Paine Case: Judge Marianela Cifuentes sentences four former Army officers to life imprisonment.

Judge Cifuentes sentenced former Army officers Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, Osvaldo Andrés Alonso Magaña Bau, Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt, and Arturo Guillermo Fernández Rodríguez to life imprisonment as perpetrators of 38 counts of aggravated kidnapping.

November 6, 2019 The judge on special assignment for human rights violation cases at the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón, sentenced 13 retired members of the Army and Carabineros and one civilian for their responsibility in the consummated crimes of 14 aggravated kidnappings of peasants from the El Escorial sector of Paine, victims who were ultimately executed at Cuesta Chada on October 3, 1973; and of 24 peasants from settlements in the area, who were executed in the Los Quillayes sector, near Lake Rapel, on October 16, 1973.

In the ruling, Judge Cifuentes sentenced former Army officers Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, Osvaldo Andrés Alonso Magaña Bau, Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt, and Arturo Guillermo Fernández Rodríguez to life imprisonment as perpetrators of 38 counts of aggravated kidnapping.

Meanwhile, former members of the military branch José Hugo Vásquez Silva, Carlos del Tránsito Lazo Santibáñez, Juan Dionisio Opazo Vera, Roberto Mauricio Pinto Laborderie, Jorge Segundo Saavedra Meza, Víctor Reinaldo Sandoval Muñoz, and the civilian Juan Guillermo Quintanilla Jerez must serve 20 years in prison.

In the case of the conscript soldier at the time of the events, Raúl Francisco Areyte Valdenegro, the magistrate sentenced him to 15 years in prison as the perpetrator of 14 counts of aggravated kidnapping; and conscript soldier Carlos Enrique Durán Rodríguez to 15 years and one day in prison as the perpetrator of 38 counts of aggravated kidnapping.

Finally, the judge sentenced former Carabineros Captain Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza to 10 years and one day in prison as the perpetrator of 2 counts of aggravated kidnapping. In the civil aspect, the state was ordered to pay a total sum of $15,928,000,000 to the victims' families.

The events During the investigation phase, the visiting judge established the following facts: "Regarding the victims José Cabezas Bueno, Francisco Calderón Nilo, Héctor Castro Sáez, Domingo Galaz Salas, José González Espinoza, Juan González Pérez, Aurelio Hidalgo Mella, Bernabé López López, Juan Núñez Vargas, Héctor Pinto Caroca, Hernán Pinto Caroca, Aliro Valdivia Valdivia, Hugo Alfredo Arenas, and Víctor Zamorano González: 1st That on the afternoon of September 24, 1973, soldiers from the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School appeared at the 'El Escorial' settlement in the commune of Paine and unlawfully detained Héctor Guillermo Castro Sáez and Juan Bautista Núñez Vargas, among others. 2nd That, after their detention, Héctor Castro Sáez and Juan Núñez Vargas were transferred to the Cerro Chena prisoner camp of the San Bernardo Infantry School, a place where they were kept illegally imprisoned. 3rd That, on October 2, 1973, soldiers from the San Bernardo Infantry School appeared at the 'El Escorial' settlement in the commune of Paine and unlawfully detained José Ángel Cabezas Bueno, who was immediately transferred to the Cerro Chena prisoner camp. 4th That, in the early hours of October 3, 1973, soldiers from the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, commanded by Captain Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, left the Cerro Chena prisoner camp, under the charge of Lieutenant Osvaldo Andrés Alonso Magaña Bau and Second Lieutenants Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt and Arturo Guillermo Fernández Rodríguez, with the detainees José Ángel Cabezas Bueno, Héctor Guillermo Castro Sáez, and Juan Bautista Núñez Vargas, in a red Dodge truck driven by Juan Guillermo Quintanilla Jerez, headed to the 'El Escorial' settlement in the commune of Paine and unlawfully detained Francisco Javier Calderón Nilo, Domingo Octavio Galaz Salas, José Emilio González Espinoza, Juan Rosendo González Pérez, Aurelio Enrique Hidalgo Mella, Bernabé del Carmen López López, Héctor Santiago Pinto Caroca, Hernán Pinto Caroca, Aliro del Carmen Valdivia Valdivia, Hugo Alfredo Vidal Arenas, and Víctor Manuel Zamorano González. 5th That, subsequently, they transported all the detainees in the same truck to a ravine in Cuesta de Chada and executed them, shooting them with the firearms they were carrying, their bodies being found abandoned in the aforementioned place some time later." Settlements Meanwhile, regarding the victims José Adasme Núñez, Pedro Cabezas Villegas, Ramón Capetillo Mora, José Castro Maldonado, Patricio Duque Orellana, José Fredes García, Luis Gaete Balmaceda, Carlos Gaete López, Luis Lazo Maldonado, Samuel Lazo Maldonado, Carlos Lazo Quinteros, Samuel Lazo Quinteros, René Maureira Gajardo, Rosalindo Herrera Muñoz, Jorge Muñoz Peñaloza, Mario Muñoz Peñaloza, Ramiro Muñoz Peñaloza, Silvestre Muñoz Peñaloza, Carlos Nieto Duarte, Andrés Pereira Salsberg, Laureano Quiroz Pezoa, Roberto Serrano Galaz, Luis Silva Carreño, and Basilio Valenzuela Álvarez, the investigation established the following sequence: 1st That, on October 8, 1973, officials from the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct appeared at the 'Campo Lindo' settlement in the same commune and unlawfully detained Ramón Alfredo Capetillo Mora, who was immediately locked up in the aforementioned police unit. 2nd That, in the following days, Ramón Capetillo Mora was transferred to the Cerro Chena prisoner camp of the San Bernardo Infantry School. 3rd That, on October 10, 1973, officials from the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct appeared at the '24 de Abril' settlement in the same commune and unlawfully detained Mario Enrique Muñoz Peñaloza, who was immediately locked up in the aforementioned police unit. 4th That, in the following days, Mario Muñoz Peñaloza was transferred to the Cerro Chena prisoner camp of the San Bernardo Infantry School. 5th That, at the time of the events, the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct was under the charge of Captain Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza. 6th That, in the early hours of October 16, 1973, soldiers from the Second Rifle Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, commanded by Captain Jorge Eduardo Romero Campos, left the Cerro Chena prisoner camp, under the charge of Lieutenant Osvaldo Andrés Alonso Magaña Bau and Second Lieutenants Carlos Walter Kyling Schmidt and Arturo Guillermo Fernández Rodríguez, with the detainees Ramón Alfredo Capetillo Mora and Mario Enrique Muñoz Peñaloza, in a red Dodge truck driven by Juan Guillermo Quintanilla Jerez, with the purpose of detaining twenty-two people in the town of Paine. Thus, at their respective homes, located in the urban area of the commune of Paine, they unlawfully detained René del Rosario Maureira Gajardo and Andrés Pereira Salsberg. At the '24 de Abril' settlement, they detained Patricio Loreto Duque Orellana, José Germán Fredes García, Carlos Enrique Gaete López, Rosalindo Delfín Herrera Muñoz, Jorge Hernán Muñoz Peñaloza, Ramiro Antonio Muñoz Peñaloza, Silvestre René Muñoz Peñaloza, Carlos Alberto Nieto Duarte, Laureano Quiroz Pezoa, Luis Ramón Silva Carreño, and Basilio Antonio Valenzuela Álvarez. At the 'Nuevo Sendero' settlement, they detained José Domingo Adasme Núñez, José Ignacio Castro Maldonado, Luis Alberto Gaete Balmaceda, Luis Rodolfo Lazo Maldonado, Samuel del Tránsito Lazo Maldonado, Carlos Enrique Lazo Quinteros, and Samuel Altamiro Lazo Quinteros; and finally, at the 'El Tránsito' settlement, they detained Pedro Antonio Cabezas Villegas and Roberto Esteban Serrano Galaz. 7th That, subsequently, the aforementioned detainees were transported to the Los Arrayanes ravine, in the Los Quillayes sector, in the vicinity of Lake Rapel, where they were executed by firing squad by the aforementioned soldiers and the civilian who accompanied them, who immediately buried their bodies at the same site, with only bone and dental fragments of eleven of the twenty-four victims being found years later, because their bodies were removed and moved to an unknown location to this date.

Source: diarioconstitucional.cl, November 6, 2019

The top ten human rights violators still evading justice

Among those who have not been found are not only individuals who were officials of the DINA, CNI, Carabineros, or the Armed Forces, but also one of the few civilians who has been convicted for his participation in crimes against humanity during the dictatorship.

This is Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning, convicted for the crimes committed against peasants in Santa Bárbara, in which he and his brother acted as a sort of paramilitary force that operated alongside the Carabineros.

A list containing 10 former agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) and its successor, the National Information Center (CNI), Carabineros, and naval intelligence, as well as a civilian, who are fugitives from justice and convicted of various crimes against humanity, was released by the office of lawyer Nelson Caucoto, who specializes in human rights.

These are individuals accused as perpetrators and co-perpetrators of crimes such as aggravated kidnapping, aggravated homicide, and the application of torture, among others. The first of them is the former Carabineros officer (and union leader of retired uniformed personnel) Héctor Fernando Osses Yáñez, who was convicted as a perpetrator in at least six cases of murders in the San Gregorio neighborhood.

He is the one who has been evading justice the longest, as he has not been found since October 2021. He is followed by the former CNI agent and Army officer Jorge Vargas Bories, sentenced as a co-perpetrator of the murder of MIR militant Federico Álvarez Santibáñez to a sentence of 10 years and one day.

In third place is Rubén Aroldo Morales López, a retired Carabineros officer, sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment as the perpetrator of the aggravated homicide of Jorge Vásquez Matamala.

Another of the fugitives (and the only civilian on the list) is Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning, a farmer sentenced to 10 years and one day as a co-perpetrator of seven aggravated kidnappings (forcibly disappeared) perpetrated in the commune of Santa Bárbara, in which he and his brother acted as paramilitaries who, together with Carabineros personnel, kidnapped and forcibly disappeared several peasants.

The three former agents who are fugitives are all individuals convicted in the context of the Conferencia II case, which was recently ruled on by the Supreme Court of Justice. They are former Army officer Federico Humberto Chaigneau Sepúlveda, former Navy officer José Miguel Meza Serrano, and former Army non-commissioned officer Eduardo Alejandro Oyarce Riquelme.

All of them were sentenced to 12 years in prison as co-perpetrators of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Fernando Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez; and to three years in prison for the crimes of simple kidnapping of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Berríos.

Víctor Álvarez Droguett, a former member of the Army and the DINA, is sentenced to 15 years and one day as a co-perpetrator of the crimes of aggravated homicide against Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Yalú Berríos Cataldo.

In the same case, he was also sentenced to three years as the perpetrator of a simple crime. He was also sentenced to 12 years as a co-perpetrator of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Fernando Alfredo Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez.

It should be mentioned that Álvarez additionally has a 10-year prison sentence for the aggravated kidnapping of Marta Ugarte Román. The ninth on the list is Alberto Roque del Sagrado Corazón Badilla Grillo, a retired Navy officer, sentenced to 12 years and 541 days for the crime of aggravated homicide and the application of torture, respectively.

The top ten human rights violators who are fugitives is closed by Juan Dionisio Opazo Vera, a former conscript who was sentenced to 10 years and one day as a co-perpetrator of 38 aggravated homicides, for the murders committed against peasants of Paine in 1973.

Those who appeared In this regard, lawyer Francisco Bustos points out that "a few months ago we had warned about fugitive agents for crimes against humanity, especially some since 2021 or 2022, which should be a priority for the authorities," adding that "we must especially consider that these convictions were pronounced a long time later due to the obstacles of impunity and that the duties that the Chilean State has regarding this type of crime are not exhausted by the duty to judge and eventually sanction.

They must be sanctioned with proportionate penalties and, along with that, the State must also ensure the effective compliance with said sanctions." However, he indicates that "there is also some good news, such as the arrest of two fugitives this year, in addition to the fact that the sentenced individuals from a dozen other recent processes are serving their sentences." With the first two, he was referring to Manfredo Enrique Jurgensen Caesar, a CNI doctor, sentenced to 8 years and one day in prison as a co-perpetrator of the aggravated homicide of Federico Álvarez Santibáñez.

Jurgensen had been a fugitive since January of this year, but was arrested in June in Buenos Aires while trying to board a flight to Germany. However, he passed away days later while deprived of liberty, without having been extradited to Chile.

The other fugitive found was Olegario Enrique González Moreno, a former soldier and part of the DINA, who was convicted as a co-perpetrator of nine aggravated kidnappings to a sentence of 10 years and one day. He began serving his sentence just last month.

Source: elmostrador.cl, August 24, 2023

Updated list of human rights violators who are fugitives from justice made official

This is a list prepared by the law firm Caucoto Abogados, which includes 14 criminals, among whom stand out people linked to the murder of Víctor Jara, the execution of 38 peasants in the main Paine Case, and the assassination of the Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria.

This Friday, the law firm Caucoto Abogados made official the updated list of former uniformed personnel who are fugitives from justice, convicted of various crimes against humanity. These are 14 people, some of them involved in the crime of Víctor Jara and Littré Quiroga, in the execution of 38 peasants in the main Paine Case, and the assassination of the Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria, among other investigations, details a statement from the office specializing in human rights.

Regarding the list, it is made up of former military personnel, Carabineros, former Navy officials, and civilians who were members of the dictatorship's repressive apparatuses, such as the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), the National Information Center (CNI), and naval intelligence, who are accused as perpetrators and co-perpetrators of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated homicide, illicit association, and the application of torture, among other illicit acts.

Specifically, it is composed of

1. Jorge Octavio Vargas Bories (retired Army officer, CNI), sentenced as a co-perpetrator of the murder of Federico Álvarez Santibáñez to 10 years and one day. 2. Rubén Aroldo Morales López (retired Carabineros officer), sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment as the perpetrator of the aggravated homicide of Jorge Vásquez Matamala. 3.

Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning, a businessman sentenced to 10 years and one day as a co-perpetrator of seven aggravated kidnappings (forcibly disappeared) perpetrated in the commune of Santa Bárbara. To these are added four convicted in the Conferencia II episode: 4.

Federico Humberto Chaigneau Sepúlveda (retired Army officer, DINA) 5. José Miguel Meza Serrano (retired Navy official, DINA) 6. Eduardo Alejandro Oyarce Riquelme (retired Army non-commissioned officer, DINA) All of them are sentenced as co-perpetrators of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Fernando Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez, to a sentence of 12 years in prison each, to which are added the crimes of simple kidnapping of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Berríos, for which they were sentenced to three years in prison, respectively. 7.

Víctor Álvarez Droguett (retired Army official, DINA), sentenced as a co-perpetrator of the crimes of aggravated homicide of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Yalú Berríos Cataldo, to a sentence of 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree.

In addition, he is sentenced as a co-perpetrator of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Fernando Alfredo Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez, to a sentence of 12 years of major imprisonment in its medium degree.

Additionally, he was sentenced as the perpetrator of the crimes of simple kidnapping of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic, and Lincoyán Yalú Berríos Cataldo, to a sentence of three years of minor imprisonment in its medium degree.

Finally, Álvarez Droguett faces a 10-year prison sentence for the aggravated kidnapping of Marta Ugarte Román. 8. Alberto Roque del Sagrado Corazón Badilla Grillo, a retired Navy officer, who was sentenced as the perpetrator of the aggravated homicide and the application of torture against Enrique López Olmedo, to sentences of 12 years and 541 days respectively. 9.

Juan Dionisio Opazo Vera (former conscript) sentenced as a co-perpetrator of 38 aggravated homicides to a sentence of 10 years and one day, in the Paine Case, Main Episode. 10. Nelson Edgardo Hasse Mazzei (retired Army officer) 11.

Juan Renán Jara Quintana (retired Army officer), who together with Hasse Mazzei is convicted as a co-perpetrator of the aggravated kidnappings and aggravated homicides of Víctor Jara Martínez and Littré Quiroga Carvajal.

For these crimes, a sentence of 10 years and one day was established for the kidnappings, in addition to 15 years in prison for the crimes. 12. Guillermo Salinas Torres (retired Army officer) 13. Pablo Belmar Labbé (retired Army officer) 14.

René Patricio Quilhot Palma (retired Army officer) In the case of these three fugitives from justice, they were convicted as co-perpetrators of the crimes of aggravated homicide of Carmelo Soria Espinoza, and as perpetrators of an illicit association.

For the first charge, a sentence of 15 years and one day was imposed on Salinas Torres, and 10 years and one day on the other two, while for the crime of illicit association, all were sentenced to a penalty of 541 days in prison. "Sentences must be fulfilled" Regarding this list, lawyer Francisco Bustos asserts that it is a worrying situation that should be a priority for the authorities. "States have the duty to investigate, judge, and sanction crimes against humanity," he maintains. "This duty is not exhausted by the mere issuance of a conviction; these sentences must be fulfilled, and in that sense, the existence of fugitives for any crime, and especially 14 fugitives for crimes against humanity, represents a serious breach of state duties," he adds. Finally, he stressed that "the judiciary and the plaintiffs in processes for crimes against humanity must take extreme measures, including the imposition of precautionary measures, in order to avoid this form of impunity."

Source: eldesconcierto.cl, November 24, 2023

Captured and ordered to Colina I prison: individual convicted of the murder of 38 peasants from Paine

This is former conscript Juan Dionisio Opazo Vera, who had been a fugitive from justice since June of last year and was arrested early this Thursday by an OS9 team of the Carabineros. Opazo is convicted as the perpetrator of 38 consummated counts of aggravated homicide, which occurred between September and October 1973, in the commune of Paine.

The judge on special assignment for human rights violation cases, Marianela Cifuentes, of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, ordered the entry into the Colina I Penitentiary Compliance Center of Juan Dionisio Opazo Vera, a former conscript sentenced to 10 years of effective imprisonment as the perpetrator of the aggravated homicides of 38 peasants from Paine, which occurred between September and October 1973.

Opazo Vera, who had been a fugitive from justice since June of last year, was arrested early this Thursday by an OS9 team of the Carabineros, after the court issued an arrest warrant against him. "It is wonderful news that reaches us from Judge Marianela Cifuentes in the Paine case because the fact that she has apprehended one of the fugitives means that the police are fulfilling their task, so we hope that they also manage to find the whereabouts of the other convicted former agents who are still in fugitive status," said lawyer Nelson Caucoto, a plaintiff in the Paine case.

Opazo Vera was on the list of 14 former agents of the dictatorship convicted of crimes against humanity who were fugitives from justice. Along with the former conscript, Manfredo Enrique Jurgensen Caesar (doctor, CNI), sentenced as a co-perpetrator of the aggravated homicide of Federico Álvarez Santibáñez and who died just this past June after his capture; Olegario Enrique González Moreno (Army ®, DINA), convicted as a co-perpetrator of 9 aggravated kidnappings (forcibly disappeared); and Héctor Fernando Osses Yáñez (Carabineros officer ®, union leader of retired military personnel), convicted as a perpetrator in at least six cases of murders in the San Gregorio 9 neighborhood, have already been captured. Meanwhile, 13 other former agents remain as fugitives; they are: Jorge Octavio Vargas Bories (Army officer ®, CNI); Rubén Aroldo Morales López (Carabineros officer ®); Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning (businessman); Federico Humberto Chaigneau Sepúlveda (Army officer ®, DINA), José Miguel Meza Serrano (Navy ®, DINA), Eduardo Alejandro Oyarce Riquelme (Army non-commissioned officer ®, DINA); Víctor Álvarez Droguett (Army ®, DINA), Alberto Roque del Sagrado Corazón Badilla Grillo (Navy officer ®); Nelson Edgardo Hasse Mazzei (Army officer ®); Juan Renán Jara Quintana (Army officer ®); Guillermo Salinas Torres (Army officer ®); Pablo Belmar Labbé (Army officer ®); and René Patricio Quilhot Palma (Army officer ®).

Source: resumen.cl, December 14, 2023