Operación Albania

In June 1987, agents of the CNI carried out what was known as Operación Albania, or the Corpus Christi massacre, which affected members of the Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez (FPMR). In this case as well, the deaths were justified to the public as the consequences of successive shootouts, and it was also stated that the agents had acted in compliance with a judicial order and in the presence of a military prosecutor—a circumstance that would later be proven false.

The events began on the morning of June 15, 1987, when Recaredo Ignacio VALENZUELA POHORECKY, an economist, was intercepted on a public street on Calle Alhué in Santiago, meters away from his mother's house. Without being ordered to surrender, CNI agents who were waiting for him opened fire, causing his death.

Based on the above, which was corroborated by testimonies accessed by this Commission, it reached the conviction that the victim was executed by CNI agents, considering his death a human rights violation for which state agents are responsible.

At approximately 18:30 hours on the same day, Patricio Ricardo ACOSTA CASTRO was killed on Calle Varas Mena, where he lived, by a gunshot that caused craniocerebral and spinal trauma.

The Commission reached the conviction, given the context of the events that occurred on that occasion and the manner of the victim's death from a single bullet to the skull, that the victim was executed by state agents in violation of his human rights.

Just past midnight, a few blocks further down the same Calle Varas Mena, at No. 417, a new incident occurred in which two people died. In that location, where an FPMR guerrilla school was operating, there were three people and an indeterminate number of students in the back of the property.

The building had been surrounded since early in the day, with agents stationed in neighboring houses. At that hour, a large group of agents pounded on the gate and ordered the occupants to leave the house.

Almost immediately, the agents knocked down the gate with a vehicle and began firing from various directions. The people who were in the back of the property fled, with some being detained in the vicinity. Those who were in the house confronted the agents for some time and then also tried to escape.

The first of them, Juan Valdemar HENRIQUEZ ARAYA, an engineer, died while attempting to flee through the attic of the neighboring house marked No. 415. Strictly speaking, the Commission cannot classify his death as a human rights violation; rather, it considers that he fell as a victim of the situation of political violence, since he could not be expected to act in any way other than to defend himself from his aggressors, who manifestly intended to execute him.

For his part, Wilson Daniel HENRIQUEZ GALLEGOS, a laborer, who was wounded, took refuge in the patio of the neighboring house marked No. 419, which had already been abandoned by the agents. There, he was seen by the owner of the house, who told him he should surrender, which he refused to do.

Testimonies indicate that a short while later, another group of agents returned and forced the family into the bedroom. They captured Wilson Henríquez and began a sort of game with him; they beat him, dragged him out into the street, said they were going to bring him back inside so he wouldn't catch a cold, and then killed him. His body, according to the autopsy protocol, had 21 bullet holes.

The Commission has reached the conviction that Wilson Henríquez was executed by CNI personnel, considering his death a human rights violation for which state agents are responsible.

Meanwhile, in the Villa Olímpica sector of the capital, another death occurred at the hands of CNI agents. Julio Arturo GUERRA OLIVARES, an electrician, was in his apartment when it was surrounded by security personnel.

A confrontation with his captors took place, which was witnessed by bystanders. Once it concluded, the victim was executed by shots fired at close range. Based on the above, and noting that the victim was at the mercy of his captors, this Commission considers his death a human rights violation for which state agents are responsible.

Finally, in the early hours of that day on Calle Pedro Donoso in the Conchalí commune, the last episode occurred, resulting in the highest number of deaths: Esther Angélica CABRERA HINOJOSA, unemployed; Elizabeth Edelmira ESCOBAR MONDACA, an employee; Patricia Angélica QUIROZ NILO, a student; Ricardo Hernán RIVERA SILVA, a driver; Ricardo Cristián SILVA SOTO, a student; Manuel Eduardo VALENCIA CALDERON, an electromechanic; and José Joaquín VALENZUELA LEVI, a student.

Once again, the official version pointed to the existence of a shootout on the occasion, from which the aforementioned victims allegedly died, with one other person managing to escape. The existence of wounded agents was also reported.

The Commission has dismissed this version, based on the following considerations: there were no traces of shots fired from inside the property; the marks left by bullets on the floor of the property indicate that some of the victims were shot from above while presumably crouching; it is implausible, as the official version maintains, that anyone could have fled the scene given the characteristics of the house, which was completely enclosed; it was not possible to verify the existence of wounded agents as was publicly communicated; and, finally, the lack of cooperation from the CNI in the process intended to clarify this situation must be considered, as the true names of the agents who intervened have not been disclosed, nor have they provided statements, nor has the weaponry supposedly confiscated at the scene been produced.

Considering the above, the Commission has reached the conviction that these seven people were executed by state agents in violation of their human rights.

As a general consideration, it must be added how implausible it is that so many shootouts with so many fatalities could occur within a few hours, which suggests a prior planning of these situations and their outcome.