Chilean justice system issues final sentence against 15 military and police officers for the disappearance of two Uruguayans in 1973.

The Chilean Supreme Court has convicted 15 military and police officers for the aggravated kidnapping of Uruguayans Nelsa Gadea and Julio César Fernández, left-wing militants who were in Chile and were forcibly disappeared in that country.

Nelsa was from Paysandú, was studying law, and in 1971 traveled to Chile to work in the government of Salvador Allende. She was a militant of the Revolutionary Workers' Party (Partido Obrero Revolucionario), and the dictatorship included her on its blacklists.

She was detained in December 1973 and was last seen at the clandestine detention center known as Tejas Verdes, the Military Engineers School Regiment in Santo Domingo. She was 30 years old. Julio was from Montevideo, a textile worker, and a member of the National Liberation Movement (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional).

In 1972, he traveled to Chile and became linked with the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR). On September 11, 1973, he was detained and also taken to Tejas Verdes. Two other prisoners stated that they had given him a map to plan an escape from the site, but he was discovered by the military, who, according to information from the Secretariat of Human Rights for the Recent Past, took him out of the center one night.

He was 24 years old, and nothing more was heard of him since then.

The sentence is against military and police officers Valentín del Carmen Escobedo Azua, Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, Vittorio Orvieto Tiplizky, Ramón Acuña Acuña, Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, Gladys de las Mercedes Calderón Carreño, Klaudio Erich Kosiel Hornig, Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, Fernando Armando Cerda Vargas, Rodolfo Toribio Vargas Contreras, Nelson Patricio Valdés Cornejo, the former head of the secret police—now deceased—Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda, and the also deceased David Adolfo Miranda Monardes and Jorge Rosendo Núñez Magallanes.

The ruling, which is final and therefore unappealable, establishes a five-year prison sentence for all those convicted as authors and co-authors of both forced disappearances. However, they were granted the benefit of supervised release, meaning they will not go to prison.

Source: ladiaria.com, September 10, 2015

Three retired military officers and one Army doctor sentenced to 10 years of effective imprisonment

They were accused of the kidnapping and torture of Onofre Segundo Aguila Parra, a leader of the Socialist Party of San Antonio, an event that occurred between September and December 1973.

Two former officers, one former non-commissioned officer, and one former Army doctor were sentenced to ten years of effective imprisonment for the aggravated kidnapping of Onofre Segundo Aguila Parra, an event that occurred in the port of San Antonio between September and December 1973.

The sentence was handed down by the minister for extraordinary visits for human rights violation cases of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón.

The minister sentenced, with costs, Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, an Army lieutenant at the time of the events (retired with the rank of Brigadier); Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, reserve sub-lieutenant; Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, first sergeant; and the then-Army doctor Vittorio Orvieto Teplitzky.

Other individuals implicated in this case died in previous years or during the course of the proceedings. Both Quintana Salazar and Orvieto Teplitzky are currently imprisoned at the Punta Peuco Prison, serving sentences for other crimes against humanity.

In the resolution, Minister Cifuentes Alarcón established that on September 13, 1973, around 7:00 PM, Onofre Segundo Águila Parra, secretary general of the Socialist Party of San Antonio, was detained at his home at Calle Vicente Poblete No. 413, Villa Las Dunas in the commune of San Antonio, by Army personnel from the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, who placed a hood over his head and transported him to the facilities of said military unit.

That same day, by order of Army Major David Adolfo Miranda Monardes (now deceased), the detainee was taken to the San Antonio Carabineros Police Station, and after a few hours, was transferred to the prison in the same city, remaining in this penal facility until October 25.

On October 25, 1973, Onofre Águila Parra was taken from the San Antonio prison to the basement of the officers' club at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, where he was interrogated and subjected to torture, after which he was transferred to the prisoner camp of the aforementioned military unit, under the charge of Major David Adolfo Miranda Monardes, reserve sub-lieutenant Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, and 1st Sergeant Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, all of the Army, among others, where he remained locked up until December 31, 1973.

During his time in said prisoner camp, Onofre Águila Parra was taken on repeated occasions to the aforementioned basement, being interrogated again and subjected to illegitimate coercion.

The Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School and its prisoner camp at that time were under the command of the infamous "Mamo" Contreras, Army Lieutenant Colonel Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda.

Contreras, under instructions from the dictator, would create the DINA, a repressive and criminal organ of which he was the director for several years.

The interrogations under illegitimate coercion carried out in the basement of the officers' club at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School were in charge of Major Jorge Núñez Magallanes, Major Mario Jara Seguel, Captain Klaudio Erich Kosiel Hornig (now deceased), Lieutenant Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, 2nd Sergeant Ramón Acuña Acuña (now deceased), and the doctor Vittorio Orvieto Teplitzky.

Source: elagora.net, June 14, 2023

Minister Marianela Cifuentes sentences Army doctor and retired officer for the application of torture at Tejas Verdes

The minister for extraordinary visits for human rights violation cases of the San Miguel Court, Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón, sentenced a retired Army officer and a doctor who served in the military branch for their responsibility in the consummated and repeated crime of applying torture to Juan Antonio Betancourt Román.

The illicit act was perpetrated between September 12, 1973, and April 1974, at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, in the commune of San Antonio.

In the ruling (case file 28-2009), the visiting minister sentenced Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, an Army lieutenant at the time of the events, and the doctor Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky to a sentence of 3 years and one day of effective imprisonment, with the legal accessories of absolute perpetual disqualification for political rights and absolute disqualification for public offices and positions during the time of the sentences, plus the payment of the costs of the case.

In the resolution, Minister Cifuentes established the following facts:

1° That on September 12, 1973, around 9:00 PM, Juan Antonio Betancourt Román, a militant of the Popular Unitary Action Movement (MAPU) and an employee of the Rayonhil factory in San Antonio, was detained at his home located at El Canelo No. 910 in the town of Llolleo by soldiers stationed at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, who transported him in a truck, along with other detainees, to the aforementioned military unit, keeping him for two or three hours outside the officers' club, kneeling with his hands on the back of his neck, after which they took him to the San Antonio Carabineros Police Station.

2° That on September 13, 1973, during the night, Betancourt Román was transferred from the San Antonio Carabineros Police Station to the prison in the same city, where he remained deprived of liberty until May 1974.

3° That during the aforementioned period, on repeated occasions, Juan Antonio Betancourt Román was taken out of the San Antonio prison by military personnel in a refrigerated truck and, immediately thereafter, taken to the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School (Barracks No. 1), to a facility located at the Studies Secretariat and another under the Officers' Club, places where he was interrogated and subjected to illegitimate coercion, that is, the application of electricity to different parts of his body, confinement in a small refrigerated chamber, and threats to his physical integrity, which left severe psychological sequelae (anxiety neurosis).

4° That the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School at that time was under the command of Army Lieutenant Colonel Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda, Major David Adolfo Miranda Monardes, and Major Jorge Rosendo Núñez Magallanes, all deceased.

5° That, furthermore, the interrogations under illegitimate coercion carried out in the basement of the Officers' Club of the 'Tejas Verdes' Military Engineers School were in charge of Major Jorge Núñez Magallanes, Captain Mario Alejandro Jara Seguel, Captain Klaudio Erich Kosiel Hornig, Lieutenant Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, 2nd Sergeant Ramón Acuña Acuña, and the doctor Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky.

Source: pdju.cl, March 23, 2023

Minister Marianela Cifuentes sentences retired military officers to 10 years in prison for the aggravated kidnapping of an SML official

The minister for extraordinary visits for human rights violation cases of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón, sentenced three retired Army personnel and a doctor who provided services in the military branch for their responsibility in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Luis Alberto Sepúlveda Carvajal.

The illicit act was perpetrated starting September 26, 1973, at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, located in the commune of San Antonio.

In the ruling (case file 28-2009 N), the visiting minister sentenced Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, a reserve sub-lieutenant at the time of the events; Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, lieutenant; Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, first sergeant; and the then-Army doctor Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky to 10 years of effective imprisonment, in their capacity as authors of the crime.

In the resolution, Minister Cifuentes Alarcón established the following facts:

"1° That, on September 26, 1973, Luis Alberto Sepúlveda Carvajal, an official of the San Antonio Legal Medical Service (SML), was detained without legal basis by officers of the Chilean Investigative Police, who transported him to the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, being taken at night to the prisoner camp of said military unit, under the charge of Major David Adolfo Miranda Monardes, reserve sub-lieutenant Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, and 1st Sergeant Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, all of the Chilean Army, where he remained locked up until the 29th of the same month and year.

2° That on September 29, 1973, at 11:00 PM, Luis Alberto Sepúlveda Carvajal was detained without legal basis at his home by military personnel, who took him back to the prisoner camp of the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, where he remained deprived of liberty until October 13 of the same year, the date on which he was transferred to the San Antonio Prison.

3° That, on repeated occasions, Sepúlveda Carvajal was transferred from the aforementioned prisoner camp and from the San Antonio Prison to the basement of the officers' club at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, where he was interrogated and subjected to illegitimate coercion, specifically the application of electricity and physical abuse, leaving as a sequela severe psychological damage secondary to the traumatic experience lived during his confinement.

4° That the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School at that time was under the command of Army Lieutenant Colonel Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda, Major David Adolfo Miranda Monardes, Major Jorge Rosendo Núñez Magallanes, and Major Mario Alejandro Jara Seguel, all deceased.

5° That, furthermore, the interrogations under illegitimate coercion carried out in the basement of the officers' club at the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School were in charge of Major Jorge Núñez Magallanes, Major Mario Jara Seguel, Captain Klaudio Erich Kosiel Hornig, Lieutenant Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, 2nd Sergeant Ramón Acuña Acuña, the doctor Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky, and the Investigative Police inspector Nelson Valdés Cornejo."

Source: pdju.cl, August 9, 2023

Supreme Court sentences retired military officers for the application of illegitimate coercion at Tejas Verdes

The Second Chamber rejected the appeals in cassation filed against the sentences that convicted Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, and Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky for their responsibility in three consummated crimes of illegitimate coercion.

The illicit acts were committed between September 1973 and January 1974, in the facilities of the Army's Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, in the commune of San Antonio.

The Supreme Court rejected the appeals in cassation filed against the sentences that convicted Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar, Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, and Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky for their responsibility in three consummated crimes of illegitimate coercion.

The illicit acts were committed between September 1973 and January 1974, in the facilities of the Army's Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School, in the commune of San Antonio.

In split rulings (case files 51.761-2024, 5.963-2025, and 15.255-2025), the Second Chamber of the highest court—composed of Minister Manuel Antonio Valderrama, Ministers María Cristina Gajardo and Eliana Quezada, and acting lawyers Leonor Etcheberry and Carlos Urquieta—confirmed the sentences that convicted Quintana Salazar, Carriel Espinoza, Soto Jerez, and Orvieto Tiplitzky to sentences of 5 years and 4 years of intensive supervised release, in their capacity as authors of the illegitimate coercion applied to Mario López Cisternas and Gustavo del Carmen Flores Quinteros; and 4 years of effective imprisonment for the repeated illegitimate coercion of Hernán Becerra Madrid. In the case of Carriel Soto, the Criminal Chamber granted the fulfillment of the sentences under the regime of total house arrest with telematic control (electronic ankle monitor), due to his advanced age and precarious health.

In the civil aspect, the Criminal Chamber maintained the sentence that ordered the state to pay compensation of $50,000,000 for moral damages to the recurring victim, Flores Quinteros.

"That, in order to dismiss the appeals under analysis, it should be noted that, strictly speaking, the first and seventh grounds of Article 546 of the Code of Penal Procedure are argued in the same chapter and jointly.

As can be observed, the infringement of No. 1 of the aforementioned rule necessarily assumes that the facts were correctly established and that they constitute a crime, in order to also maintain the ground provided for in 546 No. 7, that is, having violated the laws regulating evidence, disregarding the facts established by the judge, who—on the contrary—accepts them when arguing the first motive for invalidation," the rulings state.

The resolutions add: "In this regard, it should be noted that the legal condition of this type of appeal does not allow them to be formalized on incompatible grounds, since, if based on them, the court of cassation would find itself unable to issue a pronouncement without this entailing accepting or rejecting contradictory background information at the same time, nor could it accept one ground in preference to another, since to do so, it would have to disregard the form in which the appellant himself deduced it in his respective brief, which violates the doctrine supported by the provisions that regulate the appeal in cassation."

"For these reasons, the appeals filed by the defenses of the accused will not prosper," they highlight.

Likewise, the rulings record: "That, for its part, the defense of Soto Jerez appeals in cassation, invoking only the seventh ground of Article 546 of the Code of Penal Procedure, denouncing as violated Articles 456 bis, 459, and 457 of the Code of Penal Procedure, disputing the criminal participation that was established.

It indicates that the sentence took as proven that its represented party was part of the group of interrogators, basing this solely on a merit notation in his service record, dismissing the exculpatory evidence that proves that the sentenced party did not participate in the events, altering the norms that regulate evidence, carrying out a true collective objective imputation.

For all these reasons, it requests that the appeal be accepted, invalidating the appealed sentence, and issuing in the same act and without a new hearing, but separately, a replacement sentence by which its represented party is acquitted."

For the Criminal Chamber: "(...) to dismiss the appeal under study, it is sufficient to point out that, when requesting the acquittal of the convicted party, the formalization brief of the appeal suffers from fundamental defects that impose its rejection.

Indeed, as has been stated, only the ground of the seventh numeral of Article 546 of the Code of Penal Procedure is invoked, which refers only to the infringement of the laws regulating evidence, which alone is not enough to resolve, in the replacement sentence that would proceed to be issued if the appeal were accepted, the acquittal of the convicted party, it being necessary for this to link said ground with another of those established in the indicated precept, since the mere mutation of the facts does not allow this court of cassation to make use of its invalidating powers by determining, ex officio, which of those other grounds—taxatively indicated in the procedural statute of the branch—corresponds to make concurrent, which is sufficient to dismiss the appeals."

"With all this, it should be noted that the appellant questions the assessment executed by the judges, pointing out that it violates the laws regulating evidence and would not allow reaching the condemnatory conclusion arrived at.

However, beyond this assertion, it does not denounce as violated any norm related to the assessment of evidence; furthermore, the appellant only asserts the existence of an infringement, constructing the claim on assertions as general as those observed in the ruling and which, in reality, seek for this Court to perform an exercise forbidden in this venue, which is a new assessment of the evidentiary means that, moreover, were duly appraised by the lower court judges," the rulings conclude.

The decision that granted the fulfillment of the sentences to Carriel Espinoza under the modality of house arrest was agreed upon with the dissenting votes of the acting lawyers.

In the first-instance sentences, the minister for extraordinary visits for human rights violation cases of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón, established that the victims, after being detained, were sent to the Army's Military Engineers School, located in the Tejas Verdes sector, commune of San Antonio.

Once in said military unit, they were subjected to interrogations under torture in the basement of the officers' club.

At the time of the events, September 1973 and February 1974, the Tejas Verdes Military Engineers School was under the command of Army Lieutenant Colonel Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda, seconded by Majors David Adolfo Miranda Monardes, Jorge Rosendo Núñez Magallanes, and Mario Alejandro Jara Seguel (all deceased).

Meanwhile, in charge of the interrogations were Majors Jorge Núñez Magallanes and Mario Jara Seguel, supported by Captain Klaudio Erich Kosiel Hornig, Lieutenant Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, 2nd Sergeant Ramón Acuña Acuña, and the doctor Vittorio Orvieto Tiplitzky, among others.

Source: pdju.cl, November 19, 2025