On April 2, 1976, former Communist parliamentarian Bernardo ARAYA ZULETA was arrested at his home in Quintero. During the same operation, the victim's spouse, María Olga FLORES BARRAZA, his brother-in-law Juan Flores Barraza, and his grandchildren Ninoska Henríquez, Wladimir Henríquez, and Eduardo Araya—all minors—were also detained.

They were taken to a detention center located in Santiago, from where Juan Flores and the victims' grandchildren were later released. Bernardo Araya and María Flores disappeared from that same location a few days later; according to witnesses, both were in very poor condition as a result of torture.

In the legal proceedings initiated by the detention of the victims, a retired Carabineros officer testified that in mid-March 1976, two agents who identified themselves as members of the DINA arrived at his home and requested permission to monitor the Araya-Flores couple's house, which they did for several days.

This was confirmed by another Carabinero, who went to the location at the request of a neighbor who had noticed the surveillance, and to whom the agents showed their identification cards (Tifas).

The Ministry of the Interior provided a negative report regarding the couple's detention. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later informed ECLAC that Bernardo Araya had recorded an exit from the country on April 7, 1976, through the Arturo Merino Benítez Airport, and that María Flores had recorded an exit from national territory on that same date through the Los Libertadores border crossing.

On August 31, 1978, the same Ministry informed the court that Bernardo Araya had recorded an exit from the country on the indicated date through the Los Libertadores crossing, and that María Flores had no travel records.

Finally, on September 10, 1979, the Chief Prefect of International Police and Foreigners informed the court that both victims had recorded an exit from national territory on April 7, 1976, through the Los Libertadores crossing.

In view of all the evidence and the contradictory versions provided by the authorities, in addition to other similar accounts that were proven to be false, the Commission has reached the conviction that the Araya-Flores couple are victims of forced disappearance committed by DINA agents, in violation of their human rights.

Bernardo Araya Zuleta, married, father of four, former deputy for the Communist Party, and National Leader of the CUT (Central Workers' Union), was detained on April 2, 1976, at approximately 10:30 p.m., at his home located at Calle Barros Luco No. 1220, in the city of Quinteros, Valparaíso Province.

He was seized by approximately seven agents of the DINA (National Intelligence Directorate), who jumped over the front garden fence and entered the home. In the same operation, along with Araya Zuleta, the following were detained: his spouse, María Olga Flores Barraza, who, like the victim, remains a forcibly disappeared person; his brother-in-law, Juan Flores Barraza; and his grandchildren Ninoska Henríquez, Wladimir Henríquez, and Eduardo Araya.

The latter three were minors, aged 9, 15, and 9, respectively.

The entire family group was taken to a detention center in Santiago in two vehicles: a light blue car and a taxi. Before entering the city of Santiago, the detainees were blindfolded with adhesive tape and had cotton placed in their ears.

Once at the facility—a two-story house with two small windows on the front and a large one on the upper floor, surrounded by fences and with a large backyard—the detainees were interrogated separately.

In that place, Bernardo Araya was taken to the second floor of the house, where he was savagely tortured; he was hung by his arms and subjected to heavy beatings. The rest of the group was kept on the first floor of the building, where they could hear Mr.

Bernardo being beaten and his cries of pain. It was then that Mrs. María Olga requested to see her husband; her torturers agreed, an experience that deeply affected her. From that moment on, everyone was moved to the second floor, except for Juan Flores.

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on April 3, the latter heard his sister being brought down from the second floor and taken to an unknown destination, apparently along with her spouse, Bernardo Araya. From that date on, he never heard from them again nor learned anything more about them.

Around 10:00 p.m. that same day, Juan Flores and the grandchildren of the Araya Flores couple were put into a vehicle and, after about half an hour, were released about five blocks from the home of Alberto Araya, the son of Bernardo and María Olga.

A witness to the imprisonment of the Araya Flores couple was Carlos Mario Ossandón Cañas, who was detained on April 10, 1976, by a commando unit composed of military personnel and Carabineros. Ossandón, who was taken to a two-story house located in a passageway with an entrance and exit to Calle Vivaceta, remembers seeing them together in the hallway, she sitting on a chair and Mr.

Bernardo Araya kneeling on the floor. On one occasion, he was able to speak with them, so he had no doubt about the identity of these two detainees. He, like other detainees in that facility, saw a map and an organizational chart of the Communist Party in an interrogation room.

He also heard one of the agents say, "I have an old man from the Central Committee here," clearly referring to Bernardo Araya. This witness notes that while he was held at the facility where he saw the Araya Flores couple detained, he also saw the then-Director of the DINA, Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, at the location.

Among the agents who participated in the detention, Juan Marino Flores, María Olga's brother, was able to recognize a former foreman from the Quinteros Municipality, Alfonso Córdoba Cisternas, nicknamed "Pelacho," who later denied his participation in the described events.

Two agents, referred to as Gerardo and Lalo, respectively, also participated in the operation. Another agent, in this case at the detention site, was a young woman who called herself or was called María (La) Paz.

The Santiago residence where Bernardo Araya and his wife had lived before September 11, 1973, and which, at the time of the events, was occupied by the family of their daughter María Mónica—located at Calle Sorrento No. 629, in the Población Lautaro, Pudahuel commune—was raided on five occasions in joint operations by Carabineros, civilians, and military personnel, whose objective was to detain Bernardo Araya.

Precisely with those intentions, this home was under permanent surveillance for about fifteen days prior to the detention. Furthermore, for such purposes, DINA agents—including a young woman who called herself "Lola" and two men referred to as Eduardo and Iván—installed themselves in a neighboring house belonging to retired Carabinero Sub-officer Guillermo Retamal, who facilitated it for those purposes.

It should be noted that the family of the Araya Flores couple lived amidst the search while facing extremely serious and multiple security problems. The children who were detained along with their grandparents and siblings had to go into exile, as did their father.

The eldest of the children at that time, Wladimir Henríquez Araya, was killed by CNI agents in June 1987; he had entered the country clandestinely. A daughter, Mónica Araya Flores, was one of the teachers kidnapped by Carabineros at the AGECH when three communist professionals were throat-slit in March 1985 by the same apprehending Carabineros.

Despite the multiple efforts made to save the lives of the Araya Flores couple and the serious security problems experienced by their relatives, Bernardo Araya Zuleta and Olga Flores Barraza remain in the status of forcibly disappeared persons.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On April 5, 1976, a Writ of Amparo (Habeas Corpus) under Roll No. 264-76 was filed before the Santiago Court of Appeals in favor of Bernardo Araya Zuleta and María Olga Flores Barraza, which was rejected on May 26, 1976, based solely on a report from the Ministry of the Interior, which denied the detention by order of that State Secretariat.

On the 31st of the same month, said resolution was confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Although the Ministry of the Interior, first in the amparo and later in the proceedings for alleged disappearance, permanently denied the detention of the couple and claimed to be unaware of their whereabouts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated to the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) that Bernardo Araya had recorded an exit from the country on April 7, 1976, through Pudahuel, and that María Flores had recorded an exit from the country on the indicated date through the "Los Libertadores" border crossing.

On August 31, 1978, the same Ministry informed the Court that Bernardo Araya had recorded an exit from the country on the indicated date through the "Los Libertadores" crossing and that María Flores had no travel records.

Finally, on September 10, 1979, the Prefect Chief of International Police and Foreigners informed the Court that both affected parties had recorded an exit from the national territory on April 7, 1976, through the "Los Libertadores" crossing.

On June 17, 1976, the Eleventh Criminal Court of Santiago received the records sent by the Santiago Court of Appeals, which ordered it to investigate the events that led to the disappearance of Bernardo Araya Zuleta and María Olga Flores Barraza; these were consolidated into Case No. 6.149-7, which was investigating the same events in that Court, following a complaint filed on May 3, 1976, for the crime of kidnapping against persons named Lalo, Gerardo, and Marcela Paz or Marcela La Paz, and whoever else might be responsible.

In those proceedings, retired Carabinero Sub-officer Juan Guillermo Retamal Fuentealba testified, stating that in mid-March 1976, two agents arrived at his home identifying themselves by showing credentials belonging to the DINA, and requested his authorization to monitor the home of the Araya Flores couple from his house, which they did for several days.

This situation was confirmed by Carabinero Mario Segundo González Espinoza, who went to that location at the request of a neighbor who noticed the surveillance; the agents identified themselves to him as DINA officials, showing their respective Armed Forces Identification Cards (TIFAS).

This case was temporarily dismissed on November 15, 1978, and reopened on the 20th of the same month and year. It was closed again on May 3, 1978, by virtue of the Amnesty Law (D.L. No. 2.191), a resolution that was not rejected by the Court. After this last date, the summary was closed and reopened on two other occasions.

However, various relevant situations in the development of the process must be highlighted. For example, on July 14, 1976, the Santiago Court of Appeals, in the processing of another Writ of Amparo, Roll No. 525-76, ordered the case to be remitted to that Court, returning the files to the 11th Criminal Court of Santiago only on July 5, 1977—that is, after one year had passed.

On May 3, 1978, by virtue of the recent enactment of Decree Law 2.191 (Amnesty Law) and Article 93 of the Penal Code, the Judge decreed a definitive dismissal. However, the Prosecutor of the Santiago Court of Appeals, despite having approved this ruling, declared that it is a prerequisite that it be proven that a criminal act has been committed for the Amnesty Law to operate, which had not occurred in the proceedings.

This declaration gave the dismissal a temporary character, which was confirmed by the Court.

On August 24, 1978, the reopening of the summary was requested, which was decreed on the 30th. On July 12, 1979, the Visiting Minister Servando Jordán decreed that the processing of this case would continue under his visit, temporarily dismissing it on October 31, 1979, a resolution that was confirmed by the Supreme Court on December 24, 1979.

It should be noted that multiple efforts were made on behalf of the Araya Flores couple, both nationally and internationally, to determine their fate; one of these was the filing of a Writ of Amparo presented in April 1977 by Italian organizations.

Regarding this Writ, the Santiago Court of Appeals determined on April 21 of that year that, in order to proceed with the Writ, it had to be proven that it was filed by persons capable of appearing in court. The writ was ultimately not accepted for processing.

The cases of Bernardo Araya Zuleta and María Olga Flores Barraza were included in the list of cases presented in the complaint against the former Director of the DINA, then-Colonel Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda.

This process was filed with the 2nd Military Prosecutor's Office and was registered under No. 553-78. 37 files were consolidated into it, most of them coming from the investigation carried out by the Visiting Minister for cases of forcibly disappeared persons in Santiago; others came from resolutions of incompetence requested by the same Military Prosecutor's Office.

Especially during the visit of Minister Servando Jordán, important information was processed regarding the actions, the identity of the agents, the resources they had at their disposal, and the DINA detention centers.

In March 1983, the Military Prosecutor instructing the process requested the total and definitive dismissal of this case, a ruling that was confirmed in 1992 by the Martial Court. The plaintiff's side filed a complaint, and in December 1992, the case was awaiting a ruling in the Supreme Court.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity