The former military prosecutor in Cautín during the dictatorship, Oscar Alfonso Podlech Michaud, must serve seven years of effective prison time after being convicted as the perpetrator of the aggravated kidnapping of a lawyer, who was detained in Santiago and disappeared in Temuco.

The State, meanwhile, was ordered to pay 300 million pesos as compensation to the family of the disappeared man. The decision was made by the minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Alejandro Madrid, who sentenced Podlech Michaud to an effective term of 7 years in prison plus legal accessories, in his capacity as the perpetrator of the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Jaime Emilio Eltit Spielmann.

The illicit act was perpetrated beginning on September 13, 1973. In the ruling, the presiding judge also sentenced retired Army non-commissioned officers Orlando Moreno Vásquez and Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías to 5 years and one day of effective prison time, plus legal accessories, for their responsibility as co-perpetrators of the crime.

Likewise, the former civilian Army employee Libardo Hernán Schwartenski Rubio, and retired officials of the Investigative Police Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra and Daniel San Juan Clavería, were sentenced to 3 years and one day of prison, with the benefit of supervised release for the same period, in their capacity as accomplices to the kidnapping.

In the case, Minister Madrid acquitted Jaime Guillermo García Covarrubias of the prosecution's accusation that attributed participation in the aggravated kidnapping of Jaime Eltit to him in the capacity of co-perpetrator.

In the civil aspect, the ruling accepted the filed claims, ordering the State of Chile to pay compensation for moral damages of three hundred million pesos to the victim's family members. During the investigation stage, Minister Madrid was able to establish that Eltit Spielmann, a lawyer and member of the Radical Youth, was detained in Santiago on September 13, 1973, by members of a military patrol and taken to the Tacna Regiment, being transferred on October 7 to the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, where he was visited by family and friends, disappearing six days later, with his whereabouts remaining unknown to this day.

Source: biobio.cl, February 12, 2017

El Polvorín Case: Minister Álvaro Mesa sentences retired military personnel and Army collaborators for the homicides and illegal coercion of seven forcibly disappeared victims

In the civil aspect, the visiting minister accepted the filed claim and ordered the treasury to pay a total compensation of $2,780,000,000 (two billion seven hundred eighty million pesos) for moral damages to the victims' families.

The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases for the jurisdictions of the Courts of Appeals of Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, and Coyhaique, Álvaro Mesa Latorre, issued sentence number 78 on the matter, and sentenced 23 retired military personnel and Army collaborators for their responsibility in the aggravated homicides and illegal coercion against Florentino Alberto Molina Ruiz, Juan Antonio Chávez Rivas, Víctor Hugo Valenzuela Velásquez, Juan Carlos Ruiz Mancilla, Amador Francisco Montero Mosquera, Pedro Juan Mardones Jofré, and Carlos Aillañir Huenchual, perpetrated in the commune of Temuco in November 1973. In the sentence (docket 113.089), Minister Mesa Latorre sentenced Óscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud to life imprisonment for his responsibility as the perpetrator of the 7 aggravated homicides and 10 years in prison for his responsibility as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of illegal coercion against the seven victims. Meanwhile, Daniel San Juan Clavería, Omar Burgos Dejean, Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra, Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, and Orlando Moreno Vásquez must serve a life sentence as accomplices to the 7 aggravated homicides and a 10-year prison sentence as perpetrators of illegal coercion. The accused Juan Guillermo García Covarrubias, Pablo Domingo Gran López, Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz, Carlos Eduardo Oviedo Arriagada, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Norberto Francisco Uribe Moroni, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, and Juan Bautistas Labraña Luvecce will serve life sentences as accomplices to the 7 aggravated homicides and 427 days in prison as accomplices to the 7 counts of illegal coercion. Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán will serve a life sentence as the perpetrator of the 7 aggravated homicides. Additionally, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, and Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos will serve a life sentence as accomplices to the 7 aggravated homicides. Arnoldo Aedo Matus will serve a 20-year prison sentence as an accomplice to the 7 homicides. Libardo Hernán Schwartenski Rubio will serve a 10-year prison sentence as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of illegal coercion. Finally, José Raúl Inzunza Reyes was sentenced to 427 days in prison as the perpetrator of 7 crimes of illegal coercion. In the sentence, Minister Mesa Latorre established the following facts: A.- That, immediately following the military coup of September 11, 1973, the armed forces and security forces took control of the city of Temuco, with the Colonel Commander of the "La Concepción" Regiment of Lautaro, Hernán Jerónimo Ramírez Ramírez (deceased as recorded on page 6,060 of volume XVII), establishing himself as Intendant; and the Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), Commander of the 8th Infantry Regiment "Tucapel" of this city, as Governor of Temuco, who also remained as Chief of the Temuco Garrison. B.- That on the same day, September 11, 1973, the Temuco lawyer Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, who was also a Reserve Lieutenant of the Chilean Army, was called to collaborate with the new regime to support the management of the Military Prosecutor's Office that operated inside the unit and was in charge of the Second Commander, Major Luis Jofré Soto (deceased as recorded on page 1,295, volume IV). This officer, however, had to assume greater functions as Second Commander of the Tucapel regiment shortly thereafter. From that day forward, civilians began to arrive at the regiment who had been called to appear before the Military Prosecutor's Office through communiqués published in the written press and on the radio, or who were brought in as detainees from different points in the region by Carabineros and military patrols. Given the high number of detainees and people called to provide statements, the Military Prosecutor's Office was reinforced to carry out its work with Judicial Branch officials who were requested from the Temuco Court of Appeals by the aforementioned lawyer Podlech Michaud, who, acting as Ad-Hoc Prosecutor, made a presentation to the Plenary of the Appellate Court (Minutes from page 3010 to 3011, volume IX), after which some clerks from different courts and a Court Rapporteur were assigned on service commission. Due to the lack of knowledge in criminal procedural matters, added to the weak character he possessed and the work as Second Commander of the regiment, Major Luis Jofré Soto began delegating functions as Military Prosecutor to the lawyer Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud, advisor to the Prosecutor's Office, who began to hold the position of de facto Prosecutor, to the point that he carried out jail visits and that lawyers, family members, and even ecclesiastical dignitaries consulted him regarding the fate of the detainees. However, Major Jofré Soto continued to sign most of the administrative documents and participated in some interrogations of detainees. C.- That the people called to appear at the Military Prosecutor's Office and those brought in as detainees were kept in facilities located next to the guardhouse and in the large gymnasium. Once interrogated by Military Prosecutor's Office personnel, by detectives Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased as recorded on page 3,800, volume XI), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra of the Investigative Police attached to the regiment, or by the officers themselves who participated in these activities—among whom were Jaime Guillermo García Covarrubias, Raimundo Ignacio García Covarrubias, Pablo Domingo Gran López, Mario Hernán Arias Díaz (deceased as recorded on page 7,531, volume XXI), Carlos Eduardo Oviedo Arriagada, Norberto Francisco Uribe Moroni, Pedro Guillermo Manuel Tichahuer Salcedo, Romilio Osvaldo Lavín Muñoz—and non-commissioned officers, among whom were Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce, Orlando Moreno Vásquez, and Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías, some were released, others were sent to their homes under house arrest, and others were taken to the public jail where they remained while their procedural situation was resolved. D.- That also in September 1973, in the 8th Infantry Regiment "Tucapel" of Temuco, there existed the Second Section of Information and Intelligence, which was in charge of Captain Nelson Manuel Uldaricio Ubilla Toledo (deceased as recorded on page 1,296, volume IV), under whose dependency some non-commissioned officers of that institution also carried out functions, among whom were Juan Bautista Labraña Luvecce, Orlando Moreno Vásquez, and Raúl Binaldo Schonherr Frías. This work was reinforced after September 11, 1973, with the addition of Investigative Police officials Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased as recorded on page 3,800, volume XI), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra, mentioned above, and Carabineros, among whom was Omar Burgos Dejean, who provided political information to the aforementioned officer regarding all those persons subject to an investigation by the Military Prosecutor's Office. Likewise, some officers joined the intelligence tasks, among whom was Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, as well as enlisted men and conscripts of the regiment. As the days went by, the Military Prosecutor's Office and the Second Intelligence Section began to work together to interrogate the detainees, as in this case, who remained imprisoned in the jail or in some facility of the Tucapel regiment. To articulate this work, two locations were enabled in the military unit, one located between the Headquarters Company and the Mortar Company, and another in an old, disused gymnasium located to the side of the conscript soldiers' "mess hall." In this way, the detainees were taken to and from the jail to the regiment by military personnel of the Second Section, being interrogated at the Military Prosecutor's Office and physically coerced in one of the aforementioned facilities to "soften them up" before or after these interrogations, as in this case. In both interrogation and torture rooms, there were implements to tie up the detainees and apply electricity to different parts of their bodies, in addition to applying other types of torment such as kicks and punches, as in this case. Participating in this task were conscript soldiers, among whom were Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Juan Humberto Carrillo Rebolledo, Libardo Schwartenski Rubio, and José Raúl Inzunza Reyes, and a Carabinero, Omar Burgos Dejean, who collaborated with Captain Nelson Ubilla Toledo and with the Investigative Police detectives who were there: Aquiles Alfonso Poblete Müller (deceased as recorded on page 3,800, volume XI), Daniel San Juan Clavería, and Hernán Raúl Quiroz Barra. Most of the officers of the "Tucapel" regiment and some non-commissioned soldiers from the Headquarters and Services Companies, among whom were José Raúl Inzunza Reyes, from Mortars, from Hunters, and from the Second Section, all of whom entered these facilities at different times, also participated in the interrogation and/or torture sessions of detainees in those places. E.- That within the aforementioned military unit, a special group called "Patrulla Brava" (Brave Patrol) or "Patrulla Chacal" (Jackal Patrol) was formed, integrated by non-commissioned soldiers and conscripts of the 2nd Hunters Company, among whom were Manuel Rafael Campos Ceballos, Juan Carlos Concha Belmar, Sergio Orlando Vallejos Garcés, Gabriel Alfonso Dittus Marín, Héctor Mauricio Villablanca Huenulao, Juan Humberto Carrillo Rebolledo, and Libardo Schwartenski Rubio, under the orders of Second Lieutenant Manuel Espinoza Ponce (deceased as recorded on page 1,299, volume IV), who in turn received orders from Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, who was in command of the Company. This group was in charge, among other functions, of guarding the detainees who were kept in the facilities of the "Tucapel" regiment of Temuco. F.- That during the days following September 11, 1973, a significant number of people were killed or disappeared in the IX region, with several of these deaths being explained by regional military authorities through the publication of communiqués issued either from the Intendancy or from the Temuco Military Garrison. The communiqué that explained the events subject to this investigation, in light of the evidence gathered in this process, gives an implausible version of how the events of the night of November 10, 1973, unfolded, taking into consideration what was declared by Manuel Ángel Fernández Carranza (p. 222), who, after the events of November 10, 1973, and upon arriving from a mission he had been entrusted with toward the Pucón sector in search of guerrillas, was summoned by the then-commander of the 8th Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), to inform him that the assault on the ammunition dump had not been such, but rather an execution carried out at the shooting range, information he gave him personally so that he would not find out through rumors. G.- That Florentino Alberto Molina Ruiz, member of the Central Committee and Regional Secretary of the Communist Party, was detained and taken from his home on Monday, November 5, 1973, by two Carabineros members of the Civil Commission, who transported him in a red pickup truck to the Second Police Station of Carabineros in Temuco, where he spent the night in a dungeon. In the early hours of the following day, he was transferred to the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco by order of the Temuco Military Prosecutor's Office, remaining imprisoned there until the night of November 10, 1973. During that period, his wife went daily to leave him clothes and food, which were channeled through the guards at the entrance of the military compound. In turn, Molina Ruiz would send her his used clothes as a signal that he was still being detained in that place. Molina Ruiz, who was missing an arm due to a work accident, was seen as a detainee inside the aforementioned military compound by Hermán Carrasco Paúl, who was also in the same condition, who indicated that both were victims of illegal coercion. He was also recognized due to his disability by some conscripts who guarded them. H.- That Juan Antonio Chávez Rivas, a student at the State Technical University, Regional Secretary and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth, was detained on November 6, 1973, by two Carabineros members of the Civil Commission, who transported him in a red pickup truck to the Second Police Station of Carabineros in Temuco, where he spent the night. The following day he was transferred to the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco. The detainee's family members approached the military unit to ask about him, where they were told that he was not there, despite the fact that he was seen in the courtyard of the military compound heavily guarded and in very poor physical condition. I.- That Víctor Hugo Valenzuela Velásquez, a public employee and propaganda secretary of the Communist Youth of Cautín, was detained on November 7, 1973, around 10:00 a.m., at the Real Estate Registrar of Temuco, where he worked. The arresting personnel, who were dressed in civilian clothes, belonged to the Army Intelligence Service, with one of them being a Sergeant of the "Tucapel" Regiment of Temuco. The detainee's family members went to the "Tucapel" Regiment where they confirmed the detention and for three days delivered clothes and blankets for him to the guardhouse. J.- That Juan Carlos Ruiz Mancilla, a Civil Construction student at the State Technical University and member of the Communist Youth, traveled to the city of Punta Arenas, where his parents lived, after September 11, 1973. He was detained there on November 7 of that same year and transported by plane to Temuco, where he was taken to the "Tucapel" Regiment. K.- That Amador Francisco Montero Mosquera, an Electrical Engineering student at the State Technical University and member of the Communist Youth, was detained at his home on November 7, 1973, by personnel of the Carabineros Civil Commission and transported to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco. Family members went to that place to find out about his situation and to deliver food and clothing to him. L.- That Pedro Juan Mardones Jofré, a student at the State Technical University, was detained at his home and transported to the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco. The conscript soldier of the 2nd Section of the 2nd Hunters Company, Luis Humberto Llamunao Huaiquinao (pp. 1234 to 1235 and pp. 1323 to 1324), asserted that it was his turn to bring water to Mardones Jofré, who was being held in a storage room located inside a mechanical workshop. At that moment, he noticed that the detainee had a very injured hand, making it impossible for him to hold the glass that was offered to him. M.- That Carlos Aillañir Huenchual, a farmer and sympathizer of the Popular Unity government, was detained on November 6, 1973, by a military patrol that was moving in an institutional 3/4 truck. The detention took place in the rural sector of Pelales, in the town of Quepe, where the house of a brother of the detainee was located. The soldier in charge of the patrol indicated that the detainee was going to be taken to the Tucapel regiment of Temuco. N.- That at the end of the day on November 10, 1973, under circumstances where the aforementioned detainees were being held in the "small" gymnasium of the Tucapel regiment of Temuco, guarded by conscript soldiers of the 2nd Hunters Company belonging to the "Jackal patrol," Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, Commander of the aforementioned company, and Second Lieutenant Espinoza (deceased as recorded on page 1,299, volume IV) appeared, accompanied by other military personnel from the regiment. In addition, an institutional truck parked at the location, backing up in front of the entrance to the compound where the victims were being held. Said vehicle, due to its characteristics, was recognized as the one usually used to transport meat and bread, and on some occasions, to transport conscripts for guard duty relief. Immediately thereafter, Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán instructed the subordinate personnel to make the detainees board the truck along with them. Then, the truck with the detainees plus the officers and their companions left the place. Regarding this same truck, the following day its cleaning was ordered, among others, to the conscript soldier Héctor Florentino Navarrete Leiva, who indicated that it was full of human flesh and brain remains (p. 2150). Ñ.- That minutes later, sentries at the guard post located in the entrance sector to the military compound called "Isla Cautín" saw a caravan of institutional vehicles enter the place, composed of at least one Toyota jeep and the truck indicated in the previous paragraph. O.- That in the final hours of November 10, 1973, the aforementioned detainees were taken out of the Tucapel regiment of Temuco, loaded onto the aforementioned military vehicle, and transported to the shooting range sector of the "Isla Cautín" military compound by the officers and their companions. In that place, the victims of the case were tied to stakes that had been arranged there in a row. Shortly thereafter, Captain Rodolfo Vargas Campos (deceased as recorded on page 1,297, volume IV), Sergeant Hernán Rodrigo Santiesteban Domínguez (deceased as recorded on page 4,953, volume XV), Sergeant Anacleto Aguirre Rivera (deceased as recorded on page 10,240, volume XXIX), all from the 1st Hunters Company, plus Sergeant José Gajardo Gajardo (deceased as recorded on page 4,954, volume XV) from the 2nd Hunters Company, joined the group of military personnel present in that sector. Sergeant 2nd Class of the First Hunters Company, Arnoldo Aedo Matus, was also part of this entourage. P.- That once the patrol commanded by Captain Vargas arrived at the place, he ordered its members to position themselves behind the detainees who were tied to the stakes, with the exception of Sergeant 2nd Class Arnoldo Aedo Matus of the 1st Hunters Company, whom he told to position himself in another, distant place and to proceed to fire shots toward the trees located in a specific sector of Isla Cautín. This Sergeant Aedo Matus was able to see that the regiment's Commander, Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), was present at the place, accompanied by an officer of medium-tall stature, and that two civilians were also witnessing the maneuvers in the same sector, recognizing one of them as the advisor lawyer to the Military Prosecutor's Office of Temuco, Oscar Alfonso Ernesto Podlech Michaud. Q.- That subsequently, the detainees in those conditions were executed at the place one by one and finished off with bursts of gunfire, after which their bodies were sent to the morgue of the regional hospital of Temuco where the required autopsy was performed, determining the cause of their deaths as indicated: Molina Ruiz, cranial-encephalic explosion, multiple contusive gunshot wounds; Chávez Rivas, cranial-encephalic explosion, multiple contusive wounds from firearm; Valenzuela Velásquez, cranial-encephalic attrition, multiple contusive wounds from firearm; Ruiz Mancilla, shock, comminuted fracture of the pelvis and right femur, multiple gunshot wounds; Montero Mosquera, cranial-encephalic attrition, multiple contusive wounds from firearm; Mardones Jofré, cranial-encephalic attrition, multiple contusive wounds from firearm; Aillañir Huenchual, primary shock, multiple contusive transfixing gunshot wounds to the thorax-abdomen and limbs. Finally, a military communiqué was drafted to be published in the press the following day, in which an attempted assault on the Isla Cautín ammunition dump by a group of extremists was reported. R.- That the day after these events occurred, the news appeared in the local written press indicating that an assault had occurred on the Isla Cautín ammunition dump of the Tucapel Regiment, in which an indeterminate number of extremists had participated, news that was ratified by Colonel Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), which must be contrasted with what was declared by Manuel Fernández Carranza, who, after the events of November 10, 1973, and upon arriving from a mission he had been entrusted with toward the Pucón sector in search of guerrillas, was summoned by the then-commander of the 8th Tucapel Regiment of Temuco, Pablo Iturriaga Marchesse (deceased as recorded on page 1,298, volume IV), to inform him that the assault on the ammunition dump had not been such, but rather an execution carried out at the shooting range, information he gave him personally so that he would not find out through rumors. During the following days, details continued to appear in the press about how these events had occurred and the way in which military personnel had repelled said attack and subsequently had gone out in search of the supposed extremists who were not killed in the confrontation and who managed to flee the place. In the civil aspect, the visiting minister accepted the filed claim and ordered the treasury to pay a total compensation of $2,780,000,000 (two billion seven hundred eighty million pesos) for moral damages to the victims' families.

Source: pjud.cl, September 21, 2023