Rafael Eduardo Araneda Yévenes, a textile engineering student at the Universidad Técnica del Estado and an assistant in the same university's drawing department, was a member of the MIR. He was detained on December 12, 1974, by DINA agents as he was leaving the aforementioned university.

The previous day, his friend and fellow MIR militant, Carlos Alberto Terán de la Jara—also a victim of forced disappearance, with whom he shared a project office—had been detained. After his apprehension, Rafael Araneda was taken to a DINA facility, possibly Villa Grimaldi (where his friend Terán de la Jara was seen by other detainees).

From there, he was reportedly taken to his home on Calle San Isidro, which was subjected to a thorough search. After the search, the civilians left, leaving the residents, a married couple named Luis Rodríguez and Alicia Guerrero Valdivia, under virtual house arrest.

DINA agents returned to the home on several occasions, removing items and clothing belonging to the victim. In the judicial testimony provided by the couple, they indicated that when the agents brought Rafael Araneda in as a detainee, he showed clear signs of having been physically mistreated.

The civilians always carried a key, and one of them identified himself as Mr. Alegría; the latter stated that the detention was politically motivated and that he would return later to indicate the victim's place of confinement so that he could be visited, a promise he never kept.

His family, who lived in Chiguayante, Concepción, at the time of the events, carried out numerous efforts and inquiries to locate him, but they yielded no results, and they still do not know his fate at the hands of the DINA.

The Rettig Report states that Rafael Araneda was seen by other prisoners at Villa Grimaldi.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On December 16, 1974, a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) was filed on his behalf before the Santiago Court of Appeals, case file number 1580-74, which detailed the circumstances of his detention at the Universidad Técnica de Santiago.

The Court requested reports from the Ministry of the Interior, the Commander-in-Chief of the State of Siege Zone, and the Combat Aviation Command, all of which provided negative responses. At the request of the petitioner, the Court requested a new report from the Minister of the Interior; on March 18, 1975, that office replied that the person in question was not being held by order of that Ministry.

On April 18 of that year, based on the information provided by the administrative authority, the Court rejected the writ of amparo and resolved to send the records to the Ninth Criminal Court of Major Quantities to initiate proceedings regarding the disappearance of the subject.

On April 24, 1975, the Ninth Criminal Court opened case 13.952. During the proceedings, Ignacio Isaías Araneda Mardones, the victim's father, appeared and ratified the terms of the complaint, adding that he had been alerted to his son's situation by the tenants of the house he owned at Calle San Isidro 1070, which they shared with the victim.

On June 17, 1975, a criminal complaint for the crime of kidnapping was filed before the same court. The petition was accepted for processing and consolidated with the previously opened case. The corresponding investigation order carried out by the Investigative Police (Investigaciones) yielded no results.

On August 27 of that year, Luis Orlando Rodríguez Comazabal appeared before the Court and stated that he was a tenant of the property on San Isidro and that Rafael Eduardo occupied a room there; he stated that at the time of the events, he was working and his wife was the one present.

A week later, he was able to speak with the apprehending officers, as they returned to his house on several occasions; they did not identify themselves, but they were civilians. They pointed out to him that the young man had "mirista" (MIR) tendencies and that they had found compromising material and money.

They were given precise instructions, keeping them practically under arrest in their home during the end of 1974. On the same date, his spouse, Alicia Guerrero Valdivia, gave a statement, adding that the civilians carried the key to Rafael Eduardo's room, showed her a credential with a stamp from the Presidency, and advised her to stay in a room with her 4 young daughters because Rafael was "in bad shape." Later, she heard them asking him about different objects and he answered them; she managed to see them remove a roll from the bathtub.

Subsequently, the agents showed them some papers and names, stating that they were very important.

The Court received further negative reports from the Investigative Police, the FACH Combat Command, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Carabineros de Chile, and the Legal Medical Institute. On October 9, the Ministry of the Interior issued a new negative report, adding this time that the DINA did not have him in its index cards and he did not appear as a detainee of that organization.

On December 13, 1975, Judge Amanda Argandoña Ibacache temporarily dismissed the case on the grounds that "the existence of any crime has not been established in the records." This resolution was approved by the Court of Appeals on April 21, 1976.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity

Through a series of images, photographer Gastón Salas revealed some of the objects treasured by the families of the forcibly disappeared.

"He left quietly, he took a look at the 2 children who were in their pajamas at the bedroom door and left calmly; he didn't make any gestures. It makes me sad to think about this; it was the third time they had taken him, and I think René thought he wasn't coming back, because he left his choker, his watch, and his engagement ring on his nightstand."

In this way, Sonia Carreño Saldías, wife of René Maureira Guajardo, recounts how her partner was detained on October 16, 1973. "My husband left the house here at 1:30 in the morning; they put him on a truck where they were picking up other people from the sector, 24 in total, and they took them to a private site in the Quebrada de los Quillayes.

It seems it was all planned because Lieutenant Magaña had to open several gates to reach the place; it is not easy to get there, especially at night. In that place, they executed them by firing squad and buried them," she concludes.

This and other stories of detentions carried out during the Dictatorship are what photographer Gastón Salas collects in his exhibition Altars of Absence, an exhibition that brings together a series of images that tell of the absence of the forcibly disappeared in Chile.

ALFONSO DEL CARMEN ARAYA CASTILLO (Forcibly Disappeared)

Born September 17, 1948. Lived at Panamericana Norte 1130, Apt. 13, Renca, Santiago. He was married, a furniture maker, and a construction union leader. He was 27 years old when he was detained on September 9, 1976.

According to Salas, he began to take an interest in objects belonging to the forcibly disappeared after a woman showed him a ring that had belonged to her husband. "That stuck with me, and I thought that there were many things that people had left behind and that their relatives treasured very much," he said.

According to Salas, "most of the things are everyday objects; there is a lunchbox, some glasses, a pencil; they are simple things," he recounted. However, the photographer indicated that "the presence of the objects speaks of an absence."

This exhibition was held between 2013 and 2014, and during this period, he worked with only 15 families. In this sense, Salas collected images from Coquimbo, La Serena, Santiago, and Temuco, among other places.

The photographic exhibition is also complemented by a story told by each family about their relationship with the objects and the detention of their relatives.

"Faced with the State policy of making people disappear, I want to make them appear," commented Salas. "It is a subject that has been kept quiet for a long time, and the relatives are also tired. So there is a need to maintain memory and fight against amnesia," he stressed.

Salas also commented that to carry out this work, he had to enter into the intimacy of the families. "They were very sad, painful, and traumatic situations," he said.

This exhibition is organized by the Coordination of the Culture and Heritage Management Area, of the Directorate of Community Engagement, UC Silva Henríquez, and will be presented at the Espacio San Isidro (San Isidro 560). The exhibition will remain open until Friday, June 31, and can be visited from Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Sonia Carreño Saldías, wife of René Maureira Guajardo (Forcibly Disappeared).

Born October 1, 1932. Lived at General Baquedano 868-A, Paine. Married with 2 children. Teacher and merchant. Detained October 16, 1973, at 41 years of age.

"My husband left the house here at 1:30 in the morning; they put him on a truck where they were picking up other people from the sector, 24 in total, and they took them to a private site in the Quebrada de los Quillayes.

It seems it was all planned because Lieutenant Magaña had to open several gates to reach the place; it is not easy to get there, especially at night. In that place, they executed them by firing squad and buried them.

It is still hard for me to calm my spirit, because after what had happened, they dug up the remains to throw them into the sea and make them disappear again; there was one crime upon another. My husband's glasses were found there, which are concrete evidence that he was buried there; only one lens remains, which is photochromic, and they are the Rotter and Krauss brand, so there is no doubt that they are my husband's glasses.

For my family, it is a very valuable object, and I have them here in the house, in plain sight of everyone who comes, because for me they are a highly cherished relic and I want to keep them."

The Letter Sonia Villarroel Vera, daughter of Juan Villarroel Zárate (Forcibly Disappeared). Born June 19, 1921, lived at General Gambino 4584, Población Arquitecto Oherens, Conchalí. Photoengraver and union leader at Imprenta Horizonte. He was 55 years old when he was detained on August 13, 1976.

"I wrote to him and wrote to him so he would come to see his grandson, but nothing, I had no response until one day my brother-in-law appears with a letter and says to me: 'Sonia, your dad left this letter for you.' About a year had passed, and I asked him: 'And why isn't he coming to meet his grandson?' 'No, you know what? He disappeared; the soldiers took him and we can't find him.'"

The Jacket Julia Inés Araneda Yévenes, sister of Rafael Eduardo Araneda Yévenes (Forcibly Disappeared). Born October 25, 1949. Lived at San Isidro 1070, Santiago. Single and a textile engineering student at the Universidad Técnica del Estado. He was 25 years old when he was detained on Thursday, December 12, 1974.

"I was always looking for him; sometimes I would see a beggar, a homeless person, and I would say: 'Could that be my brother... did he end up sick?' We are 4 siblings; I am the oldest and he was the youngest.

I adored my brother; we had a 9-year age difference. Once he asked me to embroider his jacket and I did it; that's why it has a special value for me; there was one more bond between us. He wanted the jacket to be different and asked me to put the dragon on it, which was the symbol of the Universidad Técnica del Estado."

Source: radio.uchile.cl, June 3, 2015 Date: 06-03-2015

The Supreme Court issued sentences in the cases of human rights violations known as the "Caravan of Death: Curicó Episode" and "Operation Colombo," cases that were investigated by visiting judges Patricia González Quiroz and Leopoldo Llanos Sagristá, respectively.

In the first sentence (case file 95.096-2016), the Second Chamber of the highest court—composed of ministers Milton Juica, Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, Lamberto Cisternas, and acting lawyer Leonor Etcheberry—sentenced former army officer Carlos Enrique Massouh Mehech to 5 years and one day in prison for his responsibility in the crimes of kidnapping and homicide of Wagner Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Lara Ruiz.

The kidnapping was perpetrated on September 11, 1973, and the homicide on October 5 of the same year.

During the investigation phase of the case, it was established that: "On September 11, 1973, two members of President Allende's security team, the GAP, both members of the Socialist Party, whose names were Wagner Herid Salinas Muñoz and Francisco Urcisinio Lara Salinas, were detained.

This occurred at the bridge over the Guayquillo River in the city of Curicó. Subsequently, they were taken to the Curicó Regiment and then transferred to the prison in that city. After testifying before the military authority of the time, on September 30, 1973, and by order of the head of a military delegation that was passing through Curicó from Santiago, they were transferred to the Tacna Motorized Artillery Regiment in Santiago, where they remained deprived of liberty until October 5, 1973.

That day, and in compliance with a superior order, officers of that Regiment, during a night curfew patrol, transported the detainees to a site in the commune of San Bernardo, where they were then executed by firing squad.

Afterward, they transported their remains to the Legal Medical Service in Independencia, where they were received under protocols No. 3160 and No. 3161, and upon performing the autopsies, it was confirmed that their deaths were caused by gunshot wounds, which was recorded in their death certificates."

In the first instance, Judge Patricia González Quiroz had acquitted the former army officer.

In the second ruling (case file 978.856-2016), the Second Chamber of the highest court—composed of ministers Milton Juica, Haroldo Brito, Lamberto Cisternas, Manuel Antonio Valderrama, and Jorge Dahm—sentenced four agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) for the crimes of kidnapping Rafael Eduardo Araneda Yévenes and Carlos Alberto Terán de la Jara.

These crimes were perpetrated in December 1974, in Santiago, within the framework of the repression against the MIR.

The decision was adopted with the dissenting vote of Minister Cisternas.

In the resolution, the highest court ratified the sentence that condemned agents Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Basclay Zapata Reyes, and Pedro Espinoza Bravo to 10 years and one day in prison. Likewise, it confirmed that agent Rolf Wenderoth Pozo must serve 5 years and one day in prison.

The investigation established that: "On December 11, 1974, in the morning hours, Carlos Alberto Terán de la Jara, 26 years old, single, university student, MIR militant, was detained on a public street by DINA agents when he went to a 'meeting point,' being taken to the 'Villa Grimaldi' barracks, from where he was taken to a property located on Calle Venecia, used as a safe house for several members of the MIR.

All traces of him were lost to this date, without the prisoner having made contact with his relatives, carried out administrative procedures before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without his death being confirmed."

Meanwhile, on December 12, 1974, at 10:30 AM, Rafael Eduardo Araneda Yévenes, 25 years old, university student, MIR militant, was detained from his place of study, at the Renca branch of the National Institute of Professional Training (INACAP), located at Calle Saravia No. 28, by three DINA agents; they asked for him at the Director's office, who took them to the classroom where he was.

They detained him, and that same day, around 2:00 PM, he was taken to his home at Calle San Isidro No. 1070; the captors searched the place; the landlady witnessed this event, notifying the victim's family.

She also stated that Araneda Yévenes was very mistreated and had difficulty walking. He was seen at the secret detention center of 'Villa Grimaldi,' from which he was reportedly taken on December 24 of the same year to an unknown destination, and all traces of him were lost.

To this day, he has not made contact with his relatives, nor have any procedures been carried out before State agencies; he has not registered any entries or exits from the country, and his death has not been confirmed."

Source: resumen.cl, July 6, 2017 Date: 07-06-2017

University grants 39 honorary degrees to political executions and forcibly disappeared persons of the institution

The ceremony, which will take place in the Aula Magna this Friday (6th), is one of the most symbolic activities that our University will carry out within the framework of the program commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Coup d'État.

After this first presentation of diplomas, a commemorative plaque will be unveiled in the courtyard of the former School of Arts and Crafts, with the names of the victims.

This Friday, September 6, at 11:30 AM, in a solemn ceremony, our University will grant, as an honorary, posthumous, and symbolic gesture, professional university degrees to 39 students who were forcibly disappeared or victims of political execution during the military dictatorship.

Emilio Daroch, president of the UTE-Usach Solidarity Corporation and organizer of this initiative, explained that this University was a place where the dictatorship applied violence most forcefully over the years, especially in its beginnings on September 11, 1973, and until the end of the 1980s.

This initiative makes sense as a way to make amends to people who, during their participation as students in the university community, suffered the consequences of the dictatorship, such as the emblematic cases of Gregorio Mimica in 1973 and the student leader Mario Martínez, murdered in the late 80s.

Mimica was detained in September 1973 along with more than a thousand people during the raid on the UTE. They were taken to the former Estadio Chile (now Víctor Jara Stadium), and shortly after, he was released.

But when he arrived home, he was immediately detained again by a military patrol that took him back to the School of Arts and Crafts, where he was interrogated. His whereabouts were unknown for 37 years until, in April 2011, his remains were found in Patio 29 of the General Cemetery.

The story of Mario Martínez's death, on the other hand, happened 13 years after the Coup d'État, when he was Secretary of Finance of the Federation of Students of the University of Santiago and was investigating the presence of dictatorship security agents infiltrated on campus. On August 4, 1986, his body was found on the coast of Santo Domingo.

"Without a doubt, a wound is opened," maintains Daroch, but "a feeling remains that a little justice is being done. We feel deeply moved to deliver these symbolic degrees and show that this dream could be fulfilled."

At the ceremony, it will be the family members who receive the diplomas. "We were in constant contact with the families of some disappeared colleagues, but there were two or three cases where we could not find anyone," lamented Emilio Daroch, who explained that this Friday's will be the first delivery of degrees, as there are records of more people executed or disappeared during the period. "This process has not closed; these are the cases that could be accredited, but there is still a need to refine the details and look for information that in many cases was not found at the University.

We hope to carry out another graduation like this one later on."

The list of students who will receive their degrees posthumously is composed of Rafael Araneda Yévenes, Jorge Aravena Mardones, Jaime Buzzio Lorca, Ricardo Campos Cáceres, Claudio Contreras Hernández, Renzo Contreras Jorquera, Juan Elías Cortés Alruiz, Manuel Cortéz Joo, Alfonso Díaz Briones, Antonio Elizondo Ormaechea, Óscar Fuentes Fernández, Luis González Mella, Francisco González Ortiz, Patricio Guarategua Quinteros, René Lucero Muñoz, Zacarías Machuca Muñoz, Rafael Madrid Gálvez, Juan Bosco Maino Canales, Adolfo Mancilla Ramírez, Agustín Martínez Meza, Mario Martínez Rodríguez, Gregorio Mimiça Argote, Eugenio Montti Cordero, Leopoldo Muñoz Andrade, Ramón Núñez Espinoza, Eduardo Ojeda Disselkoen, Fernando Olivares Mori, Pedro Oyarzún Zamorano, Michelle Peña Herreros, José Peña Maltés, José Manuel Ramírez Rosales, Enrique Reyes Manríquez, Hugo Ríos Videla, Ricardo Rioseco Montoya, Carlos Santibáñez Romero, Carlos Terán de la Jara, Jaime Vásquez Sáenz, Jecas Nehgme Cristi, and Francisco Viera Ovalle.

The event, which will be presided over by Rector Juan Manuel Zolezzi, will take place in the University's Aula Magna on Friday the 6th at 11:30 AM. Subsequently, a commemorative plaque will be unveiled in the courtyard of the former School of Arts and Crafts.

Source: usach.cl, 03/16/2017 Date: 03-16-2017

Villa Grimaldi Case: Bail granted to four former military officers

The Fourth Chamber of the Santiago Court of Appeals, in a unanimous vote, granted release, upon payment of 500,000 pesos, to four retired Army officers whom Judge Alejandro Solís had prosecuted for the qualified kidnapping of eight dissidents to the military regime, within the framework of the "Villa Grimaldi" case investigation.

They are former members of the dissolved DINA, retired generals Hernán Ramírez Hald and César Manríquez, and retired brigadiers Gerardo Urrich and Manuel Carevic, who have been held at the Peñalolén Military Police Battalion since last Monday.

The appellate court was composed of magistrates Alfredo Pfeiffer, Humberto Provoste, and the acting lawyer Ángela Radovic.

Judge Solís adopted the resolutions based on the disappearances of Rodolfo González Pérez (July 24, 1974); Fernando Silva Camus (November 27, 1974); Anselmo Radrigán Plaza (December 12, 1974); Marcelo Salinas Eitel (October 21, 1974); José Orlando Flores Araya (August 23, 1974); María Teresa Bustillos Cereceda (December 9, 1974); Jaime Robotham (December 31, 1974); and Rafael Araneda Yévenes (December 12, 1974).

Source: August 12, 2005, La Nación Date: 08-12-2005

Judge issues 14 indictments for qualified kidnappings at Villa Grimaldi

A total of fourteen former agents of the military regime were indicted for the crime of qualified kidnapping, within the framework of human rights violations committed at the Villa Grimaldi detention center in the Metropolitan Region.

The resolution was adopted this Monday by visiting judge Alejandro Solís, as part of the investigation he is conducting into the disappearance of eight people inside Villa Grimaldi between July and December 1974.

The list of those indicted is headed by retired generals Manuel Contreras, who was the head of the dissolved National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Hernán Ramírez Hald, and César Manríquez, the latter a former Undersecretary of War of the military regime.

Also indicted were retired brigadiers Pedro Espinoza, Miguel Krassnoff, and Fernando Laureani; retired colonels Marcelo Morén Brito, Haroldo Latorre, Rolf Wenderoth, and Gerardo Urrich; retired captain Manuel Carevic; and retired corporal Basclay Zapata, all from the Army.

Likewise, the magistrate brought charges against the civilian Osvaldo Romo Mena and the retired Gendarmerie sub-lieutenant Osvaldo Manzo.

All were indicted for the disappearances of Rodolfo Valentín González Pérez, a former FACH conscript, Fernando Silva Camus, Anselmo Radrigán Plaza, Marcelo Salinas Eytel, José Flores Araya, María Teresa Bustillos Cereceda, Rafael Araneda Yévenes, and Jaime Robotham Bravo.

Judge Solís ordered that Carevic, Ramírez Hald, and Urrich remain in preventive detention at the Cordillera Prison, while no precautionary measures were decreed against the rest, as they were already enjoying conditional release or are serving sentences for other crimes.

According to the Rettig and Valech reports, which have documented the human rights violations committed in Chile, Villa Grimaldi—also known as Cuartel Terranova—was the most important secret detention and torture center of the DINA.

This Monday's resolution is the second of importance regarding the investigation into the abuses committed at Villa Grimaldi. Previously, Judge Solís prosecuted eight former military officers for illegal coercion against 22 people who were held at said facility.

The aforementioned ruling had also affected Contreras, Morén Brito, Espinoza Bravo, Krassnoff Martchenko, Romo Mena, Zapata Reyes, and Laureani Maturana, to which Maximiliano Ferrer Lima and Gerardo Godoy García were also added.

The former head of the DINA, along with Krassnoff, Morén Brito, and Laureani, are serving sentences for the qualified kidnapping of Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) militant Miguel Ángel Sandoval.

Source: August 8, 2005 – La Nación Date: 08-08-2005