On December 21, 1973, accused of participating in a so-called "Leopardo Plan," the following five members of the communist cell of the "Galo González" local committee, from the La Legua shantytown, were victims of political execution:

Carlos Alberto CUEVAS MOYA, 21 years old, university student, in charge of the local committee of the Partido Comunista. He was detained by civilians on December 20, at his mother's house and in the presence of witnesses.

Pedro ROJAS CASTRO, 21 years old, local leader of the Partido Comunista. Detained at his home by a group of armed civilians on December 20, 1973, in front of witnesses.

Luis Emilio ORELLANA PEREZ, 25 years old, employee at the Embassy of Czechoslovakia, militant of the Partido Comunista. Detained along with his girlfriend in the La Granja commune on December 19 by a group of civilians.

His girlfriend lived in the La Legua shantytown, was a militant in the local committee of the Partido Comunista, and was at an aunt's house at the time because civilians had gone to look for her at her home. The detention of both occurred when the captors arrived at the location bringing one of her sisters as a hostage, who was later released.

Alejandro Patricio GOMEZ VEGA, 22 years old, merchant, communist militant. On December 18, while passing through Plaza Brasil, the person who had hired them for a painting job stopped to speak on the telephone. At that moment, they were approached by a group of civilians who threatened them with weapons, moved them to one of the vehicles they were using, and took them to an unknown destination.

Luis Alberto CANALES VIVANCO, 27 years old, employee, militant of the Partido Comunista. Detained by civilians at his home on December 20, in the presence of witnesses.

On December 22, the press published a statement signed by the Public Relations Department of the Ejército General Command: "Five terrorists dead and two soldiers seriously wounded was the result of an operation carried out last night in the area of the high-voltage electricity towers in Cerro Navia… when a group of terrorists attempted to blow up said towers. …in the clash, all the terrorists were killed… in their possession were found manuscripts detailing the organization and operating system of the so-called Leopardo Plan, which constitutes proof that extremist groups were preparing actions of various types to produce serious disturbances."

The families learned of the deaths through the radio and the press, which gave the news wide coverage. The remains were removed for burial from the Instituto Médico Legal, with the assistance of the Archbishopric of Santiago.

Cuevas's death certificate indicated the cause of death as "acute anemia." The body showed hematomas, multiple gunshot wounds, and was missing one eye. In the case of Rojas Castro, the cause of death is listed as "multiple gunshot wounds," and his body had swollen hands with no fingernails, his right arm was broken, and his head was crushed.

The body of Gómez Vega had 14 bullet holes and showed circular abrasions on both wrists and ankles; the cause of death is "multiple gunshot wounds." In the case of Canales Vivanco, the cause of death is "thoracic-abdominal gunshot wounds," and the body had seven bullet holes.

Orellana Pérez had 15 bullet impacts and his body showed grooves, ecchymosis, and abrasions on his wrists and ankles; the cause of his death: "Craniocerebral gunshot wound with exit of the projectile."

Regarding this case, the Commission has received multiple credible and consistent testimonies that recount a history different from the official one. All these communist militants, and others who were later released, were apprehended by the same agents and in the same vehicle between December 18 and December 20, 1973.

Taken to an unknown location, they were subjected to torture and collective mistreatment, and interrogated individually regarding the location where they allegedly hid weapons in La Legua. They were then thrown into a collective cell, where, according to witnesses, the death of Patricio Castro occurred as a result of shots fired by the captors.

The families of some victims suffered raids, persecution, and subsequent detentions.

This Commission has formed the conviction that these five young men were executed by State agents outside of any legal process, victims of a grave violation of human rights.

The elements that support this conviction are primarily the following:

– To this Commission, the official version seems implausible given that their detention and imprisonment in the days prior to the moment of the alleged clash is proven; furthermore, the bodies show signs of having been tied by the hands and feet and clear signs of torture. – The militancy of the victims, their membership or direct link to a specific cell of the Partido Comunista, and the official attempt to link them to a so-called "Leopardo Plan" made them targets of actions like those that caused their deaths, similar to other cases from this period in which public opinion was alerted through the press against a "Black Christmas" that the Partido Comunista would allegedly attempt. – In the report from the Ejército submitted to this Commission, which reports the wounded and dead of that institution and the circumstances in which they occurred between September 11, 1973, and March 11, 1990, there is no mention of the existence of the "Leopardo Plan," nor do the names of the two soldiers that the official version of that time pointed to as wounded in the clash appear.