EMILIO BETANZO ORTEGA: 42 years old, married, accountant, forcibly disappeared on October 5, 1973, in Neltume. Emilio Betanzo Ortega disappeared that day from a makeshift shelter where he was hiding in the Andean foothills northeast of Neltume, while attempting to cross the mountain range into Argentina to avoid arrest by military and police forces who were searching for him.

Emilio Betanzo, an accountant and delegate of the Unidad Popular government at the Complejo Maderero y Forestal Panguipulli, began to be sought by military forces operating in the area starting on September 11, 1973.

His name appeared among those wanted by the Military justice system, and his photo appeared in the Valdivia press under the headline: "Extremists wanted by the Justice system." According to witness statements, on September 11, 1973, around noon, Betanzo and two other leaders from the same company decided to cross the mountain range.

During the journey, due to bad weather, they took refuge in a cave in the Neltume sector, where they remained until October 5, 1973, the date on which his companions, due to the cold and lack of food, decided to abandon the shelter.

That same day, one of them was arrested by the Carabineros of Choshuenco. Emilio Betanzo, who had chosen to remain in hiding, was never seen alive again, nor has his whereabouts been discovered. According to records from a case processed in the Military justice system, Emilio Betanzo participated in the assault on the Neltume Carabineros station on September 12, 1973.

Numerous people were arrested for these events, including the leader of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR) in the area, José Gregorio Liendo Vera, known as "Comandante Pepe," who was executed by firing squad along with eleven other people.

His case was reviewed by the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, which classified him as a victim of human rights violations by State agents. Considering the information received and the investigation carried out by this Corporation, and despite not having been able to establish the precise circumstances of his disappearance, the Superior Council, keeping in mind Emilio Betanzo Ortega's legitimate fear that his human rights would be violated, reached the conviction that he was a victim of the political violence prevailing at that time.

Source: (Corporación)

Minister Álvaro Mesa carried out proceedings in the cases of Emilio Betanzo and the Barría Bassay brothers in Neltume and Río Negro.

The Minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases for the Courts of Appeals of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, carried out proceedings in the Valdivia jurisdiction within the framework of the case (1-2014) of Emilio Betanzo, who was last seen in the Andean foothills sector of Neltume, in Panguipulli, and in the case (1-2016) of the qualified homicide of brothers Héctor and Guido Barría Bassay, 19 and 27 years old respectively, who were arrested on October 16, 1973, at the Los Riscos estate, in the commune of Río Negro, Osorno province. Minister Mesa stated that "as we have done since March 2017, we are carrying out a monthly tour of the jurisdictions for which I am responsible. On this occasion, we are carrying out proceedings in the case of EMILIO BETANZO ORTEGA, which corresponds to a person who is a presumed forcibly disappeared person, who was last seen on October 5, 1973, in the town of Neltume." The Magistrate added that "what we have been doing since February 2018 are excavations in a place in Neltume that had been pointed out by witnesses as the place where the body of Emilio Betanzo Ortega could potentially be buried. In these proceedings, we have interviewed locals from the area with the purpose of deepening certain data regarding the terrain we are working on, concerning historical data." To support this work, the Minister on extraordinary assignment indicated that "in this work, we are accompanied by a team from the SML, archaeologists, anthropologists, and the Policía de Investigaciones, who support us with proceedings carried out in the field." Regarding the Barría-Bassay case, Minister Mesa pointed out that "during 2017, we carried out exhumations at an estate in Río Negro. For now, we are carrying out other types of proceedings, such as taking statements from witnesses to deepen the context of the investigation."

Source: diarioconstitucional.cl 9/03/2018

Date: 03-09-2018

MINISTER ON EXTRAORDINARY ASSIGNMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases for the Courts of Appeals of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, carried out proceedings this week in the Valdivia jurisdiction within the framework of the case (1-2014) of Emilio Betanzo, who was last seen in the Andean foothills sector of Neltume, in Panguipulli, and in the case (1-2016) of the qualified homicide of brothers Héctor and Guido Barría Bassay, 19 and 27 years old respectively, arrested on October 16, 1973, at the Los Riscos estate, in the commune of Río Negro, Osorno Province. On the occasion, Minister Mesa stated that "as we have done since March 2017, we are carrying out a monthly tour of the jurisdictions for which I am responsible. On this occasion, we are carrying out proceedings in the case of Emilio Betanzo Ortega, which corresponds to a person who is a presumed forcibly disappeared person, who was last seen on October 5, 1973, in the town of Neltume." "In this context, what we have been doing since February 2018 are excavations in a place in Neltume that had been pointed out by witnesses as the place where the body of Emilio Betanzo Ortega could potentially be buried. In these proceedings, we have interviewed locals from the area with the purpose of deepening certain data regarding the terrain we are working on, concerning historical data," the magistrate added. To support this work, the minister on extraordinary assignment indicated that "in this work, we are accompanied by a team from the SML, archaeologists, anthropologists, and the Policía de Investigaciones, who support us with proceedings carried out in the field." Regarding the Barría-Bassay case, Minister Mesa pointed out that "within the framework of this case, during 2017, we carried out exhumations at an estate in Río Negro. For now, we are carrying out other types of proceedings, such as taking statements from witnesses to deepen the context of the investigation."

Source: eldiariopanguipulli.cl 9/3/2018

Date: 03-09-2018

Proceedings begin to find remains of man disappeared during dictatorship in Neltume

The search and excavation intended to find a victim of the dictatorship in Neltume, who disappeared in 1973, was scheduled for this Thursday. The Human Rights program of the Ministry of the Interior valued the proceeding for the investigation.

This is the case of Emilio Betanzo Ortega, an accountant and delegate of the Unidad Popular government at the Complejo Maderero y Forestal de Panguipulli, who, along with other people, decided to cross the mountain range after the military coup, taking refuge in the Neltume area.

The man was last seen on October 5, 1973, and is considered a victim of the dictatorship. For the lawyer of the Human Rights program of the Ministry of the Interior, Catalina Ross, there is information that the accountant's remains could be bordering Lake Neltume, near kilometer 8.

The case is in the charge of the minister of the Court of Appeals of Valdivia, Juan Ignacio Correa, a proceeding that will have the collaboration of the Servicio Médico Legal (SML) and the Human Rights Brigade of the PDI, as reported by the lawyer. The Association of Human Rights and Political Executions of Valdivia also attended the area.

Source: biobiochile.cl, Thursday, March 19, 2015

Date: 03-19-2015

Proceedings begin to find remains of man disappeared during dictatorship in Neltume

The search and excavation intended to find a victim of the dictatorship in Neltume, who disappeared in 1973, was scheduled for this Thursday. The Human Rights program of the Ministry of the Interior valued the proceeding for the investigation.

This is the case of Emilio Betanzo Ortega, an accountant and delegate of the Unidad Popular government at the Complejo Maderero y Forestal de Panguipulli, who, along with other people, decided to cross the mountain range after the military coup, taking refuge in the Neltume area.

The man was last seen on October 5, 1973, and is considered a victim of the dictatorship. For the lawyer of the Human Rights program of the Ministry of the Interior, Catalina Ross, there is information that the accountant's remains could be bordering Lake Neltume, near kilometer 8.

The case is in the charge of the minister of the Court of Appeals of Valdivia, Juan Ignacio Correa, a proceeding that will have the collaboration of the Servicio Médico Legal (SML) and the Human Rights Brigade of the PDI, as reported by the lawyer. The Association of Human Rights and Political Executions of Valdivia also attended the area.

Source: BIOBIO.CL 19/3/2015

Date: 03-19-2015

Court of Appeals of Valdivia increases compensation to children of forcibly disappeared person

The Court of Appeals of Valdivia set at $250,000,000 the total amount of compensation that the treasury must pay for moral damages to the children of Emilio Betanzo Ortega, a government delegate at the Complejo Maderero y Forestal Panguipulli, who was arrested on October 5, 1973, in the Andean foothills sector of Neltume while attempting to cross into Argentina.

His whereabouts and fate have been unknown since that date. The Court of Appeals of Valdivia set at $250,000,000 the total amount of compensation that the treasury must pay for moral damages to the children of Emilio Betanzo Ortega, a government delegate at the Complejo Maderero y Forestal Panguipulli, who was arrested on October 5, 1973, in the Andean foothills sector of Neltume while attempting to cross into Argentina.

His whereabouts and fate have been unknown since that date. In a unanimous ruling (case roll 468-2024 Civil), the First Chamber of the appellate court—composed of ministers Samuel Muñoz Weisz, María Soledad Piñeiro Fuenzalida, and Rodrigo Schnettler Carvajal—confirmed the appealed sentence, issued by the First Civil Court of Valdivia, with the declaration that the compensation amount is increased in proportion to the proven damage. "That the compensation for moral damages shall be set at the sum that will be recorded in the operative part of this ruling, under the estimation that said amount is related to the consequences of the harmful act effectively proven in the records, its duration, and the principle of full reparation of damage that governs civil liability," the appellate court's ruling maintains. Therefore, it is resolved that: "the appealed sentence of March 6, 2024, is CONFIRMED, with the declaration that the compensation for damages that the Treasury of Chile must pay for moral damages in favor of each of the plaintiffs, Mr. Marcelo Alejandro Betanzo Hohmann; Ms. Wilma Judich Betanzo Hohmann; Mr. Rubén Yamadro Betanzo Hohmann; Ms. Pilar Angelica Betanzo Hohmann, and Ms. María Soledad Betanzo Hohmann, is set at the sum of $50,000,000 (fifty million pesos), plus the adjustments and interest indicated in the first-instance ruling, in its third decision."

Source: pjud.cl 16/9/2024