Minister Marianela Cifuentes issues indictment for the aggravated kidnapping of Cristian Cartagena Pérez.

In the resolution, Minister Cifuentes held Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza, José Osvaldo Retamal Burgos, Rogelio Lelan Villarroel Venegas, Rubén Darío González Carrasco, and Juan Francisco Luzoro Montenegro responsible as perpetrators of the crime.

The visiting minister for human rights violation cases of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes, issued an indictment against 3 retired Carabineros and 2 civilians for their responsibility in the aggravated kidnapping of Cristian Víctor Cartagena Pérez, committed starting on September 18, 1973, in the commune of Paine.

According to the evidence gathered during the investigation phase, the visiting minister established the following facts: a) That, on the early morning of September 18, 1973, a caravan composed of Carabineros officers from the Paine Sub-precinct, including Rogelio Lelan Villarroel Venegas and civilians Rubén Darío González Carrasco and Juan Francisco Luzoro Montenegro, arrived at the home of teacher Cristian Víctor Cartagena Pérez, located inside School No. 38 of Chada, in the commune of Paine. b) That, after raiding said location, the group detained Cristian Víctor Cartagena Pérez without legal authority and, immediately thereafter, transported him to the Paine Sub-precinct, a police unit which, at the time, was under the command of Captain Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza, where he was received at the guard post by officer José Osvaldo Retamal Burgos, and kept in illegal confinement, with his whereabouts remaining unknown to this day.

Source: diarioconstitucional.cl, September 3, 2018

Minister Marianela Cifuentes sentences retired Carabineros and civilians for the aggravated kidnapping of a rural teacher

The extraordinary visiting minister for human rights violation cases of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón, sentenced two retired Carabineros officers and two civilians, including costs, for their responsibility in the consummated crime of the aggravated kidnapping of the teacher from the Chada local school, Cristián Víctor Cartagena Pérez.

The illicit act was perpetrated starting on September 18, 1973, in the commune of Paine. In the ruling (case file 4-2002), the visiting minister sentenced Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza, a Carabineros captain at the time of the events, to an effective prison term of 12 years as a perpetrator of the crime; meanwhile, former Carabinero Rogelio Lelan Villaroel Venegas must serve 10 years in prison as an executing perpetrator of the crime.

In the case of civilians Rubén Darío González Carrasco and Juan Francisco Luzoro Montenegro, the court imposed effective prison sentences of 8 years as executing perpetrators of the crime. In the civil sphere, the ruling accepted the filed claim, ordering the state to pay a total compensation of $260,000,000 (two hundred and sixty million pesos) for moral damages to the victim's spouse and children.

In the ruling, Minister Cifuentes Alarcón established the following facts: “ 1° That, at the time of the events, Cristián Víctor Cartagena Pérez, a teacher and member of the Partido Comunista, lived with his spouse Holanda Haydée Vidal Caballero—also a teacher—and their young children at the Chada School, where he held the position of Director. 2° That on the early morning of September 18, 1973, Cristián Cartagena Pérez was detained without legal authority at the Chada School, in the presence of his family, by police officers assigned to the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct, including Sergeant José Osvaldo Retamal Burgos and Carabinero Rogelio Lelan Villaroel Venegas, accompanied by civilians Rubén Darío González Carrasco and Juan Francisco Luzoro Montenegro, among others. 3° That, immediately thereafter, he was transported to the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct, where he was kept in illegal confinement and subjected to mistreatment, with his whereabouts remaining unknown to this day. 4° That the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct was under the command of Captain Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza”.

Source: pjud.cl, July 6, 2022

San Miguel Court confirms sentences for the crime against a rural teacher from the town of Chada in 1973

The San Miguel Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence that convicted two former Carabineros officers (a former officer and a former carabinero) and two civilian individuals for their responsibility in the aggravated kidnapping of rural teacher Cristián Víctor Cartagena Pérez, perpetrated starting on September 18, 1973, in the town of Chada, commune of Paine.

In a unanimous ruling (case file 1968-2022), the First Chamber of the appellate court—composed of ministers María Catalina González Torres, Dora Mondaca Rosales, and acting lawyer Ignacio Castillo Val—ratified the sentence issued by extraordinary visiting minister Marianela Cifuentes Alarcón, which sentenced former Carabineros officer Nelson Iván Bravo Espinoza, as a perpetrator of the crime, to an effective prison term of 12 years.

At the time of the events, this individual held the rank of captain and served as head of the Paine Sub-precinct and the Buin Sub-precinct. Meanwhile, former carabinero Rogelio Lelan Villaroel Venegas was sentenced to an effective prison term of 10 years as an executing perpetrator.

The far-right civilian individuals Juan Francisco Luzoro Montenegro and Rubén Darío González Carrasco were sentenced to 8 years of effective imprisonment as executing perpetrators. Other Carabineros and civilian individuals involved in this crime (and others committed in that commune) have passed away during the course of the proceedings.

For his part, the convicted former Carabineros colonel Nelson Bravo Espinoza is currently incarcerated at the Punta Peuco prison, serving sentences for other criminal acts perpetrated in the immediate aftermath of the military coup in the commune of Paine, such as the episodes of Campo Lindo, Canal Viluco, Panadería El Sol, La Estrella, Díaz Manríquez, Godoy Román, Martínez Vera, and Silva Carreño.

The judicial investigation established that the teacher and member of the Partido Comunista Cristián Cartagena Pérez, 30 years of age, was the Director of the Chada School, where he lived with his spouse, also a teacher at that school, and their young children.

During the early morning of September 18, 1973, teacher Cartagena Pérez was detained at his place of residence by police officers from the Paine Carabineros Sub-precinct, including Sergeant José Osvaldo Retamal Burgos (now deceased) and Carabinero Rogelio Lelan Villarroel Venegas, accompanied by right-wing civilians Rubén Darío González Carrasco and Juan Francisco Luzoro Montenegro, among others.

Immediately thereafter, they transported him to the Paine Sub-precinct, where he was kept in illegal confinement, subjected to interrogation and torture, and from where he was forcibly disappeared, with his whereabouts remaining unknown to this day. by Darío Núñez

Source: resumen.cl, May 9, 2023