency. Following a court order, the Investigations police stated they had visited the Santiago Jail, the Penitentiary, and the Correctional House without positive results.

Likewise, they stated that the victims did not appear in the lists of the National Secretariat of Detainees (SENDET) (July 30, 1977). After statements were taken from family members, and without further proceedings, the summary was closed on September 30, 1977, and the case was temporarily dismissed because, "notwithstanding that the existence of the reported kidnapping of Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado, Luis Emilio Recabarren González, Manuel Guillermo Recabarren González, and Manuel Segundo Recabarren Rojas appears 'proven' by the case records, there is insufficient evidence to charge specific persons as author, accomplice, or accessory to the same." On November 17, 1977, the Santiago Court of Appeals confirmed the resolution.

On December 7, 1977, Ernestina Elena Alvarado Rivas—mother of Nalvia Rosa Mena—filed a criminal complaint against Nelson Rivas, a civil servant of the Ministry of National Defense, for his role as an accessory to the kidnapping perpetrated against her relatives.

In her filing, she recounted the circumstances surrounding their detentions and added that in July 1976 she had sent a letter to General Rolando Garay Cifuentes so that he, in his capacity as Military Chief of the Santiago Plaza, would inform her of the whereabouts of the victims.

In the first days of August, Ernestina Alvarado stated, she went to the Confidential Department of the Ministry of Defense (6th floor) to inquire about the result of the investigation requested of General Garay.

There, she was attended to by a civil servant who said his name was Nelson Rivas, and who—in a second visit—informed her that the investigation was coming to an end and that her relatives were alive and located.

At the end of August 1976, the witness met with Nelson Rivas for a third time, who denied what he had expressed in the previous meeting. Faced with Ernestina Alvarado's insistence, Nelson Rivas replied, "Have I given you anything in writing? I have to look out for my own skin." The Court accepted the complaint, reopening case file 20.027-9 on that same day, December 7, 1977.

Two days later, on December 9, the Judge issued an order to investigate, which was answered on February 9, 1978. However, on March 7, 1978, a new order had to be issued because the Court verified that the previous investigation "did not extend at all to the person of Nelson Rivas," who was accused as an accessory to the kidnapping.

On April 19 of the same year, the Investigations police reported that "regarding the official Nelson Rivas, there is no one by that name in the (Confidential) Department, nor has there been previously." It was added that in the Personnel Department of the Ministry of Defense, "no information was obtained regarding Nelson Rivas, due to the unknown maternal surname and the rank he might have held."

On April 28, 1978, the summary was closed and the case was totally and definitively dismissed by virtue of Amnesty Decree Law 2.191, issued on April 19 of that same year. The Prosecutor's opinion stated that "with the crime of kidnapping investigated in these records proven, and having not yet gathered evidence to charge a specific person as author, accomplice, or accessory to the same, this Ministry is of the opinion to set aside the resolution under consultation regarding the definitive dismissal of the case, and to order the continuation of the investigation with the indicated objective or, alternatively, to temporarily dismiss the case." On June 21, 1978, the Santiago Court of Appeals ordered that the dismissal should be temporary. The resolution was appealed, and on October 4, 1978, the Santiago Court of Appeals ordered the reopening of the summary, indicating the need to identify the official Nelson Rivas and summon him to appear before the Court.

Faced with inquiries made by the Court, Colonel Julio Bravo Valdés, Undersecretary of War, reported on November 8, 1978, that Nelson Rivas did not appear in the personnel records of the "Agency that operates on the 6th floor of this Ministry." In October 1979—and after various efforts were made to locate Nelson Rivas—the Court appeared at the Santiago Identification Cabinet, finding that there were a total of 49 people who answered to that name.

The fingerprint cards of those individuals and their respective photographs were then attached to the process. Simultaneously, official letters were issued aimed at identifying the aforementioned Nelson Rivas.

Regarding him, the Acting Minister of the Interior, Enrique Montero Marx, reported on February 4, 1981, that the leadership of the National Information Center (C.N.I.) had stated it lacked information.

On February 19 of the same year, Colonel Rigoberto Majmud Gallardo, Acting Chief of the General Staff of the Santiago Army Garrison Command, issued an official letter stating that in his Department "there has not been and there is no official by the name of Nelson Rivas." For his part, Lieutenant General and Minister of National Defense Washington Carrasco Fernández, in response to an inquiry aimed at identifying the Department Head who worked on the 6th floor of that Secretariat of State in August 1976, communicated that it was "impossible to access what was requested" because documentation on personnel matters had been destroyed by internal regulations since "there is not enough space for its filing."

On November 3, 1982, Ernestina Alvarado appeared before the Court, ratifying all her previous statements and stating that none of the photos shown to her corresponded to the Nelson Rivas who worked on the 6th floor of the Ministry of Defense.

She added that, subsequently, she was attended to at that location by Colonel Cruz, who told her that indeed there was no Nelson Rivas there and that "possibly it was someone who was using a pseudonym." In a document from March 1983, Ernestina Díaz noted that Ana González González—mother of the Recabarren González brothers and spouse of Manuel Recabarren Rojas—and Viviana Díaz Caro, daughter of the currently forcibly disappeared Víctor Díaz López, had also interviewed Colonel Cruz.

In this regard, Ernestina Alvarado requested that Colonel Cruz be identified and that General Rolando Garay Cifuentes be summoned to testify. Regarding these requests, Vice Admiral Patricio Carvajal Prado, Minister of National Defense, issued an official letter stating that no Senior Officer with the surname Cruz worked in that Secretariat of State (September 29, 1983) and that Major General Rolando Garay was in retirement, serving as Chile's Ambassador to the Republic of Egypt (September 12, 1983).

Viviana Díaz Caro testified before the Court on June 21, 1984, stating that in January 1979 she had indeed gone to the Ministry of Defense, together with Mrs. Ana González González, in order to request authorization to hold an event at the Caupolicán Theater regarding the forcibly disappeared.

To do so, they had to go up to the 6th floor of said Secretariat of State, where they were attended to by an Army Colonel with the surname Cruz. It was then that Mrs. González asked him if he knew Nelson Rivas, to which the Officer responded affirmatively, even offering to call him.

However, when a person arrived at the office, Colonel Cruz asked him if he was Nelson Rivas, to which he replied that his name was Nelson but his surname was not Rivas. Then Colonel Cruz told them that he had been mistaken and that no Nelson Rivas worked there.

For her part, Mrs. Ana González added that Colonel Cruz had given her "his word as a Military man" that Nelson Rivas worked there. Subsequently, Colonel Cruz was identified as Marcelo Moren Brito, a DINA official.

By virtue of these latest findings, the Court requested the Filiation and Background Extract of Marcelo Luis Manuel Moren Brito, ID No. 3.392.364-3, who appeared before the Court on June 27, 1985. He disclosed his curriculum within the Army, saying that he had been called to retirement in May 1985 and that he had been assigned to the DINA from the end of 1973 until 1977, remaining at Villa Grimaldi and at the General Headquarters.

He added that in 1979 he worked on the 6th floor of the Ministry of Defense, in the Army General Command, and that he was the person who informed General Enrique Morel Donoso about "the supposed disappeared." He explained that at that time General Rolando Garay was serving as Intendant of Santiago and that he asked General Morel for information related to the "alleged disappeared." His role—Moren Brito noted—was to make inquiries to the Investigations police, CNI, and other agencies, to inform General Morel.

He added that in his department there was no Colonel Cruz and that it must have been he himself who attended to the aforementioned ladies. He concluded by saying that a Corporal with the surname Rivas worked on the 6th floor of the Ministry of Defense, but that his name was not Nelson and he did not remember his precise name, which should be registered in the General Command.

On July 25, 1985, a confrontation took place between Viviana Díaz Caro and Marcelo Moren Brito. She recognized the agent as "Colonel Cruz" and reiterated her statements. For his part, Marcelo Moren Brito said that he had never called himself "Colonel Cruz," that there was indeed a Corporal with the surname Rivas, and that he remembered having attended to the witness in his office on the 6th floor of the Ministry of National Defense.

Also on this same day, Moren Brito was confronted with Mrs. Ana González González, who recognized him as "Colonel Cruz," adding that he had told her that a civil servant named Nelson Rivas worked there, a matter he later denied. Moren Brito reiterated the previous terms and noted having spoken with Ana González on the 6th floor of the Ministry of Defense.

Based on Moren Brito's statements, the Court initiated proceedings aimed at locating Corporal Rivas. On December 19, 1985, Brigadier General Carlos Ojeda Vargas, General Commander of the Santiago Army Garrison, issued an official letter stating that his department had no record that any Corporal with the surname Rivas had provided services between the years 1973 and 1974.

A court order was then issued stating that Corporal Rivas worked on the 6th floor of the Ministry of National Defense, Confidential Office, and that in the years 73-74 he was in the General Command of the Santiago Army Garrison.

On March 7, 1986, the Investigations police reported that the entrusted task could not be carried out at the Ministry of Defense because there was no further data regarding his name. It was also noted that they had been told at that Secretariat of State that any type of inquiry required by the Court should be made through an official letter.

On March 11, 1986, the Court decreed a series of proceedings. Among them, a new summons for Colonel (R) Marcelo Moren Brito; summoning Orlando José Manzo Durán, given that many detainees were held at the Cuatro Alamos Camp; requesting written reports on these events from Generals Rolando Garay and Enrique Morel; and issuing an official letter to the Army General Command to report if it was common for officials working in the Confidential Office of the 6th floor of the Ministry of Defense to use names other than their own, given the nature of their functions.

On May 8, 1986, Orlando José Manzo Durán appeared and testified that between 1974 and 1977 he was on a service commission at the DINA, serving as Commander of the Cuatro Alamos Camp. Regarding the victims, he said he had no information to provide and did not know if they were detained or not in Cuatro Alamos, although it was feasible that it could have been the case.

On June 17, 1986, Army Major Enrique Morel Donoso testified via official letter. He said that in 1976 he was serving as Commander of the II Army Division based in Santiago, and that he had nothing to do with problems of detainees or the disappeared.

He added that in 1976 Marcelo Moren Brito was not in Chile, but was on a service commission in Brazil. He also clarified that he did not have "the memory or the feeling that General Garay, as Intendant of Santiago, had made requests for reports on alleged disappeared persons to me." Furthermore, he added that he was sure he had no knowledge that any investigation ordered by him had been carried out.

On June 25, 1986, the statements provided via official letter by Major General Rolando Garay Cifuentes were recorded. He said that during 1976 he was serving as Commander of the Santiago Army Garrison and Chief of the Zone in a State of Emergency for the Metropolitan Region.

He stated that in that capacity he received all kinds of letters whose contents he does not remember. Regarding Marcelo Moren Brito, he expressed that he knew him by name, but did not know him personally. He also expressed that he performed his work as Intendant of Santiago from 1977 until 1980.

On July 8, 1986, Marcelo Moren Brito appeared for the second time. On this occasion, he said he did not remember the physical characteristics of the Army Corporal with the surname Rivas and reiterated that General Enrique Morel Donoso ordered inquiries to be made about "alleged disappeared persons." Almost simultaneously, on July 15, 1986, Colonel Sergio Moreno Saravia, Undersecretary of War, informed the Court that there was no Confidential Department on the 6th floor of the Ministry of National Defense and that its personnel did not use names other than their real ones.

Regarding Marcelo Moren, it was stated that he had served in the facilities on the 6th floor between the end of 1978 and January 1981 and that there was no record whatsoever "that it had been his duty to investigate, participate in, or direct the inquiries into the disappearance of the mentioned persons" (Recabarren family).

On November 4, 1986, the summary was closed and the case was temporarily dismissed for the eighth time. In his opinion, the Prosecutor noted, "This Ministry is once again consulted on the dilemma of passively accepting that the Judge crashes against the Wall of Silence or asking their Illustrious Honors to make him insist that obstacles are there to be overcome; this requires an excess of investigative zeal which, in times of legal normality, when the Judge was a Judge, his orders, obeyed and respected, were an outstanding characteristic." It concluded by saying, "Whatever the result, the fate of this process is that it may not be able to have its essential element, the defendant, but we could, at least, provide an undoubted feeling that the impossible has been done to provide the peace of mind of knowing the fate of the disappeared persons." The opinion was signed by Prosecutor Tomás Dahm Guíñez. On December 5, 1986, the San Miguel Court of Appeals revoked the resolution and ordered the reopening of the summary.

Subsequently, in March 1987, faced with a new temporary dismissal, Prosecutor Dahm expressed, "When examining the background added to this process, for this Ministry, it is the feeling of a sad, long, dark, unfruitful night in search of the truth." Finally, he added, "Despite the 10 years of processing without positive results, of the three hundred and ninety-three pages, this Ministry is of the opinion that the effects of the temporary dismissal be suspended, revoking the resolution under consultation" (March 6, 1987).

On August 28, 1988, the San Miguel Court of Appeals revoked the Judge's resolution and ordered, among other things, a new appearance before the Court of Marcelo Moren Brito.

At this stage of the process, on October 6, 1988, Brigadier Humberto Leiva Gutiérrez, National Vice-Director of the C.N.I., reported that none of the victims had registered political activities or pending arrest warrants.

On December 16 of the same year, Major General Enrique Morel Donoso made a second statement, via official letter, in which he reiterated his certainty that General Garay did not request any investigation relative to disappeared persons from him.

Also, Major General Rolando Garay Cifuentes, in December 1988, testified once more via official letter, noting that between the years 1977 and 1980 he served as Intendant of Santiago and that, in that capacity, he was not related to situations of detainees.

While the summons for Marcelo Moren Brito was pending—without it having been possible for the Court to locate him—on August 9, 1989, the II Military Court of Santiago requested the inhibition of the 2nd Criminal Court of San Miguel to continue hearing the process.

Thus, the Ordinary Justice declared itself incompetent, and the records were sent to the Military Justice, which placed them in the 2nd Prosecutor's Office, being consolidated with case file No. 553-78 (October 16, 1989), which had originated from a complaint that relatives of 70 forcibly disappeared persons filed against General Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Colonel Marcelo Moren Brito, and Lieutenant Colonel Rolf Gonzalo Wenderoth Pozo.

Without any proceedings being carried out regarding the disappearance of Nalvia Rosa Mena, the two Recabarren González brothers, and their father, Manuel Recabarren Rojas, and with no proceedings during four years, on November 20, 1989, Army Lieutenant Colonel Enrique Ibarra Chamorro, Military Prosecutor General, requested the application of the Amnesty Decree Law (D.L. 2.191) for this case, because the process had had as its exclusive purpose the investigation of alleged crimes that occurred during the period between September 11, 1973, and March 10, 1978, and because, during the 10 years of processing, it had not been possible to "determine the responsibility of any person." On November 30, 1989, the request was accepted by the 2nd Military Court, which totally and definitively dismissed the case—which was still in the summary stage—due to "the criminal responsibility of the persons allegedly accused in the reported events being extinguished." The complaining parties appealed said resolution to the Martial Court, which confirmed the ruling in January 1992. A Complaint Appeal was then filed before the Supreme Court of Justice, which, as of December 1992, had not yet issued its resolution.

(Complete background of the Complaint against Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda can be found in the file of Eduardo Alarcón Jara, July 30, 1974).

Source: Corporation report