At the same time, statements from former officers and non-commissioned officers of the FACH who were tortured at the Air War Academy (AGA) mention him as one of the torturers at that kidnapping and torture center.

Source: www.cia.gov, June 11, 1999

The Joint Command. Who they are and where they are

When Judge Mario Carroza decides to place General (Ret.) Patricio Campos in preventive detention, surely to prosecute him for obstruction of justice, and General Ríos hides behind administrative leave and visits to units far from the capital, the Joint Command seems to be living its final chapters under the institutional protection of the FACH.

However, its agents—those men and women who kidnapped, tortured, murdered, and ultimately forcibly disappeared dozens of leftist militants—continue for the most part to live their normal lives. A few are detained in units of the same Air Force, but others are business owners or FACH officials; they live quietly in military villas, vote, and walk the streets like any other citizen, even appearing at social gatherings like those frequented by "la Pochi" along with her husband.

El Siglo hopes, with this special report, to make a contribution toward ending that impunity. The so-called Joint Command (CC) was an intelligence group that operated approximately between late 1975 and early 1977, and whose main objective was the repression of the so-called Central Force of the MIR, and the central committees of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth.

During this period, according to the Rettig Report, it was responsible for the disappearance of nearly 30 people. Other sources speak of more than 70. Known internally as "the unit," it was formed mainly by agents belonging to the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (DIFA) and later with significant participation from personnel of the Carabineros Intelligence Directorate (DICAR).

It also counted, to a lesser extent, on the participation of agents from the Naval Intelligence Service (SIN) and some personnel from the Army Intelligence Directorate (DINE). In addition, members of the Chilean Investigative Police and civilians from the far-right group Patria y Libertad collaborated with that Command.

Horror barracks

Among the first torture centers, even before being called the Joint Command, appears the Air War Academy (AGA), which operated from late 1973 until late 1974, formally under the charge of the Aviation Prosecutor's Office, which in practice coordinated closely with the Air Force Intelligence Service (SIFA).

General Bachelet and many FACH officers were tortured in its basements. José Luis Baeza Cruces, a member of the PC Central Committee who is currently forcibly disappeared, was also there. Fernando Matthei, the director of the AGA at the time, has been summoned to testify regarding this case.

In January 1975, when the SIFA vacated the AGA, it transferred the detainees to a house in Santiago, located in the Apoquindo sector, about two blocks from the Las Condes Municipality. This property was used as a secret detention center until March 1975 and was under the charge of agents from the recently created DIFA.

After that date, the DIFA offices moved to Juan Antonio Ríos N° 6, where the Intelligence Community operated, while the detainees were distributed between the Colina Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment ("Remo Cero") and a hangar inside the Cerrillos airport.

Another clandestine torture center is the one known as "Nido 20," located at Calle Santa Teresa 037, near the 20th stop of Gran Avenida, in Santiago. As a result of the torture inside, Alonso Gahona Chávez, who is now a forcibly disappeared person, died.

Humberto Castro Hurtado was also beaten to death here. Today, the house hosts the National Corporation of Laryngectomees (those operated on for laryngeal cancer). The facility called "Nido 18" was used exclusively to practice torture.

It is a location situated at Calle Perú 9053, in the La Florida commune in Santiago, near the 18th stop of Vicuña Mackenna. In this center, according to witnesses, Arsenio Leal Pereira took his own life under the pressure of the torture to which he was being subjected.

At "Remo Cero," alongside FACH agents, members of the Naval Intelligence Service and some Army agents operated. The contingent from the Carabineros Intelligence Directorate was more numerous. Civilians from Patria y Libertad also operated here.

Several detainees were allegedly taken from there by helicopter to be thrown into the sea, among them Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez and Luis Moraga Cruz. There are also witnesses who state that Ricardo Weibel Navarrete, Ignacio González Espinoza, Miguel Rodríguez Gallardo, and Nicomedes Toro Bravo were taken from there to be murdered and buried on the military grounds of Peldehue.

Some detainees died in this facility as a result of torture, among them José Sagredo Pacheco. This location was frequently visited by a doctor who treated several detainees and supervised the torture. A facility located at Calle Dieciocho N° 229, which had been the headquarters of the newspaper El Clarín and passed into the hands of the Carabineros after the military coup, was known as "La Firma." The Carabineros Intelligence School was installed there, some of whose professors were members not only of DICAR but also of the Joint Command.

Adjacent to this building is another property connected to it, in the rear of which the CC operated clandestinely. Various communist prisoners were held in this location, among them Carlos Contreras Maluje, Juan René Orellana, Luis Emilio Maturana, and Juan Antonio Gianelli, who were taken from that place to be murdered and buried clandestinely at Cuesta Barriga, and José Weibel Navarrete, who was later murdered in the Cajón del Maipo sector.

In 1985, "La Firma" would be used to kidnap a dozen teachers and the three communist professionals who would later appear with their throats slit on a rural road in Quilicura. Other properties used interchangeably by the SIFA and the CC, where detainees were held temporarily, were a property in the Bellavista neighborhood that had belonged to Sergio Bushmann, where single members of the CC lived, and the Las Tranqueras Police Station, used while a United Nations human rights delegation was visiting, so that such detainees could not be located in the better-known detention centers.

AGA: School of torture

Witnesses who survived the torture at the Air War Academy remember as their captors and torturers, among others, Generals Orlando Gutiérrez Bravo and Juan Soler Manfredini; Commanders Sergio Lizasoaín Mitrano, Edgar Cevallos Jones, Jaime Lavín Fariña, Carlos Godoy Avendaño, Juan Bautista González, Ramón Cáceres Jorquera, and Humberto Velásquez Estay; FACH Colonel and doctor Humberto Berg Fontecilla; Colonels Sergio Sanhueza López and Javier Lopetegui Torres; Captains León Duffey Treskoff, Juan Carlos Sandoval, Alvaro Gutiérrez, Jaime Lemus, Florencio Dublé, Contreras, and Fullogher (permanent guard chief); lawyer Julio Tapia Falk; legal advisors Cristián Rodríguez, Jaime Cruzat, and Víctor Barahona; Lieutenants Juan Carlos Sandoval, Luis Campos, José García Huidobro, Víctor Matig Guzmán, Franklin Bello, and Gonzalo Pérez Canto; Sergeant Hugo "chuncho" Lizana, non-commissioned officer Juan Normabuena, Corporal Eduardo Cartagena, and 2nd Corporal Gabriel Cortés (who changed his name). One of the AGA survivors, Commander Ernesto Galaz, recalls that "they arrested me along with General Bachelet, Vergara, and Colonel Miranda, who worked with me. They took us to the basement of the Ministry (of Public Works), where the investigation began with a prosecutor who asked us questions only to then send us as detainees to the Colina Air Base, where we were until the 20th in fairly decent conditions, treated as prisoner-of-war officers. That day they took us out with an unusual deployment of troops, setting up a ridiculously complex operation; they put us on a helicopter and transferred us to the Air War Academy. Here they put the 4 of us in a room, one in each corner, and a mob of officers and non-commissioned officers entered, put hoods on us, tied our hands, and began the beatings and torture. They kept us for entire days without sleep, without drinking or eating, until they took us to testify before Prosecutor Gutiérrez, who had been a classmate of mine at the School and who witnessed all the torture to which we were subjected. He insistently wanted us to endorse his version; he wanted us to affirm that the story about Plan Zeta, the theft of documents, espionage, treason, and contacts with the MIR and the PC was true. Everything they were inventing to justify the coup. It is a bit embarrassing to admit it, but we ended up signing what they presented to us after the long sessions of torture, the electric shocks to the genitals, having our fingernails lifted with pins, having cords passed between our legs and pulled to lift us by our testicles. Those documents are the basis of the war councils: confessions extracted under torture. Afterward, they took us to a room where we were sitting, facing the wall, without hoods but with enormous fear, since at any moment they would come to look for us to take us to torture, to the application of electricity. I was there until the end of November. From the 4 of us who started, we increased until reaching about 105, although there were hundreds of uniformed personnel who passed through the AGA. The 105 of us were transferred to the Polytechnic Academy of El Bosque, where they installed us in four rooms, sitting, facing the wall, with a sentry at the door who was constantly clicking the safety of his rifle to let us know of his presence. I presume they were conscripts, since in one of the rooms one of them had an accidental discharge and killed Corporal José Espinoza Santis. Obviously, Corporal Espinoza was buried with full military honors, presented as one of the victims of the Marxists."

The final steps

On Tuesday, October 8, Judge Mario Carroza ordered the preventive detention of the former Director of Civil Aeronautics and husband of "la Pochi," Patricio Campos Montecinos. The reasons of the head of the Third Criminal Court of Santiago for leaving him in custody at the El Bosque Air Base are based on the very possible verification that Campos committed the crime of obstruction of justice by providing false data to the Dialogue Table.

Until the report made by La Nación, General Campos was the fifth-ranking officer of the FACH and one of the possible successors to the current Commander-in-Chief of the institution. Installed by Ríos at the head of the team that decided what information to provide, his responsibility in the obstruction also points to the person who embodies the current command of the FACH, so following the line of Judge Carroza, who has already interrogated former Commander-in-Chief Fernando Rojas Vender, it would not be strange if Ríos himself were to join Campos, Ruiz Bunger, and "el mono" Saavedra at the El Bosque Base. For their part, the associations of relatives, the CUT, the Communist Party, and various spokespersons of the Concertación continue to exert pressure so that, as soon as possible, Patricio Ríos leaves the building at Zenteno and Alameda, the place where the high commands of the Armed Forces are located.

Other professionals of crime

Colonel Horacio Otaiza, alias "pata de oso," died under strange circumstances. Luis Rolando Pacheco Valdés, Colonel (Ret.) of the FACH. Chief of the Colina Air Base at the time the "Remo Cero" torture center was operating inside it.

Prosecuted by Minister Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association. Rubén Samuel Romero Gormaz, General (Ret.) of the Carabineros, chief of the DICAR at J.A.R. 6. Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the author of illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Freddy Enrique Ruiz Bunger, General (Ret.) of the FACH. Chief of the DIFA at J.A.R. 6. Prosecuted as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

He is currently being prosecuted by the head of the 25th Criminal Court of Santiago for the kidnapping of Víctor Vega, and by Joaquín Billard of the First Criminal Court of Santiago, for the disappearance and death of Juan Luis Rivera Matus.

Minister Mario Carroza submitted him to prosecution for the crime of qualified kidnapping in the persons of Víctor Vega, David Urrutia, Juan Carlos Orellana, and Ricardo Weibel, and the illegal detention of survivors Isabel Stange, Jaime Estay, and Amanda Belisco.

Minister María Teresa Díaz, of the Fourth Criminal Court of San Miguel, prosecuted him for the disappearance of Alonso Gahona Chávez and Miguel Rodríguez Gallardo. Mario H. Vivero Avila, General (Ret.) of the FACH, Aviation judge and commander of the Santiago garrison in 1976.

Prosecuted as the author of criminal illicit association by Carlos Cerda in 1986, amnestied by Judge Manuel Silva Ibáñez. Currently, Minister Hazbún of the 25th Criminal Court is prosecuting him as a cover-up for the illicit association and the disappearance of Víctor Vega.

Father-in-law of the Chief of the FACH General Staff, Mario Avila, one of the possible successors to Patricio Ríos in the Command-in-Chief. Avila commanded the Hawker Hunters that bombed the Tomás Moro presidential house on September 11, 1973.

Carlos Arturo Madrid Hayden, Commander (Ret.) of the FACH. Vice-commander of the Colina Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment in which the "Remo Cero" torture center operated. Prosecuted by Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association, while Judge Hazbún considers him an accomplice to the kidnapping of Víctor Vega.

Minister Joaquín Billard, of the First Criminal Court of Santiago, is prosecuting him as the author of qualified kidnapping in the case of Juan Luis Rivera Matus. Germán Alfredo Esquivel Caballero, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) of the Carabineros, in charge of counterintelligence at DICAR.

Prosecuted as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira. Roberto Fuentes Morrison, alias "Wally," ID 3.469.587-3. During the Popular Unity, he stood out in the paramilitary groups of Patria y Libertad, where he met several of those he would later take to the CC.

As a FACH Squadron Commander, he joined this criminal illicit association, becoming one of the operational chiefs recognized as one of the cruelest torturers. He was prosecuted by Carlos Cerda due to his participation in dozens of kidnappings, torture, executions, and disappearances of MIR and PC militants.

In mid-1989, he was riddled with bullets outside his home. Jorge Arnoldo Barraza Riveros, Commissioner (Ret.) of the Investigative Police. Alias "El Zambra." Prosecuted as an accomplice to the criminal illicit association.

Germán Enrique Pimentel Ceballos, Commander (Ret.) of the FACH, coordinator of special operations. Prosecuted by Minister Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Luis Enrique Campos Poblete, Commander (Ret.) of the FACH. Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association. Marco Alejandro Cortes Figueroa, Inspector (Ret.) of the Investigative Police.

Alias "Yoyopulus." Prosecuted as an accomplice to the criminal illicit association in the Cerda case. Pablo Arturo Navarrete Arriagada, Colonel (Ret.) of the Carabineros stationed at DICAR. Prosecuted as an accomplice to criminal illicit association by Minister Cerda.

Manuel Antonio Salvatierra Rojas, Sub-prefect (Ret.) of the Investigative Police. Alias "Negro" (ID 6.195.828-2). Prosecuted by Minister Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association. Humberto Villegas, Second Sergeant (Ret.) of the Carabineros.

Alias "Don Beto." Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the disappearance of Reinalda Pereira and Edrás Pinto. Also appearing as collaborators is Brigadier General (Ret.) Jorge Dagoberto Alicera Carrasco, former chief of the Colina air base, who in 1978 was a colonel and served as director of communications and electronics for the Air Force.

Jacobo Atala Barcudi, Director of Intelligence of the FACH, currently retired. In 1977, he served as interim aviation judge. Ramón Pedro Cáceres Jorquera, alias "Comandante Matamala," FACH prosecutor accused of torturing prisoners at the Air Force Hospital.

Prosecuted in the Ninth Criminal Court of Santiago for the disappearance of Luis Baeza Cruces and the assassination of Alfonso Carreño Díaz in 1974. Nicanor Díaz Estrada, Air Brigadier General (Ret.), served in 1973 as a colonel and director of the Air War Academy (AGA).

Mario Ernesto Jahn Barrera, Colonel (Ret.), served as chief of the FACH counterintelligence department and provided services to the DINA; as deputy director of that organization, he traveled through the Southern Cone of America inviting the security chiefs of the dictatorships to constitute what is known as Operation Condor.

Until March 2002, he was Director of the Aeronautics Museum located at Cerrillos Airport. Eduardo Enrique Fornet Fernández, former director of intelligence of the FACH. Germán Segundo Campos Vásquez, officer (Ret.) of the Carabineros.

Santiago Luis Callejón Vera, who was also a bodyguard for General (Ret.) Gustavo Leigh Guzmán. Sergio López Díaz, Army officer. Submitted to prosecution by the head of the First Criminal Court of Santiago, Joaquín Billard, as the author of the crime of qualified kidnapping in the case of Juan Rivera Matus.

Roberto Serón Cárdenas, alias Satín, Colonel (Ret.) of the FACH, chief of the CC investigation team (according to "Colmillo Blanco"). Sergio José Manuel Linarez Urzúa, General (Ret.) of the FACH. René Arturo Peralta Pasten, officer (Ret.) of the FACH, served as director of intelligence.

Juan Manuel Duran Baeza, FACH official. Rubén Morales Cubillos, FACH official. Patricio Ernesto Pérez Villagrán, officer (Ret.) of the FACH, taught counterintelligence at the institution's intelligence school.

Franklin Bello Calderón, Lieutenant (Ret.) of the FACH, prosecuted in the Ninth Criminal Court of Santiago for the disappearance of Luis Baeza Cruces and the assassination of Alfonso Carreño Díaz in 1974.

José Aladino Cerda Córdoba, Gendarmerie official, prosecuted in the Ninth Criminal Court of Santiago for the disappearance of Luis Baeza Cruces and the assassination of Alfonso Carreño Díaz in 1974. Miguel Angel Perucca López, FACH reservist.

Víctor Misael Robles Mella, officer (Ret.) of the FACH. Luis Eduardo Rojas Campillay, FACH official. Patricio Eugenio Saavedra Rojas, Commander (Ret.) of the FACH. Lénin Figueroa Sánchez, ID 4.633.329-2.

José Florentino Fuentes Castro, ID 5.340.552-5. Francisco Hidalgo García, 2.633.797-6. Francisco Segundo Illanes Miranda, ID 4.294.918-3. Ernesto Arturo Lobos Gálvez, ID 5.082.345-8. Also prosecuted by Minister Carlos Cerda were Gustavo Leigh Guzmán and Julio Eladio Benimelli Ruz, who died under various circumstances.

Indicted as accomplices are Carabineros Colonels (Ret.) Italo Astete Sermini, Gonzalo Jiménez Huerta, Raúl Enrique Montt Carvajal, and Federico Luis Smith Ibarra. Also Lieutenant Colonels Graciano Bernales Pérez, Juan Bezzemberger Schwarz, and Luis Humberto Villagra Rebeco.

As cover-ups for the kidnappings of Reinalda Pereira and Edrás Pinto, Investigative Police Sub-commissioner Federico Infante Lillo and officer Jorge Mondaca González, both retired, were indicted. In the process opened by Carlos Hazbún, Carlos Pascua Riquelme, Juan Arturo Chávez Sandoval, and Alejandro Sáez Mardones ("El Pegaso," serving a life sentence for the slit-throat case) are being prosecuted.

Manuel Barra Von Kretschmann, ID 1.614.559-9, chief of the Naval Intelligence Service in the Intelligence Community. Frigate Captain at the time of the coup, part of the DINA leadership in 1974 and deputy director in 1975.

In 1977, he became part of the CNI. He was prosecuted as an accomplice to the criminal illicit association and the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira by Minister Cerda. Edgar Benjamín Cevallos Jones, ID 2.895.236, Colonel (Ret.) of the FACH.

Director of the DIFA and later of the SIFA, torturer at the Air War Academy, and "Wally's" boss in the CC. Alias "Inspector Cabezas." Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

Prosecuted in the Ninth Criminal Court of Santiago for the disappearance of Luis Baeza Cruces and the assassination of Alfonso Carreño Díaz in 1974. Juan Francisco Saavedra Loyola, alias "Jano" and "mono," ID 4.124.917-K, Colonel (Ret.) of the FACH.

Group commander of the Air War Academy, where he was in charge of the interrogations and torture of his colleagues loyal to the government, among them Alberto Bachelet. In 1976, he was appointed Director of the Colina Air Base and joined the CC, replacing Edgard Cevallos as operational chief.

In 1977, he moved to the Intelligence Community. Until the early 90s, he was active in the FACH with the rank of colonel. He was prosecuted by Minister Carlos Cerda and is currently sought by Judge Hazbún in the case of the disappearance of Víctor Vega.

Minister Mario Carroza submitted him to prosecution for the crime of qualified kidnapping in the persons of Víctor Vega, David Urrutia, Juan Carlos Orellana, and Ricardo Weibel, and the illegal detention of survivors Isabel Stange, Jaime Estay, and Amanda Belisco.

Daniel Luis Enrique Guimpert Corvalán, Lieutenant (Ret.) of the Navy, ID 4.638.149-1, prosecuted as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira.

He is currently being prosecuted by Judge Carlos Hazbún for the kidnapping of Víctor Vega. Eduardo Enrique Cartagena Maldonado, alias "Lalo," ID 5.083.760. Non-commissioned officer (Ret.) of the FACH. Agent of the CC since 1975, participating in kidnappings, torture, and disappearances of numerous communist leaders between that year and 1976.

After the dissolution of this organization, he joined the Air Force Intelligence Service (SIFA). He is being prosecuted in the 4th Criminal Court of San Miguel for the kidnapping and torture that caused the death of Alonso Gahona Chávez.

He also appears indicted in the process opened by the judge with preferential dedication Carlos Hazbún, head of the 25th Criminal Court, regarding the kidnapping and disappearance of Víctor Vega Riquelme that occurred on January 3, 1976.

His last known address is Del Rey 394, Maipú. Miguel Arturo Estay Reyno, ID 6.446.545-7, alias "El Fanta." Former communist militant, he went from informer to agent after being detained in 1975. Knowledgeable about the internal structures of the Communist Youth and the PC, he was a vital piece in the detention of its main leaders, among whom were Carlos Contreras Maluje, José Weibel, Fernando Ortiz, and Waldo Pizarro.

He participated in the kidnapping of his former comrade Manuel Guerrero, who was one of the few who managed to escape the clutches of the CC, but in 1985 he kidnapped him again, this time with the agents of the DICOMCAR, to finally slit his throat along with José Manuel Parada and Santiago Nattino.

Prosecuted by Minister Cerda and amnestied by Silva Ibáñez, he is currently serving his life sentence in Colina for the assassination of the three communist professionals and is being prosecuted for the disappearance of Víctor Vega.

César Luis Palma Ramírez, alias "El Fifo." ID 6.387.372-1. Militant of Patria y Libertad detained in August 1973 for his participation in the homicide of presidential aide Arturo Araya, amnestied after the coup d'état by Admiral Adolfo Waulbaum.

Friend of "Wally," who took him to the CC. According to Andrés Valenzuela, "El Fifo" participated in the murders of José Weibel Navarrete, Miguel Rodríguez Gallardo, Humberto Fuentes Rodríguez, and the agents of the same organization Carol Flores (alias Juanca) and Guillermo Bratti, all disappeared to date.

He is also named among those who executed communist leaders Lincoyan Berríos, Fernando Navarro, Fernando Ortiz, Waldo Pizarro, Luis Lazo, Juan Gianelly, Horacio Cepeda, Héctor Véliz, and Reinalda Pereira, who was in an advanced state of pregnancy, at Cuesta Barriga.

Prosecuted by Minister Cerda in 1986, he appears today in the cases of Alonso Gahona and Víctor Vega. His last known address is El Quilo 5535, Quinta Normal, where the cooling equipment factory FRIGOMET LTDA. operates; they claim they do not know him, however, his phone-fax 7738010 continues to be in the name of Palma Ramírez.

Leonardo Alberto Schneider Jordán, alias "El Barba." ID 5.521.250-3. Former MIR militant, agent. Accused by numerous survivors of having participated in their detention and torture at the Air War Academy.

Later he would join the brigade dedicated to repressing the MIR in the DINA. Prosecuted for torture and permanent kidnapping in at least two Santiago courts. His last known address is Las Hualtatas 4966, phone 2633546, Vitacura.

Roberto Alfonso Flores Cisterna, alias "El Huaso." ID 7.767.975-8. Soldier (Ret.) of the FACH. On September 11, 1973, as a FACH soldier at the El Bosque Air Base, he participated in interrogations and torture of detainees.

Because of his "ability," he was sent to continue his work at the Air War Academy under the command of Edgard Cevallos. In 1975, he became part of the CC, being responsible for the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of communist militants.

Until the mid-90s, he remained in active service in the SIFA; today he appears to be working in the commercial sector. His last known address is Villa Tantauco, Block 10282, Apt. 31, San Bernardo. Alejandro Jorge Forero Alvarez, ID 5228186-5, cardiologist.

Medical Association Registry 9580-K. Squadron Commander and doctor who was working at the FACH Hospital at the time of the coup d'état. In 1976, he provided services as a second soldier at the El Bosque Air Base and at the Colina Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.

In this place, he participated in the CC, supervising the torture and drugging the prisoners who were taken out to be forcibly disappeared. He was submitted to prosecution by Judge Carlos Cerda during the dictatorship and today is again sought by Judge Hazbún in the case of Víctor Vega.

He was the first person to be "funado" (publicly denounced) in Chile, on October 1, 1999, at his office in the INDISA Clinic. He is a member, among other organizations, of the Chilean Society of Intensive Medicine, where he is listed with the INDISA address, and of the Chilean Society of Cardiology, in which he appears with his private practice: Av.

Apoquindo 6275, office 116, and the email address forero@entelchile.net. His last known address is Camino La Brisa 14.199-2, Lo Barnechea, telephone 2161253. Otto Silvio Trujillo Miranda, ID 5.684.434-1, civil agent, alias "Colmillo Blanco" in a La Nación report.

DC militant in his youth, he later joined Patria y Libertad where he met "Wally," who would take him to the CC and save his life in a dispute between this organization and the DINA; together with Carol Flores and Guillermo Bratti, they provided information to Contreras's men.

Since before the coup d'état, he belonged to the Military Intelligence Service (SIM); later he was called by Fuentes Morrison to be part of the security team of the Ministry of Agriculture and the CC. He participated in the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of leftist militants until his expulsion due to the incident with the DINA.

His "contacts" allowed him to take charge of a security company in southern Chile, after which he was involved in numerous lawsuits for fraudulent check issuance. He is on the list of those prosecuted by Carlos Cerda and in the processes opened for the disappearance of Alonso Gahona and Víctor Vega.

Guillermo Antonio Urra Carrasco, alias "Willy." ID 6.687.227-0. Second Corporal (Ret.) of the FACH. Operational agent of the CC since its formalization in 1975. He was prosecuted by Judge Carlos Cerda for his participation in the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of leftist militants.

According to direct witnesses, he is responsible for the execution of prisoners in the Cajón del Maipo (among them José Weibel and the agents Carol Flores and Guillermo Bratti), at Cuesta Barriga (among others Horacio Cepeda, Fernando Ortiz, and Reinalda Pereira), and the throwing of others into the sea off the coast of Quinteros.

Today he is being prosecuted again, this time for the Víctor Vega case. His last known address is Santa Blanca 1990, Las Condes. Viviana Lucinda Ugarte Sandoval, ID 7.298.556-7, Second Corporal (Ret.) of the FACH, assigned to the DIFA and the Joint Command.

Alias "La Pochi." Wife of General Patricio Campos Montecinos, Director of Civil Aeronautics until the report made by La Nación. Prosecuted by Minister Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the disappearance of Reinalda Pereira and Edrás Pinto, amnestied by Judge Manuel Silva Ibáñez.

Patricio Zuñiga Canales maintained, until March of this year, Mario Jahn Barrera in the position of Director of the Aeronautical Museum. Fernando Patricio Zuñiga Canales, 5.974.807-6, alias "Chirola." Non-commissioned officer (Ret.) of the FACH.

As a soldier at the El Bosque Air Base, he participated in the torture of his comrades-in-arms. Later he was transferred to the Air War Academy to perform the same functions and from there he became part of the DIFA.

In 1975, he joined the CC, in which he participated in the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of dozens of leftist militants, among them Víctor Cárdenas, Carlos Durán, Luis Maturana, Humberto Castro, and Davíd Urrutia.

He was also present at the execution of Bratti and Flores. He belonged to the FACH Intelligence Service (SIFA) at least until the early 90s. He was prosecuted by Minister Cerda and today appears in the cases of Alonso Gahona and Víctor Vega.

His last known address is Pasaje Simón Bolivar 1298, San Bernardo. Jorge Rodrigo Cobos Manríquez, 5.890.505-5, FACH reserve lieutenant, from Patria y Libertad. Alias "Kiko" or "Elefantito" (ID 5.890.505-4).

Prosecuted by Minister Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association and accomplice to the kidnapping of Edrás Pinto and Reinalda Pereira. Judge Hazbún submitted him to prosecution for the disappearance of Víctor Vega.

Pedro Ernesto Caamaño Medina, non-commissioned officer (Ret.) of the FACH. Alias "Peter," ID 7.024.319-9. Operational agent at the "La Firma" torture center. Prosecuted by Judge Carlos Hazbún for the kidnapping of Víctor Vega.

Manuel Agustín Muñoz Gamboa, ID 4.842.855-K, Major (Ret.) of the Carabineros. Alias "El Lolo." He stood out for his cruelty in the CC, returning to the Carabineros with the rank of captain. In the DICOMCAR, he shared duties with his "colleague" from the CC, Miguel Estay Reino.

In this organization, he appears involved in the assassination by throat-slitting of Juan Antonio Aguirre Ballesteros in 1984. He was prosecuted by Minister Cerda; later he was sentenced to 5 years and one day for his participation in the assassination of José Manuel Parada, Manuel Guerrero, and Santiago Nattino.

Today he appears prosecuted for the kidnapping and disappearance of Alonso Gahona, in the 4th Criminal Court of San Miguel, and in the case handled by Judge Hazbún for the kidnapping and disappearance of Víctor Vega.

Alejandro Fígari Verdugo, ID 6.693.227-3, alias Luty, from Patria y Libertad, second in command of the detention team, after Fifo Palma (according to "Colmillo Blanco"). Alex Damián Carrasco Olivos, FACH official, bodyguard for Leigh, Fernando Matthei, and Ramón Vega.

Alias "Loco Alex," ID 6.243.426-7. Operational agent of the Joint Command. Julio Federico "Alvaro" Corbalán Castilla, Army Major, liaison between this institution and the CC. In 1980, he assumed the leadership of operations for the National Intelligence Center (CNI).

Sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of the carpenter Juan Alegría Mundaca, carried out to cover up the assassination of Tucapel Jiménez. Implicated in the Operation Albania massacre, the disappearance of five Rodriguez-front militants in September 1987, the deaths of four leftist militants in revenge for the attack against Pinochet, and hundreds of illegal kidnappings and torture against Chileans.

The head of the First Criminal Court of Santiago, Joaquín Billard, submitted him to prosecution as the author of the crime of qualified kidnapping in the case of Juan Rivera Matus. Raúl Horacio González Fernández, ID 6.519.815-0, official (Ret.) of the FACH.

Alias "Rodrigo" or "Wally Chico." Witnesses state that he participated in the detention of José Weibel. Prosecuted as an accomplice to the illegal detention of Amanda Velasco Pedersen in the 25th Criminal Court.

Antonio Benedicto Quiros Reyes, ID 3.189.349-6, Colonel (Ret.) of the FACH and chief of the Counterintelligence Department during the years of the CC. Prosecuted by Carlos Cerda as the author of criminal illicit association.

Andrés Pablo Potin Lailhacar, ID 5.390.709-1, civil agent of the CC. Alias "Yerko." Militant of Patria y Libertad detained in August 1973 for his participation in the homicide of presidential aide Arturo Araya.

Prosecuted by Judge Hazbún as a participant in the kidnapping of Víctor Vega. Today he appears as a businessman in the computer sector with an office at Américo Vespucio Norte 2506. Robinson Alfonso Suazo Jaque, ID 7.641.894-2, soldier (Ret.) of the FACH. Alias "Jonathan." Torturer at the AGA. Prosecuted in the...

the 25th Criminal Court for the kidnapping and disappearance of Víctor Vega. Juan Luis Fernando López López, ID 5.790.799-1, alias "Pantera", FACH group commander, head of the CC logistics and detention team (according to "Colmillo Blanco").

Alberto Roque del Sagrado Corazón Badilla Grillo, ID 5.164.080-2, Navy officer belonging to the Ancla 2 group of the Naval Intelligence Service. In 1974 he was part of the DINE and later the CC. He served in the DINA, where he met "flaca" Alejandra, of whom he was a lover. In 1977 he moved to the CNI.

Source: elsiglo.cl, October 11, 2002

The FACH tortured its own officers

The fascist dementia of Leigh and his generals

Curiously, chance united the publication of "Disparen a la bandada" by Fernando Villagrán (Planeta) with the "turbulence" in the FACH and the revelations about the Joint Command (Comando Conjunto). The appearance of the book was planned since March and corresponds to work begun in the first months of 2001.

It refers to what happened in the Air Force before and during the military coup, in the days that followed, and up to the trial titled "Against Bachelet and others," a milestone in the repression. One explanation clarifies the apparent coincidence.

Much of what has happened in these days has ancient roots. Since before September 1973, a sui generis fascism of extreme danger developed in the FACH. The anti-communism and power ambition of General Gustavo Leigh and his unconditional supporters were decisive.

The intention was to mark the path for the new regime with determination and doctrinal hegemony, supported by unrestricted repression against both civilians and military personnel who were doubtful or clearly opposed to the coup.

It was planned to carry out a great trial against the former rulers, the so-called "UP hierarchs," imprisoned on Dawson Island, for which a War Council in the FACH would serve as a precedent to punish the supposed infiltration of the Left and the mythological Plan Z.

From the FACH later emerged the Joint Command, whose clandestine activities have been the talk of the town these days. Criminals and torturers rose and occupied high command positions, until today. No institution has been more reluctant than the FACH to identify those responsible for crimes and to rehabilitate tortured, imprisoned, and dishonorably discharged uniformed personnel.

From the first days, the FACH was implacable. Nearly 700 military and civilian personnel, almost 10% of the institutional staff, were investigated, under torture and detention in terrible conditions. Generals, colonels, commanders, captains, lieutenants, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men were subjected to a War Council.

A general, Alberto Bachelet, died as a result of torture. Two soldiers were murdered and another went insane. Several civilians were also prosecuted, among them Carlos Lazo, president of the State Bank, and the socialist senator Erich Schnacke, accused of infiltration and subversive activities.

The origin of "Disparen a la bandada" is related to the controversy that arose when political scientist Felipe Agüero denounced academic Emilio Meneses, of the Catholic University, as a torturer. Agüero recognized Meneses as one of the Navy reserve officers who tortured him at the National Stadium.

Fernando Villagrán, a friend of Agüero and, like him, a militant of the Mapu-OC, was also imprisoned in that place. In the midst of the scandal that followed the denunciation, Agüero received a communication from a former FACH officer residing in England, in which he recalled the recipient and Villagrán, whose lives he had saved when they were prisoners.

It was flight captain Jorge Silva, charged in the FACH trial after suffering brutal torture, and subsequently expelled from the country. Silva had seen the young men in the Public Jail, but had been reticent, worried about their safety.

The contact with Captain Silva made Fernando Villagrán feel that a story was closing that he had to tell. In this way, two stories are linked: one, that of Villagrán and Agüero, and the other which is multiple, that of the people of the FACH, in which Captain Silva plays a binding role.

In the days that followed the coup, Agüero and Villagrán were arrested while carrying out clandestine activities to organize some resistance to the military onslaught. "The coup d'état in Chile has been almost perfect," wrote Patrick Ryan, United States naval attaché in Chile.

Arrested and beaten in the street, the young men were taken to the El Bosque air base. They were subjected to torture and inhuman treatment. After some days in isolation, they were destined for death, as they learned later.

Compassionate, Captain Jorge Silva arranged for them to be taken to the National Stadium to save them. There they suffered new torments until they were sent to the Public Jail. In that place, they saw Captain Silva arrive from the Air War Academy (AGA).

Step by step, the author, with the collaboration of Marcelo Mendoza, reconstructs the story. Documents, press, books, interviews, and the memory of the FACH trial were the sources. Months in advance, small groups of FACH officers and non-commissioned officers warned of the conspiratorial maneuvers of the high command.

The coup was underway. The groups were diverse: there were constitutionalists, others were men of the Left who linked themselves to the MIR and other parties, and there was no shortage of 100% professionals.

Everyone warned the government again and again. Their warnings were not heeded. There were uniformed personnel who became aware of what happened on the very day of the coup and refused to collaborate. Victims and torturers are people of flesh and blood, not simple names.

General Sergio Poblete, colonels Carlos Ominami Daza and Rolando Miranda, commanders Alamiro Castillo—who took asylum after a few days, facilitating the detainees "loading" him with imaginary responsibilities—and Ernesto Galaz, captains Silva, Donoso, Carbacho, Aycinena, non-commissioned officers Constanzo, Figueroa, González, and many others appear subjected to extreme pressure and almost always resist.

Almost all were dignified and consistent then, and remain so. Also standing out are the figures of Angela Jeria, widow of Bachelet, and her daughter Michelle, collaborating with the resistance, detained and held in Villa Grimaldi months after the general's death.

Although they are not caricatures, the executioners—Gustavo Leigh, Orlando Gutiérrez, Edgar Ceballos, Cáceres, Otaiza, Jahn, Lavín, Cruzat, Lizazoaín, and the others—appear as people consistent in their ideology, cruelty, and lack of scruples.

In the book, there are little-known facts such as the participation of Mario Jahn, an intelligence officer, in a conspiracy to kill Salvador Allende, or the true situation of Leigh within the FACH, where he was resisted by many officers despite which he was appointed commander-in-chief.

Also appearing are the clandestine meetings in which the coup and the bombing of La Moneda were planned (denounced without much echo). The relationship of the public trial, "the FACH trial," which ended in a resounding failure, is important.

It was held at the Air War Academy in the first months of 1974 and was plagued by legal aberrations. Among others, the violation of the non-retroactivity of criminal law, self-incriminating confessions obtained under torture, the lack of guarantees for defense attorneys, and other infractions of "due process" norms.

The trial was seen as a farce, and it undoubtedly was. The defense attorneys were directly threatened. Roberto Garretón was notified by Jaime Cruzat, a FACH lawyer who participated directly in torture: "I have an order to report you to the Aviation Prosecutor's Office for having said that there has been torture here." Witnesses were also intimidated and even arrested, as happened to journalist Sergio Campos, for refusing to testify against Erich Schnacke.

Held incommunicado in the basements of the AGA, he was blindfolded and tied up for a couple of days before being taken to the Ministry of Defense. The machinery set up by generals Gustavo Leigh, Orlando Gutiérrez, Colonel Horacio Otaíza, and lawyer Julio Tapia Falk ended up turning against them.

The impact of the "FACH trial" was so negative for the Military Junta that there were no other trials, much less a public trial against the former ministers of President Salvador Allende. The sentences of the FACH trial were very harsh.

They were softened by General José Berdichevsky, who acted as Aviation judge. He commuted the death sentences, but the vast majority of those convicted spent a long time in prison. The last ones went into exile in 1978. "Disparen a la bandada" is a book written without grandiloquence, as if "from the inside," from the vicissitudes and personal experiences that intertwine to provide a passionate panoramic view.

In this remarkable work, Fernando Villagrán shows narrative skill and conceptual rigor. At the same time, a clear commitment to an overwhelming truth denied until today. by HERNAN SOTO

Source: puntofinal.cl, Edition 531, 2002

What the Valech Report does not say: The torturers: who they are and where they are

"I was raped, they applied electricity to me, they burned me with cigarettes, they gave me 'hickeys,' they put rats on me. I think I was in Venda Sexy (a secret DINA facility), they tied me to a stretcher where trained dogs raped me.

I was always with scotch tape, then a blindfold, and then a hood. They laughed, they offered us food and gave us orange peels. They woke us up at night to make us lose our sense of time." (Testimony of a 16-year-old girl, kidnapped in the Metropolitan Region, who was later expelled from the country without her family.) The horror became present for all Chileans.

Some will continue to say that it is a lie, that the survivors "were paid to speak against the Armed Forces," or ultimately that "they deserved it." But the country has already learned the truth and even a model-host wants to "know the names of the torturers." That is the idea of this special: to provide a part of the truth that does not have to wait 50 years to be known.

That is one of the many criticisms made of the Report on Political Imprisonment and Torture presented by Ricardo Lagos, on the night of Sunday, November 28, through a pre-recorded speech for the national network broadcast before the news programs of the television channels began.

Alone, without victims or relatives to look in the eye, the President of the Republic fulfilled the ritual of informing his fellow citizens. There was no symbolic delivery of the text, there was no possibility of consulting anything, there was no recognition of the motives that led so many men and women to torture their compatriots, there was no accurate criticism, there were no names of victims or victimizers, the information was not handed over to the Justice system, as had been done after the Rettig Report and even the Dialogue Table.

Reactions from hatred Appointed senators and former uniformed personnel reacted by ruling out participation in the crimes. Former Admiral Jorge Martínez Bush demanded a "full stop" to end the "lies" against his institution.

The other former admiral, Jorge Arancibia, flatly denied the possibility of "decommissioning" the Esmeralda, "which can only be decommissioned in combat," and threatened: "I cannot commit myself, nor can anyone else, that something will never happen again if I do not know what originates it." Many insisted on Hermógenes Pérez de Arce's thesis about the baseless slanders against the uniformed personnel and the "military government," repeated in the mouths of retired generals and admirals.

Appointed senator and former FACH commander-in-chief Ramón Vega supported the official statement of his institution and added that: "the consequences today we are lamenting and we are investigating, but a planning of torture, at least I never heard it, it was never analyzed, nor in the War Academy nor in the Aviation School nor in any instruction school was the word torture ever heard." Senators Rodolfo Stange and Fernando Cordero, former general directors of the Carabineros, did not accept institutional responsibility for the torture and assured that "there are no reasons for the uniformed police to apologize." Stange criticized the report on torture "because it borders on the unconstitutional, calling into question the institutions and not the people. I participated in the government junta, but I do not make a mea culpa because I do not feel responsible for any extreme situation as is being indicated in Bishop Valech's commission," he pointed out. Cordero, for his part, said that the "third leg of the table" would have to be completed, because at this moment the table is lame; a mea culpa must be made for what was produced before September 11, '73, which was the cause of all the situations that occurred subsequently." The current General Director, Alberto Cienfuegos, also appeared distant from the possibility of apologizing or assuming institutional responsibility, although he should answer about what his role was, since March 25, 1974, when as a lieutenant he was appointed on a service commission to serve as Head of the Information Office of the National Executive Secretariat of Detainees, remembered by many people by its acronym: SENDET. The UDI, National Renewal, and Lavín opted to downplay it, to show themselves in deep shock, even assuring that their participation in the dictatorship was, precisely, to prevent more abuses from being committed and to open the way to democracy. No one believed them. Sergio Fernández continued trying to rule out his participation in human rights violations, but his cabinet colleague Mónica Madariaga assured that in the clandestine torture centers, the agents knew him as "el car’e jote." Soon he will have to begin continuous visits to courts, along with Sergio Onofre Jarpa, Sergio Diez, Ambrosio Rodríguez, among so many others, to answer so many questions that arise about their responsibilities as civil authorities. A new avalanche of lawsuits for torture, like those that hundreds of former political prisoners have already filed, is announced after the delivery of the report. Fernández Fernández will have to answer, for example, for why he denied the existence of Villa Grimaldi to the Justice system, as demonstrated by the confidential official letter in which he responds on May 18, 1978, to the question of the Third Major Criminal Court of Santiago. Demands from organizations The conjunction of organizations of former political prisoners reacted in unison (see page 2), the groups of relatives of the victims joined the denunciation. The Communist Party announced new lawsuits and added that "the main reparation that the country expected is the one that relates to this being proportional to the damage caused. This implies truth and full justice for all victims. We demand that for the sake of those principles, the Report be made public in its entirety; that the names of the torturers be handed over to the courts of justice and all the judicial processes that are required be initiated; that their files be declassified immediately and not in 50 years; that all those responsible for torture and harassment be immediately removed from the armed and police forces; that an end be put to the military doctrine whose matrix is established by North American imperialism, and in which Chilean military and police cadres are and have been systematically instructed to repress their own people." The issue of monetary reparation was not the center of the controversy, except for Ricardo Lagos's attempt to blackmail the tortured with the threat of having to take money from social programs to pay them compensation. From CODEPU, another demand was made: "Just as new deadlines are going to be opened to reconsider the status of victims of people who did not qualify, we propose that because it is a crime against humanity, there cannot be an exclusionary deadline for qualification. In this sense, the State must open a new deadline for new presentations by people who for various reasons did not attend the initial call, especially when the Report itself points out that the testimonies collected 'only represent a partial sample of the total universe of people affected by such human rights violations during the military regime'." Thus, neither the mea culpa that some media outlets, such as Canal 13, tried to make, nor the "astonishment" of some dictatorship officials like Jorge Hevia, have managed to remove the main issue from the center: in Chile, there was torture. Torture was systematic and organized, supported by the entire infrastructure of the State turned into a terrorist; hundreds of men and women were trained to subject other men and women to the most terrible harassment. The use of rats and dogs to sexually assault prisoners, electricity in the most delicate corners of their bodies, mock executions, abstinence from food for long periods, and many other aberrations were committed against those they considered "enemies," "humanoids" in the words of one of the members of the Military Junta. The other thing that has been clear is that the survivors have had the courage and dignity to relate what they suffered, to transform it into hope and the desire to continue insisting on the need to transform this country, to continue fighting to make the dreams of those who could not come to give their testimony a reality: the executed and the forcibly disappeared. DINA: Pinochet's hand "I always complied (...) in accordance with the orders that the President of the Republic gave me. Only he, as the Superior Authority of the DINA, could arrange and order the missions to be executed and always, in my capacity as Delegate of the President and Executive Director of the DINA, I strictly complied with what was ordered to me." (Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, director of the DINA). In the trials against the DINA, looking at the list of those charged and convicted, it would seem that the only ones who made it up were a few commanders led by their director Juan Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, alias "Mamo" and "Mojón." Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo, alias "Don Rodrigo," always appears; Raúl Eduardo Iturriaga Neumann, alias "Don Elías" and "Luis Gutiérrez"; Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, alias "caballo loco"; and the operatives Gerardo Godoy García, Basclay Zapata Reyes, and Osvaldo Romo Mena. But the torturers were many more. Caupolicán Brigade Major Marcelo Luis Manuel Moren Brito, head of the Caupolicán Brigade. Alias "coronta," "ronco," and "oso." Lieutenant Colonel Vianel Valdivieso Cervantes, alias "Víctor." Head of the Psychological Operations Department. He maintained contact with journalists who provided services to the DINA, such as Roberto Araya, Julio López Blanco, Claudio Sánchez, Pablo Honorato, Ricardo Coya, and Beatriz Undurraga, and the publicist Manfredo Mayol. He retired in 1987 and settled in Temuco with a private company. Navy Corvette Captain Sergio José Peñaloza Marusic, operative agent. Navy Corvette Captain Alejandro Paulino Campos Rehbein, alias "Antolín." ID 3.704.573-K. Operative agent. Later he joined the Sub-directorate of Foreign Intelligence. Captain Francisco Maximiliano Ferrer Lima. Alias "Max Lenoux." Head of the clandestine torture center known as José Domingo Cañas, replacing Ciro Torré. Partner of "Pedro Diet Lobos" and instructor at the National Intelligence School, teaching courses on "secret service and observation." He continued his work in the CNI and remained in active service at least until the early 90s with the rank of colonel. Lieutenant Fernando Eduardo Laureani Maturana, alias "Lieutenant Pablo." Agent of the Caupolicán Brigade and head of the Aguila group, known as "los guatones." Until the early 90s, he continued in active service, with the rank of colonel, as Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Division in Concepción. Carabinero Lieutenant Jaime Gustavo López Abarca, agent of Londres 38 and Cuatro Alamos. ID 1.822.793-2. Involved in the disappearance of María Cecilia Labrín Sazo. Carabinero Corporal Emilio Hernán Troncoso Vivallos. ID 4.236.940-3. Involved in the disappearances of Juan Bautista and Washington Maturana Pérez, Mario Juica Vega, Gabriel Castillo, and Daniel Palma Robledo. Carabinero Corporal Heriberto del Carmen Acevedo Acevedo. Army Lieutenant Jorge Claudio Andrade Gómez, ID 5.293.833-3. In the first days of the coup, he participated in the massacre of the Panguipulli logging complex. He acted under the direct command of Krassnoff at the Terranova barracks (Villa Grimaldi). In August 1979, already in the CNI, he participated in the application of the torture that caused the death of professor Federico Alvarez Santibáñez. In 1991, he was a major in the Metropolitan General Garrison and a member of the DINE. Carabinero Corporal José Aravena Ruiz, alias "muñeca del diablo" and "cucharita," the latter nickname was given to him by the prisoners because he used to hit their knuckles with a spoon after the torture. He was "funado" (publicly exposed) in December 1999 at his house at Alfonso Leng 5569-0, in the Villa Santa Elena de Macul, a place he abandoned shortly after. Army conscript Samuel Enrique Fuenzalida Devia, alias "gato." Emilio Iribarren Ledermann, alias "Joel." He went from being a MIR militant to a DINA agent. Leonardo Alberto Schneider Jordán, alias "Barba." He went from being a MIR militant to an agent, first of the Joint Command and then of the DINA. These days he is being prosecuted in several cases of torture and disappearance. Carabinero Captain Egladio Salgado Torres, agent assigned to the Belgrano General Headquarters, but also with operative functions in kidnappings and torture in Villa Grimaldi. In 1980 he returned to his institution, joining the DICAR. He retired with the rank of colonel. Sergio Bernardino Ortega Parada, alias "gil culiao." Navy Corvette Captain Sergio José Peñaloza Marusic. ID 4.782.486-9. DINA operative agent until its dissolution. Carabinero Corporal José Avelino Yévenes Vergara, alias "Quico" or "Daniel Cáceres." Member of the Halcón II group, with duties as a torturer at Londres 38, José Domingo Cañas, and Villa Grimaldi. At the end of the DINA, he went to the CNI and then to the DINE. He was "funado" at his house at Calle B 5266, Villa San Luis de Macul, Peñalolén commune. Purén Brigade Army Captain Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, Head of the Purén Brigade. ID 5.454.077-1. On September 11, he was serving at the San Bernardo Infantry School, participating in the executions and disappearances in Paine and Cerro Chena. He continued his work in the CNI. After the end of the dictatorship, he settled in Talca, where he has a company that provides forage and grain to the Army. Army Colonel Manuel Andrés Carevic Cubillos, alias "Raúl" and "Claudio." Second in command of the Purén Brigade. He continued his work in the CNI and, in 1989, was appointed Plaza Chief in the district of La Pintana, Puente Alto, Pirque, and San José de Maipú. Until the early 90s, he was part of the DINE with the rank of colonel. Carabinero Major Eduardo Víctor Espinoza Paiella. ID 3.662.969-K. Agent of the Economy Department. He retired along with Manuel Contreras. Carabinero Captain Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz, alias "Don Jaime." ID 5.060.938-3. Member of the Purén Brigade and later of the CNI. With the rank of colonel, Barriga held positions in the National Mobilization Directorate in 1991. He was "funado" at his address at Irarrázaval 2061, apartment 105, a place he abandoned hastily. Today he is head of security for Lider supermarkets. Lieutenant Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chahuán, alias "Lieutenant Manuel." ID 5.090.309-K. Responsible for the disappearances and executions in Paine and Cerro Chena. He continued in the CNI and in 1989 was appointed commander of the Logistics Battalion of Concepción. Army Corporal Basclay Humberto Zapata Reyes, alias "el troglo." Famous for being very cruel in torture and raping detained women. Prosecuted for multiple cases of disappearance, executions, and torture. Until the early 90s, he remained as an instructor at the "Daniel Rebolledo" Non-Commissioned Officers School and with operative duties in the DINE. Carabinero Officer Gerardo Urrich González, alias "mano negra." Instructor at Tejas Verdes. Responsible for a series of executions in the sector known as Barrancas, today mostly the Pudahuel commune. He was "funado" at his office of "Servicios de Seguridad Alcázar," located at Ahumada 236, office 408. Army Lieutenant Manuel Jorge Provis Carrasco. As a member of the San Bernardo Infantry School, he participated in the crimes of Paine and Cerro Chena. He continued in repressive tasks and was commander of the CNI barracks on Borgoño street, participating in Operation Albania. At the end of 1989, he returned from a professional trip he made to Israel. Until 1991, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Army Intelligence Brigade. Army Lieutenant Marco Antonio Sáez Saavedra. ID 5.795.624-0. Specialist in the repression of the Communist Party and Socialist Party. In 1991, he was a lieutenant colonel and performed his duties in the Army Operations Directorate. Brother-in-law of CNI major Joaquín Molina, murdered by Manuel Contreras Valdebenito. Army Lieutenant Manuel Rolando Mosqueira Jarpa. Detective Manuel Gregorio Chirinos Ramírez. Detective Jorge Lander Cabezas. Detective Francisco Aladino Caamaño Díaz. Detective Arturo Patricio Vargas Cid. Investigations Inspector Juan Saldías Valdés, alias "Harry el sucio." Investigations Inspector Risiere del Prado Altes España, alias "Pedro." Other commanders and agents Army Lieutenant Colonel Jerónimo Luzberto Pantoja Hernández, Sub-director of the DINA and the CNI. ID 2.095.044-7. Responsible for the Chihuío massacre as vice-commander of the Maturana Regiment of Valdivia. In 1990, he was arrested for his participation in the illegal financial company known as "La Cutufa." Army Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Elissalde Muller, Head of the Economy Department. ID 3.118.465-7. As head of the Personnel Sub-directorate, he paid the agents' salaries through the front companies "Villar y Reyes" and "Elissalde y Poblete." At least until the late 90s, he lived on one of his extensive properties in the southern part of the country. Major Carlos Rafael Parera Silva, Alias "Luis Gutiérrez," ID 3.090.193-2. Head of the Foreign Department (successor to Iturriaga Neumann). In 1973, he was Second Commander of the Black Berets in Peldehue. When the DINA was dissolved, he rejoined the Army and was assigned as Commander of the Dolores Regiment, Director of the Paratrooper and Special Forces School, and in 1985 military attaché in France. In the government of Patricio Aylwin, he was Military Attaché at the Chilean embassy in South Africa. Andrés Terrise Castro. Agent of the Psychological Operations Department, where he performed functions of covering up crimes and preparing propaganda campaigns. He continued in the CNI and the DINE as a civil agent. Today he appears as a businessman of an advertising firm based in the Ciudad Empresarial of Huechuraba. Major Rolf Gonzalo Wenderoth Pozo, head of Villa Grimaldi. ID 3.870.222-K. He was the boss and lover of Luz Arce. In 1985, he was military attaché in the Federal Republic of Germany, retiring in 1987 to go south, where many high DINA hierarchs have extensive areas of land. Major Julio Cerda Carrasco, Head of Security of the Central Barracks (Belgrano). Responsible for disappearances and executions in Cerro Chena. He retired in December 2002 as Commander-in-Chief of the IV Army Division. Army Captain Eugenio Armando Videla Valdebenito, operative agent. ID 4.209.466-8. He participated in the Tejas Verdes courses before belonging to the DINA. He was director of the Tejas Verdes Engineer School and governor of San Antonio. In active service until the early 90s, he came to be part of the Army General Staff. Army Lieutenant Juan Viterbo Chiminelli Fullerton, ID 3.704.546-2. Agent of the Foreign Department. In 1973, he served in the aviation command and was one of the pilots who accompanied General Arellano Stark to the south and north of the country in the "Caravan of Death." In 1974, he became part of the DINA. "Funado" at his home on Avenida El Bosque Norte and his work at the mining company Kvaerner-Chile, of Dutch origin. Lieutenant Ricardo Víctor Lawrence Mires, 5.392.869-2, Head of the Halcón 1 Brigade. Alias "cachete grande." Prosecuted for numerous cases of kidnapping, execution, and torture, including the disappearance of María Cecilia Labrín Sazo, who was in an advanced state of pregnancy. He was "funado" at Tabancura 1382, his workplace at the shrimp distributor "Kamaron Bay," where he uses the alias "Ricardo Flores" in his contact with owners of numerous restaurants in Santiago. Carabinero Lieutenant Emilio Patricio Sajuria Alvear, partner of the front company Pedro Diet Lobos. ID 5.122.525-2. "Funado" at Telefónica, where he worked in its Legal Department. Today he works as a lawyer for tourism companies. Carabinero Sub-lieutenant Gerardo Ernesto Godoy García, Head of the Tucán Support Group and Head of Venda Sexy. Alias "cachete chico." Until March 1991, with the rank of major, he was head of the Ancud police station. After that date, he was transferred to Santiago. Today he is convicted for the kidnapping of Miguel Angel Sandoval, having to be transferred to Punta Peuco II, although he is still seen around his house in La Reina. Carabinero Officer Gerardo Alejandro Aravena Longa, operative agent. ID 4.567.685-4. Involved in the execution of five political prisoners in Cuesta Barriga and in the disappearance of José Guillermo Barrera. At the end of the DINA, he went to the CNI and in 1985 returned to the Carabineros, retiring as a commander. Today he is General Manager of Radio Santiago. Army Officer Mario Alejandro Jara Seguel. ID 3.319.824-8. Head of the DINA barracks in the IV Region, based in Coquimbo. At another time, he was in command of the brigade that operated in Rocas de Santo Domingo. Personal friend of Manuel Contreras. He acquired a plot of land between Coquimbo and La Serena where he would live with his former secretary, named Nancy.

Joint Command Terrorism from the FACH The so-called Joint Command (CC) was an intelligence group that operated approximately between the end of 1975 and 1976, and whose main objective was the repression of the so-called Central Force of the MIR, and the central committees of the Party and the Communist Youth.

During this period, according to the Rettig Report, it was responsible for the disappearance of about 30 people. Other sources speak of more than 70. The CC was formed mainly by agents belonging to the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (DIFA) and later with significant participation by personnel from the Carabinero Intelligence Directorate (DICAR).

It also counted, to a lesser extent, on the participation of agents from the Naval Intelligence Service (SIN) and some personnel from the Army Intelligence Directorate (DINE). In addition, members of the Chilean Investigative Police and civilians from the extreme right-wing group Patria y Libertad collaborated in that Command.

The beginnings at the AGA Witnesses who survived the torture of the Air War Academy remember as their torturers, among others, generals Orlando Gutiérrez Bravo and Juan Soler Manfredini; commanders Sergio Lizasoaín Mitrano, Edgar Cevallos Jones, Jaime Lavín Fariña, Carlos Godoy Avendaño, Juan Bautista González, Ramón Cáceres Jorquera, and Humberto Velásquez Estay; the FACH colonel and doctor Humberto Berg Fontecilla; colonels Sergio Sanhueza López and Javier Lopetegui Torres; captains León Duffey Treskoff (who reached the rank of general within the FACH), Alberto Waschtendorf, Juan Carlos Sandoval, Alvaro Gutiérrez (currently residing in Melipilla), Jaime Lemus, Víctor Mattig Guzmán, Florencio Dublé, Contreras, and Hernán Fucshlogher (head of the permanent guard); lawyer Julio Tapia Falk (brain of the war council and main advisor to General Leigh. Appointed rector at the U. de Chile, lawyer for Manuel Contreras when he tried to take refuge in the Talcahuano Naval Hospital and, lately, plaintiff against the play "Arturo Prat." He works in his private law firm in the Providencia commune, on Santa Magdalena street), legal advisors Cristián Rodríguez, Jaime Cruzat Corvera (who has his office in the middle of Paseo Huérfanos), and Víctor Barahona; lieutenants Juan Carlos Sandoval, Luis Campos, José García Huidobro, Franklin Bello, and Gonzalo Pérez Canto; sergeant Hugo "chuncho" Lizana, non-commissioned officer Juan Normabuena, corporal Eduardo Cartagena, and 2nd corporal Gabriel Cortés (who changed his name). by Julio Oliva García

Source: elsiglo.cl, December 10, 2004

Lawyer and former FACh member Julio Tapia Falk passed away

The professional served as a colonel (J) in that military institution and held the rectorship of the University of Chile, as an appointee, in the 1970s. This Thursday, the death of lawyer Julio Tapia Falk, who served as appointed rector of the University of Chile between 1975 and 1976, was reported.

The professional was part of the Chilean Air Force (FACh), where he held the rank of colonel (J), and was an advisor to the Military Junta and to the then Commander-in-Chief of the air institution, Gustavo Leigh.

Tapia Falk was also the legal representative of the former head of the DINA, Manuel Contreras, during the period in which the military officer took refuge in the Talcahuano Naval Hospital in the 90s. In 2002, the lawyer filed a protection appeal against the play "Prat," considering it dishonorable to the memory of the hero of Iquique.

His relatives reported that the funeral of Julio Tapia Falk will take place this Thursday at the General Cemetery, after a mass that will be held at the Santa María de Las Condes church at 12:00 hours.

Source: emol.cl, April 3, 2014