Case File No. 2.182-98: José Alberto Salazar Aguilera case

54) Assertions by Luis Ricardo Araya Maureira (591), a Carabineros officer who served as a liaison officer between the Carabineros and the Navy, serving at the Naval War Academy: ”…after September 11, 1973…a group of Carabineros officers arrived at the War Academy under the command of Commander Héctor Trobok, who set up an office in the deputy director’s office…There was a group dedicated to interrogating detainees inside the Cuartel Silva Palma…the Cuartel Silva Palma was under the control of a group of Marine Infantrymen, who were supervised by Marine Infantry Lieutenant Ricardo Riesco and everyone was under the orders of…Hernán Soto Aguilar…”.

73) Statements by Fernando Carlos Nicolás Vargas (1312), a Navy officer who performed duties at the Naval War Academy: “I effectively became aware that at that time in 1974, there were political prisoners who were at the Cuartel Silva Palma, a place that was in charge of Marine Infantry Officers, who were also administratively in charge of the third floor of the Naval War Academy, where the SICAJSI and subsequently the CIRE operated…The Commander-in-Chief of the First Naval Zone at that time was Admiral Adolfo Walbaum…Regarding Ricardo Riesco Cornejo, I effectively knew that this person also participated in the SICAJSI and the CIRE”.

78) Testimonies of Erwin Hugo Andrés Conn Tesche (1414 and 1655), a Navy officer assigned to the Naval War Academy: “At the end of 1973, the SICAJSI was established and in that institution, I continued with the same role as an analyst…In the first semester of 1974, I replaced Rigoberto Cruz Johnson as Deputy Chief of the SICAJSI until April of that same year…Effectively, interrogations were carried out at the Cuartel Silva Palma since this facility had been set aside for…the interrogation of political detainees…in accordance with the ‘Plan Cochayuyo’…This Plan was in charge of the Chief of Staff of the Naval Zone; the person in maximum charge was Admiral Merino and subsequently Adolfo Walbaum…Effectively, as a result of the information gathered by this organization, operations were carried out and people were detained…in the interrogations, techniques acquired by Chilean naval personnel in the USA were applied, it is a type of standard technique, where I do not rule out the use of physical blows due to the era…The SICAJSI system was very compartmentalized, so the responsibility lay with each team assigned to its function. There was a Marine Infantry Commander. At that time, Hernán Soto-Aguilar was in charge, who had trained personnel under his command and they carried out the interrogations…Regarding Juan Mackay Barriga…he was in the SICAJSI...it was his turn to take a course in Brazil on ‘Psychological Warfare,’ oriented toward media against terrorist delinquency…I knew Ricardo Riesco Cornejo. He was a Marine Infantryman, he worked in the SICAJSI…”.

Source: Judiciary, November 19, 2013

The victim was made to listen to his sister’s screams: the kidnappings with torture of five people evidenced by the prosecution of 12 former officials

Visiting Judge Jaime Arancibia indicted them for the crime of kidnapping with serious injury. They must remain under house arrest while their release is decided by the Court of Valparaíso. The application of electricity, humiliation, beatings, and threats are some of the duress suffered by five victims of kidnapping by State agents, which occurred starting in March 1974 in Valparaíso.

The visiting judge for human rights violation cases of the Court of Appeals of that region, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, indicted 12 former Navy officials for their responsibility in the crime of kidnapping with serious injury.

In the resolution (case file 47-2016), Judge Arancibia indicted Ricardo Alejandro Riesco Cornejo, Juan de Dios Reyes Basaur, Valentín Evaristo Riquelme Villalobos, Bertalino Segundo Castillo Soto, Jaime Segundo Lazo Pérez, Alejo Esparza Martínez, Héctor Vicente Santibáñez Obreque, Eduardo Mauricio Núñez Contreras, Sergio Hevia Febres, Gilda Mercedes Ulloa Valle, Guillermo Tomás Morera Hierro, and Reginaldo Rebolledo López as authors of the crimes.

However, all will remain under house arrest due to their advanced age and the Covid-19 pandemic, while the appellate court determines whether to grant them provisional release.

They asked him about the MIR

“C. was detained around noon on April 16, 1974, at his home in the city of Valparaíso, by 4 Chilean Navy officials dressed in civilian clothes, who, without a written order, without stating a cause, and with great violence, took him out of the property and put him into a car, being transported to the Cuartel Silva Palma.

In said place, he was subjected to two long interrogations, in which he was asked about the MIR organization and was confronted with other detainees, such as Silvio Pardo Rojas, currently forcibly disappeared.

In these interrogations, he received physical and psychological mistreatment, such as kicks and punches, the application of electric current, and the drowning tactic known as ‘dry submarine.’ He remained detained at the Cuartel Silva Palma for about 15 days, being transferred on May 1, 1974, to the Puchuncaví prisoner camp, a place where he was subjected to forced labor.

After a month, he was transferred to the Valparaíso Public Jail, entering as a defendant in ‘libre plática’ (open communication status), remaining in that situation until May 1975, the date on which he was sentenced by a War Council as the author of the crimes of infringement of the State Internal Security Law and illicit association, to the penalty of banishment, with his expulsion from the country being decreed, living in England until the year 2000.”

They made him listen to his sister while they tortured her

“R. was detained in March 1974 at the home that his sister, A., and his then-brother-in-law, A., had in the downtown area of the city of Valparaíso, since upon arriving and entering it with the key he possessed, he realized that the house had been raided, finding other people inside, who took him prisoner and took him along with his brother-in-law to the Cuartel Silva Palma, in the same city.

He was put into the back of a pickup truck, which was carrying Carabineros plus a Lieutenant. In said place, he was subjected to interrogations, in which he was asked about weapons and about people from the MIR.

In these interrogations, he received physical mistreatment, such as the application of electric current, and psychological mistreatment, such as threats and being made to listen to how his sister was also being subjected to torture.

He recognizes in this facility the former Chilean Navy official Ricardo Riesco Cornejo, who at that time held the rank of Lieutenant, and was in charge of raiding his parents’ home in search of documents kept on microfilm, based on information obtained from his sister while under torture and information obtained from himself, an agent nicknamed ‘Telémaco,’ who would correspond to the former Chilean Navy official Juan Reyes Basaur, another agent nicknamed ‘Profesor,’ who would correspond to the former Chilean Navy official Manuel Leiva Valdivieso (currently deceased), and the former Chilean Navy official Guillermo Morera Hierro, who was in charge of the custody of the detainees. It was Morera Hierro who transferred him along with other companions to the Puchuncaví prisoner camp in the last days of April 1974, a place where he was subjected to forced labor. At the end of May 1974, he was transferred to the Valparaíso Public Jail, entering as a defendant in ‘libre plática,’ remaining in that situation until May 1975, the date on which he was sentenced by a War Council as the author of the crimes of infringement of the State Internal Security Law and illicit association, to the penalty of banishment, which was later commuted to one of internal exile, which he served in the city of Arica.”

They gave her injections

“A. was detained in March 1974 at her home located in the downtown area of the city of Valparaíso. She was transferred to the Cuartel Silva Palma, remaining in said facility until mid-April 1974, being subjected to interrogations and physical and psychological mistreatment by her interrogators, mostly men, with a woman also being among them who also interrogated, who would correspond to the former Chilean Navy official Gilda Ulloa Valle.

Those mistreatments consisted of beatings, application of electricity, forced body posture, application of injections, and isolation in a punishment cell, among others. She also recognizes the former Chilean Navy official Guillermo Morera Hierro, an officer who was in charge of the detainees at the Cuartel Silva Palma, who allegedly took her out on two occasions to the facility’s bathrooms, forcing her to undress and shower in front of him, and even ordering another lower-ranking official to touch her without her consent.

She also recognizes an agent nicknamed ‘Telémaco,’ who would correspond to the former Chilean Navy official Juan Reyes Basaur. After remaining for nearly a month detained at the Cuartel Silva Palma, she was transferred as a prisoner to the Buen Pastor women’s jail in the city of Valparaíso.

In May 1975, she was sentenced by a war council held in case file Rol A-344 of the Naval Court of Valparaíso as the author of the crime of infringement of the State Internal Security Law and illicit association to the penalty of banishment, which was later commuted to one of internal exile, which she served in the city of Antofagasta, until 1978, when the Amnesty Decree Law was applied to her.”

Electric current

“A. was taken prisoner on March 27, 1974, at his home in the downtown area of the city of Valparaíso. The detention and raid were carried out by civilian personnel of the Chilean Navy, belonging to the Intelligence Service; he was beaten at the scene and threatened with firearms, to then be transferred to the Cuartel Silva Palma, in the same city.

In the aforementioned barracks, he was subjected to interrogations and severe torture that included the application of electric current, bodily beatings, and threats, which allegedly left him in poor physical condition, having to be transferred to the Naval Hospital on one occasion.

In said interrogations, he was asked about people and the location of weapons. He was also subjected to a confrontation with A., who at that time was his wife and was also detained. At the end of April 1974, Saieg was transferred along with other detainees to the Puchuncaví prisoner camp, where he remained for about a month, to then be transferred to the Valparaíso Public Jail.

In May 1975, he was sentenced by a war council held in case file Rol A-344 of the Naval Court of Valparaíso as the author of the crime of infringement of the State Internal Security Law and illicit association, to the penalty of banishment, which was later commuted to one of internal exile, which he served in the city of Antofagasta, until 1978, when the Amnesty Decree Law was applied to him.”

50 days of interrogations “E. was detained at the end of March 1974 at the home of A. and A., in the downtown area of Valparaíso. Inside the property were 4 or 5 armed subjects, who without identifying themselves took him prisoner, and proceeded to interrogate him immediately, subjecting him to torture.

Then he was taken out of that place and transferred to the Cuartel Silva Palma, a place where he remained for about 50 days and was subjected to constant interrogations that were accompanied by kicks and punches, and the application of electric current.

He was transferred to the Puchuncaví Prisoner Camp, a place where he was for about three weeks to then be passed to the Valparaíso Public Jail as a prisoner, until May 1975, when he was sentenced by a war council held in case file Rol A-344 of the Naval Court of Valparaíso as the author of the crime of infringement of the State Internal Security Law and illicit association, to the penalty of 5 years and 1 day of imprisonment and 15 years of banishment.

Before being sentenced, he was again taken to the Cuartel Silva Palma, remaining for about 5 days, being again interrogated and heavily tortured. Of the 5 years and 1 day of imprisonment, he only managed to serve a year and a half since Norway granted him asylum, leaving the country in November 1976.” by Andrés López Vergara

Source: enestrado.com, August 19, 2020

Case File No. 144.133-2013: kidnapping and torture case of Morelia del Rosario Fernández Montenegro

29.- Extrajudicial statements that Juan Humberto Campos Cifuentes provided before the PDI’s Human Rights Crimes Investigation Brigade, on pages 356 and 486, who points out that by September 11, 1973, by orders of Rodolfo Stange Oelckers, third in command of the Valparaíso Prefecture, he had to go with a group of Carabineros to take control of the Valparaíso Jail.

In the month of October of that year, they sent him to the anti-subversion and urban guerrilla course at the “Miller” Marine Infantry detachment, which lasted about 3 months. In December 1973, he was transferred to the 10th Special Forces Precinct, whose chief was Major Raúl Arellano Castillo.

He worked there until the summer of 1974, when he was assigned as a liaison to the Naval War Academy, a unit where combined institutions of the different Armed Forces and order forces worked; he worked in the Analysis Department under the orders of Corvette Captains Rigoberto Cruz Johnson and Erwin Conn Tesche; in that place, his function was to classify by alphabetical order the background sheets of the detainees and of people to be detained, a task that had also been started by Carabineros Lieutenant Manuel Díaz Vieira, already detained.

The functioning of said unit was compartmentalized, but he knew that many naval officials as well as those from other institutions had been working there since the first days of the establishment of the Military Dictatorship, among whom he includes the aforementioned Cruz and Conn.

He also remembers, in this same capacity, a naval officer with the surname Fernández, the Marine Infantryman Ricardo Riesco, whom on one occasion upon entering a small room at the Cuartel Silva Palma suddenly, I caught torturing a person on a strap bed, known as a “grill,” on which electricity was applied; Sergeant Hevia, who on some occasions accompanied him as a driver to carry out certain duties in the city, among which he remembers having gone to the Federico Santa María Technical University with the mission of contacting the Rector, who gave them lists of people with political affiliations to be expelled from said educational institution.

Source: Judiciary, July 6, 2020

Justice indicts (retired) members of the Navy for kidnapping and torture of Mauricio Redolés

These events were committed between December 1973 and April 1974, at the Naval War Academy, Cuartel Silva Palma, the ship Lebu, and the Colliguay prisoner camp, among others. Along with this, the magistrate specified that between December 19 and 30 he remained at the War Academy and at the Cuartel Silva Palma, an opportunity in which he was again interrogated and beaten.

The minister for extraordinary visits for human rights violation cases of the Court of Appeals of Valparaíso, Max Cancino, indicted six retired Navy personnel for their responsibility in the crimes of qualified kidnapping and the application of torment to the singer-songwriter and poet Mauricio Redolés.

These events were committed between December 1973 and April 1974, at the Naval War Academy, Cuartel Silva Palma, the ship Lebu, and the Colliguay prisoner camp, among others. In the resolution, Judge Cancino indicted Ricardo Riesco Cornejo, Juan de Dios Reyes Basaur, Valentín Riquelme Villalobos, Bertalino Castillo Soto, Héctor Santibáñez Obreque, and Sergio Hevia Fabres as authors of the illicit acts.

In his resolution, the visiting judge indicated that Mauricio Redolés, “who was a law student at the University of Chile, Valparaíso branch, and a militant of the Communist Party, was ordered to be detained by the authorities of the Intelligence Service of the Interior Security Jurisdictional Area Command (SICAJSI), given his political orientation, a detention that was carried out on December 10, 1973, at his home located in a university boarding house, being transferred to the detention facility located at the Naval War Academy, located in Valparaíso, a place where a group of interrogators was arranged, also organized and coordinated by the military commands, with the object that he provide information about his political activities and alleged weaponry, who proceeded to blindfold him, keep him locked up without a legitimate judicial order to justify it, interrogate him, and torture him through various techniques, among them, violent blows to the stomach and putting him in the situation of listening to the screams of other detainees who were also being tortured. He was transferred between December 12 and 18 to the Ship Lebu.” Along with this, the magistrate specified that between December 19 and 30 he remained at the War Academy and at the Cuartel Silva Palma, an opportunity in which he was again interrogated and beaten. From December 30, 1973, to February 2, 1974, he remained detained at the prisoner camp called ‘Isla Riesco,’ located in Colliguay; between February 2 and March 2, 1974, he was hospitalized in the Naval Hospital due to an intervention for peritonitis; between March 2 and 9, 1974, he returned to the Cuartel Silva Palma; between March 9 and 16, 1974, he returned to the ‘Isla Riesco’ detention center; between March 16, 1974, and April 10, 1974, he returned to the Cuartel Silva Palma; between April 10, 1974, and June 10, 1975, he was kept deprived of liberty in the Valparaíso Public Jail. On January 7, 1975, he was subjected to a War Council and was finally deprived of liberty in a Police of Investigations Barracks in Santiago, with a penalty of banishment of five years and one day to England being applied to him, which became effective in September 1975. “The victim was only placed at the disposal of the Naval Prosecutor’s Office by the SICAJSI leadership at the beginning of March 1974, however, he only provided an investigative statement at the beginning of April of the same year,” concluded Judge Cancino. by Cristián Meza

Source: eldinamo.cl, May 12, 2022

Case File No. 21-2016: kidnapping with serious injury and illegal detention case of Marco Antonio Contardo Guerra

VI.- That BERTALINO SEGUNDO CASTILLO SOTO, VALENTIN EVARISTO RIQUELME VILLALOBOS, RICARDO ALEJANDRO RIESCO CORNEJO, and JAIME SEGUNDO LAZO PEREZ are sentenced as authors of the crime of kidnapping with serious injury to the person of Marco Antonio Contardo Guerra, an event that occurred between the months of October to December 1973, to the penalty of SIX YEARS of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, to the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for public offices and positions and political rights, and that of absolute disqualification for professional titles while the sentence lasts.

Source: Judiciary, April 30, 2019