Hugo Guzmán, convicted as an accomplice to homicide in Operation Albania, was hired as the administrator of the institutional Country Club. The national head of Welfare, Jorge Caradeux, asserted that he did so because "he was his classmate from the academy." The second is the current active prefect of Crimes Against Property, Héctor Silva ("pulgarcito"), who is mentioned as the "interrogator" of the repressive service's Brigade that fought against the MIR and the FPMR.

His name came to light after former agent Víctor Muñoz ("el cordillera") was interrogated in a torture case being investigated by Judge Joaquín Billard. Silva, in any case, denied the accusation.

Interview with Jorge Caradeux Franulic, head of Welfare for the Investigations police (PDI)

• Did it not matter to you that Hugo Guzmán had been convicted of homicide in Operation Albania?
• That is a public fact. No one could be unaware of it, but when I spoke with him and saw his background and he presented his certificate of good conduct, he has nothing.
• He cleared his record, then?
• It happens that when a person complies with the law, they have no restrictions on working anywhere. Today there is talk of reintegration... He was in the wrong place and was fulfilling a function, nothing more. I don't know the details, but it does not limit him.
• Was he legally barred?
• No, none at all.
• Did you decide this matter yourself, or did you inform your superiors?
• I did, within my authority.
• And with similar characteristics?
• The idea is that they know how to manage and have knowledge in these matters. Besides, he is hired under Labor Law.
• Explain to me how the Country Club works.
• It is a private law corporation, controlled by the PDI, within its welfare area, just as the other branches have.
• And who pays his salary?
• Welfare. It has different accounts and is funded by the contributions of the members.
• Will there be other former CNI members hired?
• The truth is that I haven't looked and I don't intend to look, only that they fulfill their duties, that they have no outstanding debts with the justice system. And that if they served their time, that they are cleared.

On December 3rd, detectives from the Human Rights Brigade went to the Investigations Country Club located in La Florida. At 10:00, Inspector Guido Mora and Commissioner Ángel Lazcano began the interrogation of Hugo Guzmán, the administrator of the place, regarding a torture case being substantiated by Judge Joaquín Billard.

Guzmán is convicted as an accomplice to the homicide of FPMR member Patricia Quiroz Nilo, in the so-called Operation Albania (also known as the "Corpus Christi" massacre), a CNI procedure where eleven other people died—following a setup—which occurred in June 1987.

The former police officer, who received a sentence of 541 days, as he was granted mitigating circumstances, was hired in July of this year by the national head of Welfare, Prefect Inspector Jorge Caradeux Franulic. The latter confirmed the information to El Mostrador and explained that he did so because "I worked with him years ago in vehicle maintenance."

"I have known him for many years, because we are from the same graduating class. I know him by his way of being, by his correctness, a guy who really met the requirements for administrative tasks."

When asked about the role Guzmán played in Operation Albania, Caradeux said that "he was in the wrong place and was fulfilling a function, nothing more." Likewise, he indicated that he made the hiring within his powers and did not inform his superiors.

Caradeux's direct superior is Prefect General José Cabión, who was head of the Human Rights Brigade and one of the trusted men of former judge Juan Guzmán, who investigated cases such as the Caravan of Death and prisoners thrown into the sea, who today are listed as forcibly disappeared.

In fact, when this newspaper asked about Guzmán's hiring, Caradeux had to inform his superior. It is clear, then, that the command lacked this information.

The so-called "Operation Albania," executed by the CNI in June 1987, was the continuation of a persecution of the FPMR following the attack against Augusto Pinochet a year earlier.

Along with Hugo Guzmán, several agents were convicted. But without a doubt, the most significant sanctions were for the then-director of the CNI, Hugo Salas Wenzel, who is serving a life sentence at the Punta Peuco prison. Meanwhile, the operational head, Major (ret.) Álvaro Corbalán, was sentenced to 20 years.

The "pulgarcito"

Guzmán is not the only one in the PDI. Another former CNI member is the current prefect Héctor Silva, whose alias was "pulgarcito." The latter was mentioned by a former agent, Víctor Muñoz Orellada (operational identity Jaime Marinovic Palma and known as "el cordillera"), as one of the "interrogators" of the Blue Brigade that fought the MIR, in a torture case being investigated by Judge Joaquín Billard.

Although Silva has never been prosecuted or convicted in any case involving human rights violations, it is highly probable that he will be summoned to testify in this process and eventually confronted with other former agents. Likewise, if he participated in the interrogations, he could face trouble if the complainants identify him as the perpetrator of the abuse.

According to a report published by the newspaper La Nación in 2008, Silva was in charge of the CNI's fingerprint registry and was also summoned to testify in Operation Albania and other cases.

In his favor, he argued that in the 90s, while working in the Homicide Brigade, he investigated, by order of Judge Juica himself, the so-called "degollados" (throat-slitting) case, regarding the homicide of four communist militants by agents of the Dicomcar. Furthermore, he stated that he worked on other similar cases, as he was assigned to several Supreme Court judges.

This media outlet consulted Silva, who confirmed his time at said service. However, he denied having belonged to the Blue Brigade and having been an interrogator.

He asserted that he was assigned to the CNI from 1986 to 1989, in the capacity of assistant to the fingerprint expert.

In that capacity, he explained, he had to work at the crime scene of Operation Albania in 1987 to identify the deceased.

Silva confirmed that he testified on two occasions in this same process, but as a witness before two judges: Hugo Dolmestch and Milton Juica, current members of the Supreme Court.

In this sense, he pointed out that he has never had criminal liability and that the position he currently occupies was earned through merit and by passing the course at the Police Academy.

Source: January 4, 2011 El Mostrador