Segundo Marcial Soto Quijón, single, agricultural worker, with no political affiliation, was detained on September 20, 1973, at the Campo Lindo Settlement in Quilaco by a patrol composed of Carabineros and civilians, who took him to an unknown destination; he has remained forcibly disappeared since that time.

The detention was carried out by Carabineros from the Quilaco station and armed civilians from the local area. Along with Segundo Soto, José Felidor Pinto, an agricultural worker and president of the Campo Lindo Settlement, was also detained; he also remains forcibly disappeared.

According to investigations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, these detainees were taken in the direction of the Piulo bridge over the Bío-Bío River, a place where they were reportedly executed.

Segundo Marcial Soto Quijón was likely executed in the manner detailed, but the perpetrators have not acknowledged their actions, nor have they surrendered his remains, nor has his death been certified. Under these conditions, the victim remains a forcibly disappeared person since September 20, 1973.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

The family, who live in a remote area of the countryside in the Eighth Region, did not file judicial complaints.

Source: Corporation report

A completely irregular situation is occurring in the commune of Curacautín, in La Araucanía, specifically at the Collico school, where the municipality retains a criminal convicted of crimes against humanity as its principal.

The individual is Juan Carlos Burgos Belauzarán, a civilian convicted for his participation in the disappearance of 28 peasants in Santa Bárbara and Quilaco, in the foothills of the Bío-Bío, between September and December 1973.

Juan Carlos Burgos Belauzarán is the name of the criminal convicted of crimes against humanity who works as the teacher in charge of the rural Collico school in Curacautín. The perpetrator was convicted, along with four Carabineros and nine civilians, as the author of the kidnapping and disappearance of 28 peasants in Quilaco and Santa Bárbara, in what constitutes one of the most brutal crimes of the dictatorship.

Burgos Belauzarán was sentenced to four years of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, with the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for public offices and political rights, and absolute disqualification for professional practice for the duration of the sentence; however, he currently appears as the teacher in charge of the rural Collico school, with a salary of more than $2 million.

He has held the position since at least 2016.

Due to the gravity of this situation, not only because of its illegality but also because of what a conviction for crimes against humanity entails, the summary contacted both the DAEM (Municipal Education Administration Department) of Curacautín and the Regional Ministerial Secretariat (Seremi) of Education in La Araucanía, where they avoided assuming responsibility and announced that the situation is in the hands of a legal team "to reach a resolution."

From the municipal education department, they indicated that "the Supreme Court has not yet informed us, and in the recent collection of records, the disqualification appeared, and that is why the information was sent to the lawyers. I had no idea; I have been in the position for almost a year and I am not from Curacautín either."

Patricio Aguilera, director of the DAEM, noted that this rural school is currently in recess, but Juan Carlos Burgos Belauzarán appears to be earning a salary of more than $2 million as of March 2023. In this regard, Aguilera replied that "he is on medical leave, and the leave is paid by the Isapre (health insurance).

We sent the records to the legal advisors when we received the certificate of disqualification; we immediately referred it to our lawyers."

When asked, the Seremi of Education of La Araucanía, María Isabel Mariñanco, regarding why a human rights violator remains in charge of a school, limited herself to blaming the employer, avoiding any mention of possible measures to be taken.

"In the administrative sphere of the management of educational establishments, personnel hiring is the responsibility of the employer, which in this case corresponds to the municipality. As the Ministry of Education, we call on municipalities and the local public education service, in their capacity as employers, to provide greater rigor to the processes of reviewing the records of those who work in educational establishments."

For now, the criminal convicted of crimes against humanity, Juan Carlos Burgos Belauzarán, is on medical leave, and according to the DAEM, they are "waiting" for the legal team's review to finalize his dismissal; for the time being, he continues to appear as the teacher in charge of the Collico school.

Below, we describe the events in which Burgos Belauzarán participated directly as an author, committed in Santa Bárbara and Quilaco between September and December 1973:

The judicial investigation establishes in detail the various criminal episodes carried out by the uniformed officers and civilian perpetrators of true extermination raids.

Thus, on September 13, 1973, a group of civilians and Carabineros, all armed with firearms and traveling in motorized vehicles, arrived at the home of Cristino Humberto Cid Fuentealba, located on the El Rodal plot on the outskirts of Quilaco, proceeding to detain him in the presence of his family members, only to then take him away on foot to an unknown destination, causing him to disappear to this day.

On September 14, 1973, Juan de Dios Fuentes Lizama and Juan Francisco Fuentes Lizama were kidnapped from their home located in a hut on the Corcovado estate, on the road to Villacura, in the commune of Santa Bárbara, by Carabineros and civilians, and their whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

On September 16, 1973, Juan de Dios Rubio Llancao and Julio Alberto Rubio Llancao were detained and taken to the Santa Bárbara Carabineros station, under the command of the Unit Chief, the then-lieutenant Planté Aravena Sáez.

That same day, Guillermo Purrán Treca went to the indicated police unit seeking protection because he could not return home, as he had missed the bus and the start of the curfew was approaching, but they left him there as a detainee.

At night, these three peasants, plus José María Tranamil Pereira, who had also been detained, were taken out of the police facility and transported to the Quilaco bridge where the Carabineros riddled them with bullets; since that date, no news has been known about the four peasants.

On September 16, 1973, Sebastián Hernaldo Campos Díaz voluntarily presented himself to the Santa Bárbara Carabineros station, as he had been summoned previously, and remained detained; to this day, there is no news of his whereabouts.

At noon on September 17, 1973, Elba Burgos Sáez was detained by Carabineros on a public street in the city of Santa Bárbara, was put into a pickup truck, and taken to an unknown destination; since that date, no news of her whereabouts or existence has been known.

On the afternoon of September 17, 1973, José Rafael Zúñiga Aceldine, José Secundino Zúñiga Aceldine, and José Gilberto Araneda Riquelme voluntarily went to the Santa Bárbara Carabineros station, complying with a summons that Carabineros of the aforementioned police unit had issued to them through a third party, and were entered into said facility as detainees; since that date, no news about their whereabouts or destination has been known.

In the commune of Quilaco, in the early hours of September 20, 1973, a group of Carabineros and civilians arrived at the home of José Felidor Pinto Pinto, a leader of the Campo Lindo peasant settlement, located on the old Huinquén estate, whom they detained, taking him out of his house and transporting him in vehicles to an unknown destination; from that moment on, there was never any news of his destination, and his trail has disappeared to this day.

In the morning hours of September 20, 1973, in the commune of Santa Bárbara, the group of executioners arrived at the ‘El Huachi’ estate, located 8 kilometers from that commune, and detained José Domingo Godoy Acuña, Julio César Godoy Godoy, and Desiderio Aguilera Solís, transporting them to the Santa Bárbara Carabineros station, from where they were taken out at night to an unknown destination, and they have not been seen again or had their whereabouts known to this day.

Around noon that day, the same group headed to the village of Loncopangue and also to the vicinity of the Rañiguel estate in the same sector, proceeding to detain Luis Alberto Cid Cid, Luis Bastías Sandoval, and Raimundo Salazar Muñoz, who were loaded onto a Quilaco Municipality truck driven by José Feliciano Gutiérrez Ortiz, known as ‘El Chamo’, to then be taken along the public road that leads to Quilaco to a path that leads to the confluence of the Bío-Bío and Quilmes rivers, where they were taken off the vehicle and, watched by their captors, were led walking to the banks of the indicated watercourses, at which moment their captors reportedly fired at them with firearms, their bodies falling into the channel of the mentioned rivers; their actual whereabouts remain unknown to this day. Also that same day, in the afternoon, the local resident Segundo Marcial Soto Quijón was detained in Quilaco by a group made up of Carabineros and civilians, a date from which they caused him to disappear.

In the commune of Santa Bárbara, at approximately 2:00 PM on the same day, September 20, the criminal group detained José Nazario Godoy Acuña in the Los Junquillos sector, who was subsequently transported to the Santa Bárbara Carabineros station.

Around 10:30 PM on September 20, 1973, in the commune of Santa Bárbara, they arrived at the home of Manuel Salamanca Mella, located on Avenida La Feria without number in Santa Bárbara, where they detained him in the presence of his family members, to then take him to the Carabineros station.

On the same date, the same group went to the boarding house located at Calle Rosas No. 343 in the commune of Santa Bárbara, where they detained José Mariano Godoy Acuña, who was transported to the station where they were last seen, without having been seen again or having news of their whereabouts to this day.

On the night of September 20, 1973, the same armed group of Carabineros and civilians arrived at the home of Miguel Cuevas Pincheira located at Calle Rosas No. 371 in Santa Bárbara and detained him, in the presence of his family members, spouse, and children, taking him out of his house and transporting him to an unknown place, without him having been seen again or having news of his whereabouts to this day.

On September 23, 1973, in the early hours of the morning, the group of executioners broke into the La Palma smallholding, in the commune of Santa Bárbara, to kidnap from their home the peasants Sergio D’Apollonio Petermann, 48 years of age, and his son Carlos Jacinto D’Apollonio Zapata, 22 years of age.

They transported Carlos Jacinto to the bridge that connects the communes of Santa Bárbara and Quilaco, over the Bío-Bío River, where they placed him on one of the railings and fired at him with firearms, causing him to fall into the riverbed.

However, the current dragged his body to one of the banks where, hours later the next day, his body was found by family members and acquaintances. They took the corpse to their home and proceeded to hold a wake to then bury him, but in the afternoon of that day, the same individuals who had kidnapped him the night before broke in to steal the young man's body and took it away to make it disappear to the present.

On the morning of November 3, 1973, at approximately 11:00 AM, the group of Carabineros and civilians arrived at Plot No. 112 in the Piñiquihue sector of the commune of Quilaco, where they detained José Roberto Molina Quezada, took him out of his house, and took him away in a vehicle to an unknown destination, a moment from which there was never any news or knowledge of his whereabouts.

On the night of Saturday, November 3, they arrived at the home of Gabriel José Viveros Flores located on the outskirts of Loncopangue, proceeding to detain him in the presence of his family members, taking him out of his house and taking him away to an unknown destination.

Around 4:00 PM on November 7, 1973, in circumstances where Aliro Segundo Oporto Durán, 17 years of age, was in a house located in the Raleo sector of the town of Alto Bío Bío, Carabineros personnel arrived to detain him, but the young man ran in the direction of the Bío-Bío River, being pursued by the police, one of whom shot him, managing to apprehend him, a moment from which all news of his whereabouts or existence is unknown.

by Juan Contreras Jara

Source: resumen.cl, May 10, 2023

Date: 05-10-2023

Minister Carlos Aldana issues first enforcement orders for ruling against retired Carabineros and civilians for qualified kidnapping in Quilaco and Santa Bárbara

In the resolution (criminal case roll 372, Santa Bárbara episode), Minister Aldana began today – Thursday, February 2 – with the notification to those convicted in the case: Héctor Isaías Echeverría Beltrán, who must serve a sentence of 11 years in prison as the author of eight crimes of qualified kidnapping; and José Roberto Valdivia Dames, who must serve 5 years in prison for the kidnapping of Miguel Cuevas Pincheira.

The minister on extraordinary visit for human rights violation cases of the Court of Appeals of Concepción, Carlos Aldana Fuentes, initiated the enforcement of the sentence that convicted a group of retired Carabineros and civilians for their responsibility in the consummated crime of qualified kidnapping of Sergio D’Apollonio Petermann, Miguel Cuevas Pincheira, Cristino Humberto Cid Fuentealba, José Felidor Pinto Pinto, Luis Alberto Cid Cid, Luis Alberto Bastías Sandoval, Raimundo Salazar Muñoz, Gabriel José Viveros Flores, Segundo Marcial Soto Quijón, and José Roberto Molina Quezada.

Crimes perpetrated in the communes of Santa Bárbara and Quilaco, between September and December 1973.

In the resolution (criminal case roll 372, Santa Bárbara episode), Minister Aldana began today – Thursday, February 2 – with the notification to those convicted in the case: Héctor Isaías Echeverría Beltrán, who must serve a sentence of 11 years in prison as the author of eight crimes of qualified kidnapping; and José Roberto Valdivia Dames, who must serve 5 years in prison for the kidnapping of Miguel Cuevas Pincheira.

In the coming days, the instructing minister will continue notifying the sentences to Exequiel Celedón Barra, 10 years and one day in prison as the author of the crimes of qualified kidnapping of Cristino Humberto Cid Fuentealba and José Felidor Pinto Pinto; Jorge Eduardo Valdivia Dames, 5 years in prison for the qualified kidnapping of Miguel Cuevas Pincheira; Jorge Denis Domínguez Larenas must serve an equal sentence as the author of three crimes of qualified kidnapping; and Eugenio Villa Urrutia, Juan Carlos Burgos Belauzarán, and José Feliciano Gutiérrez Ortiz will serve 4 years of supervised release for seven qualified kidnappings.

Minister Aldana instructed that the eleven individuals sentenced to effective prison time do so in penal facilities in the Bío-Bío Region.

Source: pjud.cl 2/2/2023

Date: 02-02-2023

Concepción Court convicts authors and accomplices of the crime of qualified kidnapping of 28 peasants in Santa Bárbara and Quilaco

The Court of Appeals of Concepción issued a second-instance sentence against 14 retired Carabineros and civilians for their responsibility in the crime of qualified kidnapping of 28 peasants from Santa Bárbara and Quilaco. Crimes perpetrated starting September 11, 1973, in the foothill sectors of the Bío-Bío Region.

In a unanimous ruling (case roll 182-2014), the Third Chamber of the appellate court – composed of ministers Carola Rivas Vargas, Viviana Iza Miranda, and the acting lawyer Jean Pierre Latsague Lightwood – also confirmed the total compensation of $1,215,000,000 (one billion two hundred fifteen million pesos) that the State and the convicted individuals must pay to the victims' families.

In the ruling, the court sentenced Planté Euclide Aravena Sáez to a penalty of 14 years in prison as the author of 19 crimes of qualified kidnapping; while Héctor Isaías Echeverría Beltrán and José Heraldo Pulgar Riquelme must serve 11 years and 10 years and one day in prison, respectively, as authors of 10 and 7 qualified kidnappings.

In the case of Carlos Santiago Sepúlveda Rivera, the court sentenced him to 10 years and one day in prison as the author of four crimes of qualified kidnapping, and Pedro Segundo Ruiz Pardo must serve 5 years and one day in prison as the author of one crime of qualified kidnapping.

Additionally, in the case, Sergio Amado Fuentes Valenzuela, Luis Enrique Ricardo Antonio Barrueto Bartning, and Manuel Darío Barrueto Bartning were convicted as accomplices to sentences of 6 years in prison for seven crimes of qualified kidnapping.

Meanwhile, Exequiel del Carmen Celedón Barrera received 5 years and one day of effective prison time as an accomplice to two crimes of qualified kidnapping.

In the case of Jorge Denis Domínguez Larenas, Jorge Eduardo Valdivia Dames, and José Roberto Valdivia Dames, they were sentenced to 4 years in prison as accomplices to one crime of qualified kidnapping. They were granted the benefit of supervised release.

The same benefit was received by Eugenio Villa Urrutia, José Feliciano Gutiérrez Ortiz, and Juan Carlos Burgos Belauzarán, convicted to 4 years in prison as accomplices to seven, seven, and five qualified kidnappings, respectively.

In the case, the dismissal of the retired Carabineros officials José Eleodoro Burgos Sandoval and José Jaime Godoy Godoy, and the civilians Sergio Alejandro Pino Cabezas and Sergio Humberto Salazar San Martín, was decreed due to death.

In the investigation stage, Minister Raquel Lermanda Spichiger managed to establish that, between September 11 and December 20, 1973, Carabineros officials – supported by groups of civilians – illegally detained 28 victims in the communes of Santa Bárbara and Quilaco, mainly peasants, whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

In Santa Bárbara, the group illegally detained José Domingo Godoy Acuña, Julio Godoy Godoy, Desiderio Aguilera Solís, José Nazario Godoy Acuña, Manuel Salamanca Mella, José Mariano Godoy Acuña, Miguel Cuevas Pincheira, Sebastián Hernaldo Campos Díaz, José Rafael Zúñiga Aceldine, José Secundino Zúñiga Aceldine, José Gilberto Araneda Riquelme, Juan de Dios Rubio Llancao, Julio Rubio Llancao, José María Tranamil Pereira, José Guillermo Purrán Treca, Elba Burgos Sáez, Juan de Dios Fuentes Lizama, Juan Francisco Fuentes Lizama, Sergio D’Apollonio Petermann, and Aliro Oporto Durán.

In the commune of Quilaco, the victims were identified as Cristino Humberto Cid Fuentealba, José Felidor Pinto Pinto, Luis Alberto Cid Cid, Luis Alberto Bastías Sandoval, Raimundo Salazar Muñoz, Gabriel José Viveros Flores, Segundo Marcial Soto Quijón, and José Roberto Molina Quezada.

Regarding the civil aspect, the chamber confirmed the decided moral damages compensation, with the State of Chile and the convicted individuals being jointly obligated to pay a total of $1,215,000,000 (one billion two hundred fifteen million pesos) to the victims' families.

Source: adprensa.cl 6/14/2019

Date: 06-14-2019