Case File No. 2182: "Arturo Hillers Larrañaga" Case

In case file No. 2182 of the Santiago Court of Appeals, "Arturo Hillers Larrañaga," the sentence dated April 15, 2014, written starting on page 3636, convicted Gonzalo Enrique Arias González, Eduardo Orlando Riquelme Rodríguez, Francisco Neftalí Ferrada González, and Osvaldo Muñoz Mondaca, in their capacity as perpetrators of the crime of aggravated kidnapping committed against Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga, to each serve a sentence of five years and one day of presidio mayor in its minimum degree, along with the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification from public offices and political rights, absolute disqualification from holding professional titles for the duration of the sentence, and payment of court costs; and convicted Omar Burgos Dejean, Ernesto Ildefonso Garrido Bravo, and Hugo Opazo Inzunza, in their capacity as accomplices to the crime of aggravated kidnapping committed against Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga, to each serve a sentence of three years and one day of presidio menor in its maximum degree, along with the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification from public offices and political rights, absolute disqualification from holding professional titles for the duration of the sentence, and payment of court costs.

Source: Judiciary, April 15, 2014

Supreme Court confirms sentences for crimes against MIR members and a doctor in Temuco

This week, the Supreme Court ratified the sentences appealed in two human rights violation cases investigated, in the first instance, by visiting judges Leopoldo Llanos Sagristá and Alejandro Madrid Crohare.

In the first ruling (case file 11198-2015), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of justices Milton Juica, Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, Juan Eduardo Fuentes, and Jorge Dahm—rejected the cassation appeal filed against the sentence issued on October 24, 2014, which convicted two agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) as perpetrators of the repeated crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Artemio Gutiérrez Ávila, Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba, and Abundio Contreras González, crimes perpetrated starting on July 13 (the first two) and July 14, 1974 (the latter), in the Metropolitan Region. The high court's ruling ratified the sentences issued by Judge Llanos: 20 years of imprisonment for former army officer Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, and 15 years and one day of imprisonment for agent Basclay Humberto Zapata Reyes. During the investigation phase, Judge Leopoldo Llanos established the following facts: a) That "Londres N°38" was a secret detention and torture center of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA). It was located in downtown Santiago and operated from late 1973 until approximately the final days of August 1974. It held numerous detainees, who were interrogated and tortured with various types of flagellation. They were also taken out of the facility to cooperate in other arrests. b) That Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Ávila, 23 years old, a jeweler, single, and a member of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), was arrested together with Francisco Javier Eduardo Fuentealba Fuentealba, 26 years old, a jeweler and member of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), by DINA agents on July 13, 1974, while they were at the "Platinol" jewelry store located at Calle Santo Domingo N° 573, Apartment 33, in the commune of Santiago. They were taken to the clandestine detention center known as "Londres 38," where they were seen by witnesses, after which all credible traces of them were lost to this date, without them having made contact with their relatives or having taken steps before State agencies; there is no record of them leaving or entering the country, nor is there any record of their death. c) That Abundio Alejandro Contreras González, 28 years old, married, father of two children, an employee of the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA) and a member of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), was arrested on July 14, 1974, at his home in the commune of La Cisterna by members of the National Intelligence Directorate. He was seen at "Londres 38" and "Cuatro Álamos" by various witnesses, and from there all traces of him are lost to this date, without him having made contact with his relatives or having taken steps before State agencies, with no record of him leaving or entering the country, and no record of his death (...) the facts described above constitute separate crimes of aggravated kidnapping, as contemplated in Article 141, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Penal Code; and are qualified by the time the action was prolonged, that is, more than 90 days, and by the consequences thereof, resulting in grave harm to the person or interests of the victims. Such a situation is the case here, as the whereabouts of Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Ávila, Francisco Fuentealba Fuentealba, and Abundio Contreras González remain unknown, it having been established in the case that the aforementioned victims were held against their will starting on July 13, 1974 (regarding the first two) and July 14 of the same year (regarding the latter), depriving them of their freedom of movement, a state that continues to this day, as the whereabouts of the kidnapped individuals remain unknown." Temuco Doctor In the second ruling (case file 173-2016), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of the same justices mentioned above—rejected the cassation appeal filed against the sentence that convicted retired members of the Carabineros for the aggravated kidnapping of doctor Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga, a crime perpetrated starting on September 15, 1973, in Temuco. The confirmed sentence, issued on April 15, 2014, convicted former Carabineros officers Francisco Neftalí Ferrada González and Osvaldo Muñoz Mondaca to 10-year prison sentences as perpetrators of the crime. Meanwhile, former uniformed police officers Eduardo Enrique Riquelme Rodríguez, Omar Burgos Dejean, and Hugo Opazo Insunza must each serve 3 years and one day of imprisonment as accomplices. Likewise, former Carabineros officer Gonzalo Enrique Arias González and former police officials Ernesto Idelfonso Garrido Bravo and Juan de Dios Aliro Verdugo Jara were acquitted, as their participation in the events could not be proven. In the first instance, Judge Alejandro Madrid established that: "Starting on September 11, 1973, a civil commission was organized at the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco, which was 'composed of officials from this police force, under the command of Lieutenant Eduardo Riquelme Rodríguez, and reported directly to Commander Gonzalo Arias González, head of services and second-in-command of the Cautín Carabineros Prefecture. The personnel of this unit operated independently of the functions of the 2nd Precinct and generally wore civilian clothes. Although it operated in a building located at the corner of General Cruz and Antonio Varas streets, the detainees were physically kept in the back of the 2nd Precinct, located at Calle Claro Solar N° 1248, in an office that had an entrance, a false door (a rear entrance leading to the railway line), and an independent cell. Political prisoners were not entered into the Guard Books and were taken directly to these facilities. This unit moved in 'Chevrolet' C-10 model pickup trucks with canvas covers. This unit was created for the purpose of working on political issues ordered for investigation to comply with orders issued by the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco and, therefore, was in charge of political prisoners, regarding their apprehension and interrogation as the case may be, and once their situation was decided, they were handed over, indiscriminately, to Department II of the Chilean Air Force at the Maquehue Air Base in Temuco, to the No. 8 Tucapel Infantry Regiment, or to the city's Public Jail. In all these detention centers, officials operated who, holding various degrees of hierarchy in the command, ordered some and executed others, the capture of people who were militants or sympathizers of political parties or leftist movements, whom they illegally imprisoned in the places designated for that purpose, breaking them under physical torment of various kinds with the object of making them provide information about other people on the political left in order to apprehend them.'" Under these circumstances, it continues, "(...) on September 15, 1973, around 02:00 in the morning, officials from the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco violently broke into the property at Calle Lynch N° 161, carrying out an illegal raid and destroying clothing and belongings. Among the police, the family was able to recognize the then-Lieutenant Osvaldo Muñoz Mondaca, who loudly asked for Jaime Eltit Spielmann, Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga's brother-in-law, who was later arrested by military personnel in the city of Santiago on October 6, 1973, and has been missing since then. The residents of the house were interrogated about Jaime's friends and the addresses they had, warning that they knew who the Marxists were. When the officials were proceeding to leave, another group appeared from the backyard composed of five Carabineros officials, different from those who were interrogating, who entered through the back of the property; they had raided some rooms, seizing boxes of books and documents that belonged to Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga. They were dressed differently from the previous ones, as one was wearing riding boots, another a helmet and a greatcoat (which his spouse recognized as the members of the so-called Civil Commission of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct); at that moment Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga asked 'why were they taking those boxes of books?', as they were his property and consisted of medical texts. The official in charge asked for his name and upon being given it, indicated: 'We were looking for you!'. Arturo Hillerns asked him to show the corresponding arrest warrant, to which the officer, pointing his firearm at him, expressed: 'This is my warrant...!'. In that way, Hillerns was put into a white pickup truck with a canvas cover, without license plates, and the family was informed that he would be taken to the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco."

Source: resumen.cl, June 25, 2016

Judge Álvaro Mesa sentences retired Carabineros and a civilian to 12 years in prison as perpetrators of the aggravated kidnapping of a student in Temuco

Visiting Judge Álvaro Mesa Latorre issued sentence number 64 on the matter, and sentenced retired Carabineros Gonzalo Enrique Arias González, Omar Burgos Dejean, and the civilian Jorge Nibaldo Chovar Aguilera to 12 years of effective imprisonment, in their capacity as perpetrators of the crime of aggravated kidnapping, as a crime against humanity, of Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila.

The crime was perpetrated starting on September 22, 1973, in the commune of Temuco. The visiting judge for human rights violation cases in the jurisdictions of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued sentence number 64 on the matter, and sentenced retired Carabineros Gonzalo Enrique Arias González, Omar Burgos Dejean, and the civilian Jorge Nibaldo Chovar Aguilera to 12 years of effective imprisonment, in their capacity as perpetrators of the crime of aggravated kidnapping, as a crime against humanity, of Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila.

The crime was perpetrated starting on September 22, 1973, in the commune of Temuco. In the ruling (case file 53.680), Judge Mesa Latorre also applied to the sentenced individuals the legal accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification from public offices and political rights and absolute disqualification from holding professional titles for the duration of the sentences.

Additionally, Judge Mesa Latorre sentenced Eduardo Orlando Riquelme Rodríguez to serve a 5-year prison sentence as an accomplice; meanwhile, Hugo Opazo Inzunza and Ernesto Ildefonso Garrido Bravo must serve 3 years in prison as accessories after the fact to the aggravated kidnapping of the mechanical engineering student from the State Technical University.

In the sentence, Judge Mesa Latorre established the following facts: "A.- That starting on September 11, 1973, as a result of the events that occurred in the country, an operational group called a 'civil commission' was formed in all precincts, dedicated to intelligence work consisting of finding information regarding violent groups, the arrest of people considered in military decrees, among others; that is, these were tasks that escaped common police procedures.

In the case of Temuco, said commission was composed of Lieutenant Eduardo Riquelme Rodríguez (prosecuted at page 1,569 (Vol. V) of this case) in charge of directing the group; Juan Fritz Vega (deceased as stated at page 3,414 (Vol.

X)), Omar Burgos Dejean (prosecuted at page 1,139 (Vol. IV) of this case), and non-commissioned officers Hugo Opazo Inzunza and Ernesto Garrido Bravo (prosecuted at page 1,569 Vol. V) of that same police unit.

Although the aforementioned uniformed officers were part of the staff of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco, the orders given to them on intelligence matters were directed directly by Gonzalo Enrique Arias González (prosecuted at page 1,987 Vol.

VI), Sub-prefect of Carabineros of Cautín, who also performed functions as a Carabineros Prosecutor. Furthermore, the information gathered on intelligence matters by the group led by Riquelme was communicated directly to the same Sub-prefect of Carabineros.

B.- That said Sub-prefect of Carabineros and Carabineros Prosecutor of Cautín, after September 11, 1973, was performing functions in the city of Temuco, as stated in his service record on page 1,619. Except for November 26, 1973, according to what is indicated in the replacement sentence of the Supreme Court that appears from page 1,961 to page 1,970 of this process.

C.- That the people arrested by the aforementioned group were taken to the common cells of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco, which could only be interrogated or visited by the members of this civil commission, with the rest of the staff of that unit unable to have contact with them.

D.- That continuing the previous thread, on September 22, 1973, Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila, a student of the Mechanical Engineering program at the State Technical University, was talking outside said university, located on Calle Prat—between Rodríguez and Portales streets—in this city, together with Orwald Casanova Cameron, a fellow student, and a professor surnamed San Celedonio.

At that moment, Casanova Cameron saw a Chevrolet pickup truck circling on several occasions, boarded by people in civilian clothes and driven by Jorge Chovar Aguilera (prosecuted at page 1,139, Vol. IV of this case), a known sympathizer of the National Party, of the Patria y Libertad group of the time, and known for his closeness to uniformed personnel of different armed institutions, being seen on repeated occasions together with them on the streets of Temuco.

Upon saying goodbye, Casanova Cameron saw how Maldonado Ávila headed along Calle Prat toward Calle Portales, losing sight of him at that intersection. E.- That on the same day, an official from the Welfare Department of the State Technical University of this city informed some students of that institution that she witnessed the moment when Luis Maldonado Ávila was approached by uniformed officers and put into a vehicle.

Together with the uniformed officers was Jorge Chovar Aguilera, cooperating in the apprehension of Maldonado Ávila. The aforementioned fact was commented on among the students of the State Technical University and even among the members of the National Party and the Patria y Libertad group of that time.

F.- That at a later date, Alberto Arturo Neumann Adriazola (deceased as stated at page 3,417 (Vol. X)), a 1st Corporal of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco, commented to his spouse that he had seen Luis Maldonado Ávila in one of the cells of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco—whom he knew due to a friendship with his family—but that he could not have contact with him, alluding to the prohibition that personnel who were not part of the civil commission of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco had regarding contact with the detainees of that group.

G.- That the Carabineros Sergeant of the 2nd Precinct of Temuco, Juan de Dios Fritz Vega (deceased as stated at page 3,414 Vol. X), accompanied by Omar Burgos Dejean (prosecuted at page 1,139 Vol. IV of this case) and other Carabineros of said commission, appeared at the home of Corporal Neumann in a reddish C-10 model pickup truck, so that the wife of the aforementioned corporal would accompany them.

They went with her to a house in front of Plaza Teodoro Schmidt, where Irma Martínez Delgado was with other people, among them Mrs. Claudina Ávila (deceased as stated at page 3,413 Vol. X), mother of Luis Maldonado Ávila—with whom Neumann Adriazola's spouse had shared hours earlier and talked about her son's situation—proceeding the uniformed officers to enter the home, apprehend Mrs.

Claudina Ávila, with her hands tied and eyes blindfolded, and take her to the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco. H.- That finally, to this date, no public official of the Carabineros of Chile or of any other branch of the Armed Forces and/or Order and Security who served at the time of the events has provided any information to the respective authority regarding what happened to Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila, maintaining to this day the concealment of all types of information regarding his whereabouts.

That to this date, and despite the search by his relatives, it has not been possible to locate the whereabouts of Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila."

Source: pjud.cl, October 5, 2022

Supreme Court confirms conviction of civilian for crime against student in Temuco in 1973

The Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeal in form and substance filed against the sentence that convicted the right-wing civilian Jorge Nibaldo Chovar Aguilera for his responsibility in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of the then-university student Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila, committed starting on September 22, 1973, in the city of Temuco.

In a unanimous ruling (case file 201.561-2023), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of Justice Manuel Antonio Valderrama, Justices María Teresa Letelier and María Cristina Gajardo, and acting lawyers Pía Tavolari and Eduardo Gandulfo—confirmed the sentence that convicted the former member of the fascist group Patria y Libertad and later gastronomic businessman, Jorge Chovar Aguilera, to a sentence of 12 years of effective imprisonment, in his capacity as a perpetrator of the crime, as a crime against humanity.

Thus, the Supreme Court rejects the appeal filed against the sentence of the Temuco Court of Appeals of June 2023, which, in turn, fully ratified the first-instance ruling issued by Judge Álvaro Mesa Latorre in September 2022.

Likewise, regarding the also-sentenced former Carabineros officer Gonzalo Enrique Arias González, in whose favor a cassation appeal in substance had also been filed, the Court omits a ruling regarding him, due to the criminal's death, which occurred in July 2023.

Other sentenced individuals did not file appeals before the Supreme Court; former Carabineros 2nd Sergeant Omar Burgos Dejean was sentenced to 12 years of effective imprisonment as a perpetrator of the crime.

Additionally, former Carabineros officer Eduardo Orlando Riquelme Rodríguez was sentenced to serve a 5-year prison sentence as an accomplice; meanwhile, former non-commissioned officers Hugo Opazo Inzunza and Ernesto Ildefonso Garrido Bravo must serve 3 years in prison as accessories after the fact to the aggravated kidnapping.

In the sentence, the legal accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification from public offices and political rights and absolute disqualification from holding professional titles for the duration of the sentences were applied to the convicted individuals.

The individuals convicted and implicated in this case were part of the staff of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco and were members of an operational group called a "civil commission" whose function, starting with the military coup, was destined for repressive or intelligence tasks consisting of the search and arrest of people who were considered dangerous to the dictatorial regime.

In repressive and intelligence matters, they received orders issued by the Sub-prefect of Carabineros of Cautín, Gonzalo Enrique Arias González, who also performed functions as a Carabineros Prosecutor.

The aforementioned civil commission was composed of the then-lieutenant Eduardo Riquelme Rodríguez in charge of directing the group; Juan Fritz Vega (deceased), Omar Burgos Dejean, and non-commissioned officers Hugo Opazo Inzunza and Ernesto Garrido Bravo, all from the same police unit.

The information gathered by the group led by Riquelme Rodríguez was communicated directly to the same Sub-prefect Arias González. The people arrested by the aforementioned group were taken to the common cells of the 2nd Carabineros Precinct of Temuco, which could only be interrogated or visited by the members of this civil commission, with the rest of the staff of that unit unable to have contact with them.

On September 22, 1973, Luis Bernardo Maldonado Ávila, 24 years old, a student of the Mechanical Engineering program at the State Technical University, was arrested by the members of this "civil commission" who were accompanied by the civilian collaborator Jorge Nibaldo Chovar Aguilera, a known sympathizer of the National Party and member of the Patria y Libertad group of the time, known for his closeness to uniformed personnel of different armed institutions, being seen on repeated occasions together with them on the streets of Temuco.

The civilian snitch acted as the driver of the private vehicle in which the repressive group moved. Since that date, the whereabouts of the detainee Maldonado Ávila have been unknown. Various testimonies account for the student's presence in the cells of the 2nd Precinct.

In the days that followed, Claudina Ávila, the detainee's mother, was arrested and taken gagged and blindfolded to the same police unit, with the aim of intimidating her and preventing search efforts for her son. The mother passed away without being able to find an answer regarding the whereabouts of her son, Luis Maldonado Ávila.

Source: resumen.cl, July 11, 2025