PART THREE
Chapter One (A.2)

September through December 1973 (continued)

1. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS OR PERSONS WORKING FOR THEM (continued)
   
   
   2. CASES (continued)
      
      
      1. Metropolitan Region (continued)
         
         
         2. Cases of grave human rights violations in the Metropolitan Region
            
            We will now present in chronological order all the cases throughout this region from September 11, 1973 to the end of that year in which the Commission concluded that human rights were gravely violated and that the result was the death or disappearance of the victim. For the sake of clarity, a few particular areas are presented separately, since events there are better understood if viewed by themselves (Lonquén, Paine, Peldehue and San Bernardo).
            
            On the morning of September 11, 1973, armed forces troops began to attack La Moneda Palace. The president of the republic, Salvador Allende, was inside the building together with a group of his closest aides and members of his security guard. At about 1:00 p.m. after the palace had been bombed, President Allende asked Osvaldo Puccio, Fernando Flores, Minister and General Secretary of Government, and Daniel Vergara, Undersecretary of the Interior, to go to the Ministry of Defense in order to meet with the generals who were gathered there.
            
            When the president was told that the only kind of agreement possible was unconditional surrender, he asked the last group of people remaining with him to leave the palace. An eyewitness says, "At 2 p.m. Salvador Allende said that this was a massacre, that we should surrender and go down single file carrying a white flag, and with nothing in our pockets. The troops were already on the first floor." At 1:45 p.m. when this last group of people went out the door leading to Calle Morandé, troops from the Tacna and Buin Regiments and a reserve unit came into the palace through several entrances.
            
            According to several witnesses, the general in charge of the operation came into La Moneda, went up to the Salon Independencia and there found the lifeless body of President Salvador ALLENDE GOSSENS. At his side was Doctor Patricio Guijón, who says that at about 2:00 p.m., while he was at the end of the line of those leaving the building, he decided to return to get a gas mask. As he was passing by the Salon Independencia he looked inside and saw the president with an automatic rifle in his hands; at that very moment the bullets tore into his body.
            
            With this information, the Commission has been obliged to conclude that President Salvador Allende took his own life. His case is unquestionably unique. The Commission has not regarded it as either possible or relevant to assess the death of President Allende in accordance with the criteria that it has been obliged to use in examining other cases. In so doing the Commission is not evading its responsibility. It is true that in a very deep sense the case of Salvador Allende is no different from so many other cases this Commission has examined. His life, like any life, is unique in its essential dignity and individuality. His relatives' grief is worthy of all respect. Nevertheless, it is utterly clear that the office he held, the historic circumstances of his death and the undeniable connotations of his final decision confer on his death a meaning that goes beyond the capabilities and responsibilities that this Commission seeks to elucidate.
            
            The day President Allende took his life and the circumstances under which he did so mark the extremes of division in Chilean society. We think we see signs that this division is being overcome; with this report we hope to make a contribution toward the drawing together that we all need. To that end and in conscience the Commission respectfully bows to the grief of all who have deep feelings over the death of President Allende, and defers to Chilean society itself and to history the judgement to be made concerning the circumstances in which it took place and its significance.
            
            Soldiers removed two wounded members of the president's security guard from inside the palace and took them to the Central Emergency Clinic. These were Antonio AGUIRRE VASQUEZ, 29, and Osvaldo RAMOS RIVERA, 22, both members of the Socialist party. In both cases there is evidence that they remained inside the Central Emergency Clinic in Santiago and that solders took them away from there. Since that moment their whereabouts are unknown. Given that they were taken from La Moneda to the Central Clinic and there is proof that they remained there and were then taken away by military troops, the Commission concludes that the human rights of Antonio Aguirre and Osvaldo Ramos were violated since government agents were responsible for their disappearance.
            
            Augusto OLIVARES BECERRA committed suicide before President Allende's death and before Fernando Flores, the Minister of Government, and his two colleagues left La Moneda Palace. He was a journalist, a Socialist, a news editor at the national television channel, and an advisor to President Allende. He was on the first floor of the building together with some civilians. From the evidence it gathered, the Commission concluded that he withdrew to a bathroom located under a stairway. Bystanders heard the shot. The bullet went into his forehead, and he lay dying. One of the doctors inside the palace described how he lay Olivares' head on his own lap, and a few moments later saw that he was dead. The fact that Augusto Olivares took his own life as La Moneda was surrounded and being attacked leads the Commission to regard him as a victim of the situation of political violence.
            
            The group that went out of the palace onto Calle Morandé was apprehended by troops and forced to lie face down on the ground. In this group were aides to the president, members of his security guard, doctors who were on duty in La Moneda, and members of the investigative police. At that point most of the doctors present were set free-except for those who were advisors to the president and who will be mentioned below. The rest were taken to the sidewalk where they were kept lying on the ground.
            
            At 6:00 p.m. this group was taken to the Tacna Regiment in two military vehicles. There they were kept lying on the ground face down with their hands behind their neck from the evening of September 11 until noon on September 13. On September 12, the members of the investigative police were released, except for one who was kept there until noon on the 13th when he also was released.
            
            According to evidence gathered, the Commission is in a position to assure that the group that remained at the Tacna Regiment until noon on the 13th was made up of nine advisors and staff members of the presidency of the republic and fifteen members of the presidential security guard. As has been noted, the evidence gathered makes it clear that the former head of the investigative police, Eduardo Paredes was also held at the Tacna Regiment until September 13. This Commission does not find credible the story that Paredes was killed in an armed clash as the press at that time reported. The members of this group of aides and staff members of the presidential office were:
            
            Jaime BARRIOS MEZA, 47, former general manager of the Central Bank, presidential aide;
            
            Daniel ESCOBAR CRUZ, 37, Communist party activist, chief of staff of the Undersecretary of the Interior;
            
            Enrique HUERTA CORVALAN, 48, administrator of the palace;
            
            Claudio JIMENO GRENDI, 33, sociologist, Socialist party leader, presidential advisor;
            
            Jorge KLEIN PIPPER, 27, psychiatrist, Communist party leader, presidential advisor;
            
            Eduardo PAREDES BARRIENTOS, 34, surgeon, Socialist party leader, former head of the investigative police, director of Chile-Films, presidential advisor;
            
            Enrique PARIS ROA, 40, psychiatrist, Communist party leader, presidential advisor;
            
            Héctor PINCHEIRA NUñEZ, 28, doctor, presidential media advisor and
            
            Arsenio POUPIN OSSIEL, 38, member of the Central Committee of the Socialist party, lawyer, ex-deputy director of the investigative police, presidential advisor.
            
            The following members of the presidential security guard were also part of this group:
            
            Manuel CASTRO ZAMORANO, 23;
            
            Sergio CONTRERAS CONTRERAS, 40, journalist, head of public relations of the governorship [of Santiago province];
            
            José FREIRE MEDINA, 20;
            
            Daniel GUTIERREZ AYALA, 25;
            
            Oscar LAGOS RIOS, 21, leader of the Socialist Youth;
            
            Oscar MARAMBIO ARAYA, 20;
            
            Juan MONTIGLIO MURUA, 24;
            
            Julio MORENO PULGAR, 24, telephone operator and courier in La Moneda;
            
            Jorge ORREGO GONZALEZ, 29;
            
            Oscar RAMIREZ BARRIA, 23;
            
            Luis RODRIGUEZ RIQUELME, 26;
            
            Jaime SOTELO OJEDA, 33, head of the presidential bodyguard;
            
            Julio TAPIA MARTINEZ, 24;
            
            Oscar VALLADARES CAROCA, 23; and
            
            Juan VARGAS CONTRERAS, 23.
            
            All of them were also active members of the Socialist party.
            
            The members of this group of presidential aides and bodyguards were loaded onto military trucks with their hands and feet tied and taken from the regimental headquarters to an unknown destination. Consistent testimony indicates that the military vehicle headed toward Peldehue to a piece of land that belonged to the Tacna Regiment, where they must have been executed and buried. Since that date all of them are among those who disappeared after arrest. The Commission was informed that one of the members of the security guard was able to fool his captors by moving from this group to another and was then released. It is very unlikely that he is one of those listed above.
            
            In view of the fact that this group of the president's aides left La Moneda Palace onto Calle Morandé at about 2:00 p.m., where they were arrested by government agents, held on a military installation and from there taken by government agents toward an unknown destination, this Commission has reached a conviction that they were all victims of human rights violations, since the government agents who were holding them were responsible for their disappearance.
            
            A similar and related case is that of a group of persons who were arrested outside La Moneda Palace at around 8:45 a.m. All were members of the presidential security guard who were arriving at this moment in a pickup truck and were arrested by police. Evidence gathered enables us to say that at least the following people were picked up under those circumstances:
            
            Domingo BLANCO TARRES, 32;
            
            Carlos CRUZ ZAVALA, 30; and
            
            Gonzalo JORQUERA LEYTON, 27.
            
            All of them were active members of the Socialist party.
            
            The same thing happened to Enrique ROPERT CONTRERAS, 20, an active member of the Socialist party and an economics major at the University of Chile who was the son of Miriam Contreras, President Allende's secretary. The young man arrived at the same moment to drop off his mother. As she was getting out of the car, the police arrested him. This Commission examined photographs of the moment in which Ropert was put into a police vehicle.
            
            All of these people were taken to the Santiago governor's office. At 11:00 a.m. that same day they were taken out and transferred to the Sixth police station. The bodies of all of them except Domingo Blanco Tarrés were found on the banks of the Mapocho under the Bulnes Bridge in late September. Members of the investigative police took Blanco to the Santiago Preventive Detention Center, which he left on September 19, 1973 by order of the Second Military Prosecutor's Office of Santiago. Since then his status has been that of the disappeared.
            
            Since there is enough evidence to state that all these people were arrested by government agents, and that subsequently three of them were found dead of bullet wounds by the Bulnes Bridge over the Mapocho River and one of them disappeared after having been taken out of the Santiago Preventive Detention Center also by government agents, this Commission has reached a conviction that they were victims of human rights violations carried out by those agents against the persons of Domingo Blanco Tarrés, Carlos Cruz Zabala, Gonzalo Jorquera Leyton and Enrique Ropert Contreras.
            
            That same day, September 11, two other members of the presidential security guard were stopped by a military patrol as they were trying to travel on the Panamerican Highway from Talca to Santiago to join the others in their group. Their names are:
            
            Francisco LARA RUIZ, 22; and
            
            Wagner SALINAS MUÑOZ, 30, both of whom were active in the Socialist party.
            
            They were in Talca, and when they heard what had happened they decided to head toward Santiago. At the outskirts of Curicó they were intercepted by a military patrol. After examining documents certifying that they belonged to the presidential security guard, the patrol arrested them and took them to the jail in Curicó. The police advised that on September 30, 1973 they were released from that jail but were handed over to government agents "with a lock and chain, and both of them were shackled." Their remains were turned over to their relatives at the Santiago morgue. Their deaths were certified to have taken place on October 5, 1973, and bullet wounds were said to be the cause. Given these antecedents, the Commission is convinced that government agents were responsible for the deaths of Francisco Lara Ruiz and Wagner Salinas Muñoz.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Manuel OJEDA DISSELKOEN, 30, an engineer, active in the MIR, and member of the presidential security guard, was killed in the Indumet factory. That day he went to the factory in the morning. Several days later, after searching for him in a number of places, his family identified his body at the Medical Legal Institute. The death certificate declares that he died of a bullet wound. On the basis of evidence gathered, this Commission is convinced that Manuel Ojeda was killed in a gun battle as a result of the situation of political violence at that time.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Jorge Claudio ARAVENA MARDONES, 23, a university student who was a consultant to the investigative police, lost his life in a gun battle. According to testimony given to the Commission, on that date he was involved in a clash with armed forces troops in which he lost his life as a result of "bullet wounds" as indicated on his death certificate. Thus, the Commission came to the conviction that Aravena Mardones was killed in a gun battle that resulted from the situation of political violence at that time.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Guillermo Jesús ARENAS DIAZ, 25, a bookkeeper who was an active Socialist, was arrested by government agents at his job at SOCORA (Agrarian Reform Marketing Association). He and others who were arrested with him were taken to the Chile Stadium and from there transferred to the National Stadium. That was the last place one of his co-workers saw him alive. His fate and final whereabouts are unknown. The Commission came to the conviction that government agents were responsible for his disappearance, which constituted a violation of his human rights. The grounds for that conviction are that his arrest and presence in arrest sites has been attested, that since that time there has been no information about him, and that he did not leave the country after that date, nor has he been involved in any administrative procedures that would leave a record of him.
            
            On September 11, 1973, José Agustín FARFAN VERDUGO, 42, a construction worker who was an active Socialist, was killed. On that day he reported to work, but all employees were being told to return home because of what was happening. When José Farfán failed to arrive, his relatives looked for him in a number of places. About ten days later at the Central Emergency Clinic they learned that he had died there. At the Medical Legal Institute his body was turned over to them for burial. The death certificate states that he died at about 6:00 p.m. on September 11, 1973, and that the cause of death was multiple bullet wounds. Without evidence on the precise circumstances of José Farfán's death, the Commission came to the conviction that he died as a victim of the violence prevailing at that time. That conviction is based on the date and direct cause of his death, bullet wounds.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Emperatriz del Tránsito VILLAGRA, 38, a married homemaker, disappeared. That day she left home as she generally did to take lunch to her husband who was working at a factory in Los Cerrillos. Since then there has been no trace of Emperatriz Villagra, despite the efforts of her husband to find her some months later. That same day he had been arrested at work and later sent to the Chacabuco prison camp and therefore was not informed of the situation until he returned home. There he learned that his wife had disappeared, his house had been burned down, and his children had been taken in by different neighbors. The Commission came to the conviction that Emperatriz del Tránsito Villagra was a victim of the violence reigning at that time and could not determine the precise circumstances in which she disappeared or perhaps was killed. Her disappearance, however, was not voluntary but resulted from action by third parties. That conviction is based on the victim's prior family circumstances (it is unlikely that she would abandon her children at the very moment when it was particularly dangerous in the country), and on the fact that during those days a large number of people lost their lives or disappeared as a result of the reigning violence, and that since the time of her disappearance there has been no indication of her whereabouts.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Hugo Fernando SANDOVAL IBAÑEZ, 28, an office worker, was killed. He left home that day and did not return. Days later his family was told that he was being held at the Central Emergency Clinic for treatment of bullet wounds. When they went there they were told that he had died on September 14 due to "many bullet wounds to the chest cavity with complications and wounds to the abdominal cavity," as stated on his death certificate. Although it received no testimony as to the precise circumstances that led to the death of Hugo Sandoval, the Committee came to the conviction that he lost his life due to the violence in the country at that time. The grounds for that conviction are the direct cause of his death and the date it took place.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Luis Antonio ROJAS ROJAS, 29, an office worker, was killed in his house in the General Velásquez shantytown. His death certificate says that he died "due to a bullet in the abdominal tract." Although this Commission has no knowledge of the circumstances under which he died, the cause of his death led it to the conviction that Rojas Rojas was killed as a result of the situation of political violence in the country.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Iván Octavio MIRANDA SEPULVEDA, 28, a lathe operator and labor leader, disappeared. On that day he left his home on Calle Lo Franco headed toward an unknown destination. Since that day there has been no word on his whereabouts. This Commission has come to the conviction that the disappearance of Iván Miranda Sepúlveda was a result of political circumstances and constituted a violation of his human rights. In doing so it has taken into account the fact that he was a union leader, that he disappeared in a context of instability and political violence and that since then there has been no indication of Miranda's whereabouts, and no death certificate or record of any transaction that might indicate he is alive.
            
            On September 11, 1973, Francisco CATTANI ORTEGA, a dental laboratory technician who was an active member of the Socialist party, was killed. The cause of his death was a "perforating bullet wound to the right illiac fossa." His body was sent to the Medical Legal Institute by the Barros Luco Hospital, with the observation that it had been found in the street. Given the cause of death and not knowing the circumstances, the Commission came to the conviction that Francisco Cattani was killed as a result of the political violence reigning at that time.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Mercedes del Pilar CORREDERA REYES, a minor who was a high school student, was killed. Her body was sent to the Medical Legal Institute by the Barros Luco Hospital, with the observation that she had been killed on Calle Gran Avenida. The cause of death noted on the autopsy report is "perforating bullet wound to the left knee." The Commission has come to the conviction that Mercedes del Pilar Corredera was killed as a victim of political violence, although the precise circumstances of the events leading to her death are not known.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Benito Heriberto TORRES TORRES, 57, a plumbing installer, was executed. Eyewitness reports indicate that at about 9:00 p.m. on September 11, there was shooting near the victim's house. Policemen from the sector's 26th station raided his house and arrested him, taking him and his son-in-law, also arrested, toward the police station. Witnesses say the victim had been in bed with sciatica. The following day his family's efforts to locate him were in vain. The victim's son-in-law returned to the house three days later with signs of mistreatment and torture on his body. The family found Torres' body in the Medical Legal Institute, and the cause of death was determined to be a "bullet wound in the thorax." The body was found in Las Barrancas and the time of death was recorded as 10:00 p.m. on September 12. In view of the evidence gathered and since it is established that he was arrested, the Commission has come to the conviction that Benito Heriberto Torres Torres was executed and suffered a grave violation of human rights at the hands of government agents.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Juan Manuel LIRA MORALES, 23, an office worker, was killed. On September 11, he and his wife were walking on the street in La Legua shantytown. At that moment, even though there was no trouble in the area, he was shot by soldiers traveling in a jeep. He was taken to the Barros Luco Hospital, where he died on the 12th. The autopsy report stated that "the cause of death was the wound from a bullet that went through the abdomen and tore up the liver and right kidney causing acute internal hemorrhage." The Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Lira Morales was killed by government agents who abused their power and violated his human rights. The grounds for that conviction are that he was wounded by a military patrol, that he died the following day as a result of those wounds, as indicated in the autopsy report, and that there were no clashes and no trouble in the area when he was killed.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Alberto Mariano FONTELA ALONSO, 26, a Uruguayan small fisherman, was arrested. He was arrested at his house, together with his female companion, and another Uruguayan, by soldiers of the Tacna Regiment at about 5:00 p.m.. They were taken to the Military Academy where they were interrogated and that same night they were transferred to the Tacna Regiment. On September 14, his companion was released and was told that the prisoners were going to be transferred to the Chile Stadium. The victim's name never appeared on the lists of prisoners held at the stadium. Despite many efforts made by his companion to find him, his whereabouts remain unknown to this day. Since the victim was arrested by government agents and was last seen in their custody, this Commission is convinced that government agents were responsible for the disappearance of Alberto Fontela and that the action constituted a human rights violation.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Tulio Roberto QUINTILIANO CARDOZO, 29, a Brazilian engineer who was active in the Communist party, was arrested. Troops arrested him and his wife at home, and took them to the Military Academy where they were interrogated. His wife was released that same day. The family presented a habeas corpus action and in that process an official document from military authorities indicated that the victim was held in the Military Academy and then sent to the Tacna Regiment. However, in a letter to the president of the appeals court, the regiment commander states that the victim is not registered as being held in any unit under his authority. Brazilian diplomats in Chile making efforts on his behalf were unable to obtain information on his whereabouts. In view of the facts, and especially since there is proof that he was arrested and indications that he was not released, the Commission is convinced that those responsible for his disappearance were the government agents who held him prisoner and that his human rights were violated.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Sonia Isaura NORAMBUENA CRUZ, 34, a home-maker, died of bullet wounds. On that day Sonia Norambuena, who was pregnant, left her house in the area of Callejón Lo Ovalle in the Santa Adriana shantytown to make some purchases. As she was returning home at about 11:00 a.m., troops guarding the Ochagavía Bridge over Callejón Lo Ovalle fired several times. One of the shots hit Sonia Norambuena, and she died a few hours later. A young man who was walking by the same area was also wounded. Her death certificate notes as the cause of death, "organs perforated as the result of bullet wound." This Commission could not determine why the troops used their weapons, but in view of the antecedents mentioned, the Commission came to the conviction that Sonia Norambuena's death was the result of the situation of political violence at that time. That conviction is based on the cause and date of her death and on what is known about the circumstances surrounding her death.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Adriana de las Mercedes DOTE MENDEZ, 27, a homemaker, was shot dead. At about 5:30 p.m. on that day she was washing clothes inside her house located near the intersection of Lo Sierra and Lo Espejo, with two of her little children and two neighbors. At that moment shots were fired from a low flying helicopter and one of them hit her. She died as police were taking her to the Barros Luco Hospital. Considering the fact she was killed by bullet wounds and what is known about the circumstances of her death, the Commission came to the conviction that the death of Adriana Dote was a result of the political violence reigning at that time.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Arturo Ramón SAN MARTIN SUTHERLAND, 36, a photographer and member of the board of the Quimantú publishing house who was an active Socialist, was killed. On September 11, he set out to take pictures in downtown Santiago. According to eyewitnesses, he was shot while doing so. He was taken to the Central Emergency Clinic where he died at 5:30 a.m. on September 12, as indicated on his death certificate. Although it did not receive testimony on the exact circumstances in which Arturo San Martín was wounded, the Commission came to the conviction that his death resulted from the violence reigning in the country at that time. That conviction is based on the direct cause of his death and on the time when the events that caused it took place.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Tito Guillermo KUNZE DURAN, 42, an office worker who was president of the union at the Burguer textile factory and an active Socialist, was executed. During a raid at the company where he worked (Calle ñuble, 1034), police from the Fourth station arrested him along with two hundred of his fellow workers, who did not resist arrest. According to credible accounts, as he was standing in a line of prisoners, a policeman in civilian clothes fired a barrage into his body. He died that same day at the Central Emergency Clinic. The Commission came to the conviction that Tito Kunza was executed by government agents. That constituted a grave violation of his human rights in view of the fact that he was killed not by chance but as the result of a conscious action while he was in the custody of his captors, one of whom attacked him.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Enrique Antonio MAZA CARVAJAL, a Venezuelan university student, was killed. The autopsy report says the cause of death was a "bullet wound in the upper backbone." The date of death is September 12, 1973. His remains were repatriated to his native country. Unable to determine who was responsible for the death of Enrique Antonio Maza Carvajal nor the circumstances under which he died, the Commission has come to the conclusion that he was killed as a result of the political violence reigning in the country at that time.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Luis Alejandro RETAMAL PARRA, 14, an elementary school student, was killed at home. On that day at about 9:45 a.m., his father saw a large number of air force troops near the house and so told his son to go back into the house. While playing with his brothers and sisters on the second floor, the child came out to the balcony and was shot dead on the spot. His death certificate says that the cause of death was "multiple bullet wounds." The Commission came to the conviction that Luis Retamal was the victim of the political violence in the country, inflicted in this instance by government agents who caused his death. Their reasons for using their weapons are not known.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Drago Vinko GOJANOVIC ARIAS, of both Chilean and Yugoslav nationality, 23, a driver at the embassy of the German Democratic Republic and a Communist, was executed. While at his parents' home in Las Condes, he was arrested by a military patrol in a jeep. From there he was taken to his own home, which was searched as was that of his sister who lived in a nearby apartment. Then he was taken to an unknown destination. His body was later found at the intersection of Calle Tabancura and Avenida Kennedy. His family picked up the body at the Medical Legal Institute. According to the death certificate the cause of death was a "perforating bullet wound in the thorax and a gunshot to the cranial cephalic." From these circumstances the Commission was able to come to the conviction that he was illegally executed by government agents who were holding him in their custody. That action was a violation of his human rights, particularly the rights to live and to receive a fair trial. The grounds for that conviction are that he was a Communist, that there were witnesses to the arrest and search, and that his body was found in the street with multiple bullet wounds.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Hugo ARAYA GONZALEZ, 37, a press photographer who was an active Socialist, was shot dead. He was taking photos at the State Technical University when he was hit by shots fired by army troops surrounding the area. He was wounded and appealing for medical help but the ambulances could not enter because of the shooting by military troops. The Commission came to the conviction that in the death of Hugo Araya Gonzalez government agents were guilty of violating his fundamental human rights. The grounds for that conviction were that the victim was taking pictures, that he was shot by troops surrounding the area, and that those forces used their weapons indiscriminately and unnecessarily.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Sergio AEDO GUERRERO, 35, a street vendor with no known political activity, was killed in the area of Carrascal. He was killed while on his way to buy food. Troops shot and fatally wounded him from within a military installation. On September 14, 1973, he died at Clinic No. 3. The Commission came to the conviction that he was killed as a result of the unreasonable use of force by government agents, which constitutes a violation of his human rights.
            
            On September 12, 1973, Julio Antonio MARTINEZ LARA, 26, who worked at CORFO (Corporation to Stimulate Production), was killed. His dead body bearing many bullet wounds turned up at the Medical Legal Institute. According to the autopsy report, he was found in the street and he was said to have died at 3:00 a.m. on September 12, 1973. Although the Commission could not verify the exact circumstances of his death, the political conditions at that moment and the cause of his death lead it to the conviction that Julio Martinez died as a result of political violence.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Luis Alberto MARCHANT MARCHANT, 43, a newspaper vendor, disappeared from his home. On that day he left his home with one of his children and was on his way to work in the area of Avenida Independencia. He was stopped by a military patrol, beaten, and put into a vehicle heading south. From that moment he has remained disappeared. Since his detention was attested, the Commission came to the conclusion that he is one of the disappeared and that he suffered human rights violations at the hands of government agents.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Cristina del Carmen LOPEZ ESTAY, 28, unmarried, was killed. On September 11, 1973 on Calle Vicuña Mackenna near the Sumar factory a shootout was taking place between police agents and factory workers. As Cristina López was passing by, a bullet hit her and she died on September 13, 1973 at 11:00 a.m. This Commission has come to the conviction that she was a victim of the political violence taking place at that moment.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Ernesto TRAUBMANN RIEGELHAUPT, 49, a Czechoslovakian public relations employee for ENAMI (National Mining Company) who was active in the Communist party, disappeared. He and another party activist were stopped that morning by policemen. They were both taken to the Seventh police station and from there to the Ministry of Defense. Despite his family's inquiries, there has been no information on his whereabouts, and there is no indication that he left the country. The Commission has come to the conviction that Ernesto Traubmann disappeared at the hands of government agents. In view of the fact that he was known to have been arrested and held at the Ministry of Defense, and considering his political activity and nationality, it is clear that his human rights were violated.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Enrique Ernesto MORALES MELZER, 21, a driver for INDAP (National Institute for Agricultural Development) who was a Socialist party activist, was killed. He left his house that day in the José María Caro shantytown intending to turn over the government car he drove. Along the way an air force patrol and a police patrol fired at the car. Morales appears to have been killed on the spot by a bullet. His family received word of his death from the Barros Luco Hospital, and some hours later his body was turned over to them in a sealed coffin. This Commission has come to the conviction that Ernesto Morales died as a result of indiscriminate use of force by government agents, which is a human rights violation.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Jorge GUTIERREZ SAN MARTIN, 41, a mechanic at the Nobis factory, was killed. He was killed on the street in the presence of eyewitnesses by a police patrol while he was on his way to work. His death certificate lists the cause of his death as "a bullet wound to the thorax with complications and acute loss of blood." The Commission has come to the conviction that the death of Jorge Gutierrez San Martin resulted from a violation of his human rights, since he died as a result of the excessive and unreasonable use of force by government agents. The grounds for that conviction are that it is attested that he was shot while walking on the street and that his death was caused by a bullet wound.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Fernando Sofanor FLORES ACEVEDO, 42, a construction worker, was killed by a military patrol in the José María Caro shantytown. Accounts indicate that these events took place as he and his daughter were on their way to buy bread during curfew time, that is, at about 9:00 p.m. He was taken to the Barros Luco Hospital, where he died the next day as a result of the bullet wounds he sustained. The Commission came to the conviction that the death of Fernando Sofanor Flores Acevedo constituted a human rights violation, as a result of actions by government agents who used unreasonable force.
            
            Between September 13-16, 1973, there were a number of deaths and disappearances related to the presence of prisoners in the Chile Stadium.
            
            Sócrates PONCE PACHECO, 30, an Ecuadorian lawyer who was an active Socialist and the government representative at the INDUMET factory. The official version that the Chilean Foreign Ministry provided on March 27, 1974 stated that "this individual was a government representative at a factory and shot at the armed forces in armed resistance and was killed in the shooting." However, the Commission received credible accounts indicating that Ponce was arrested by police forces on September 11, 1973 at his workplace, and was taken to the Twelfth station. From there he was sent to the Tacna Regiment on the morning of September 12, and then taken to the Chile Stadium at noon. In the early morning of the 13th, his name was called over the loudspeakers, and army troops took him away.
            
            His body was found near the Chile Stadium, at the corner of Union Latinoamericana and Alameda, and bore eight bullet wounds according to the autopsy report. His relatives took the body from the Medical Legal Institute. The death certificate states that the date of death was September 12, and thus differs from what his relatives say.
            
            In view of the foregoing, the Commission has come to the conviction that Sócrates Ponce was executed without due process of law by government agents and that thus his fundamental human rights were violated. It bases its conviction on the testimony it took on his arrest and his presence at several sites, and on the documents that explain how he died, all of which make it possible to refute the official version of a supposed shootout.
            
            Gregorio MIMICA ARGOTE, 22, an unmarried university student and leader at the Technical University who was an active Communist. He was arrested at his house on September 14, 1973, by a military patrol shortly after returning from spending two days under arrest in the Chile Stadium and then being released. Since that day there has been no information on his whereabouts. The Commission has come to the conviction that government agents were responsible for the disappearance of Gregorio Mimica and that in so doing they violated his fundamental human rights. The grounds for that conviction are that he was a politically active student leader, that he had been imprisoned previously in the Chile Stadium, and that since that time there is no indication whatsoever of his fate and his whereabouts.
            
            Hernán CEA FIGUEROA, 38, a textile worker who was an activist in the Communist party. He was arrested on September 11 at the Textil Progreso factory where he worked. From there he was taken with other arrested workers to the Chile Stadium. On September 15 he became involved in an argument with one of his guards and was executed on the spot by policemen. His family found the body a month later at the General Cemetery. The Commission has come to the conviction that Hernán Cea was executed without due process of law by government agents, and that his fundamental human rights were thereby violated. It bases that conviction on the fact that execution arose out of an argument with one of his guards, that he did not attack them, and that no matter what the prisoner might have done, there is no justification for killing him without due process of law.
            
            Victor Lidio JARA MARTINEZ, 40, a popular singer and theater director who was a member of the Central Committee of Communist Youth. A statement by the Foreign Ministry dated March 27, 1974, in response to a note from the OAS (Organization of American States) Interamerican Human Rights Commission, said, "Víctor Jara: Dead. He was killed by snipers who, I repeat, were firing indiscriminately on the armed forces and on the civilian population."
            
            This Commission received many credible reports refuting this official story and leading to the conclusion that what actually happened was quite different. Víctor Jara was arrested on September 12 on the grounds of the State Technical University were he was working as a theater director. He was taken to the Chile Stadium, where he was separated from the other people with whom he had been arrested, and detained high up in the stands together with other people considered to be dangerous. Between September 12-15, he was interrogated by army personnel. The the last day Víctor Jara was seen alive was September 15. During the afternoon he was taken out of a line of prisoners who were being transferred to the National Stadium. In the early morning of the next day, September 16, shantytown dwellers found his body, along with five others, including that of Littré Quiroga Carvajal, near the Metropolitan Cemetery. As the autopsy report states, Víctor Jara died as a result of multiple bullet wounds (44 entry wounds and 32 exit wounds).
            
            The Commission came to the conviction that he was executed without due process of law by government agents, and hence in violation of his fundamental human rights. The grounds for that conviction are that he is known to have been arrested and to have been in the Chile Stadium, that it is attested that he died as a result of many bullet wounds, thus indicating that he was executed together with the other prisoners whose bodies appeared alongside his. The overview to this period provides an account of the various kinds of torture to which Víctor Jara was subjected while under arrest.
            
            Littré QUIROGA CARVAJAL, 33, lawyer who was head of the prison system and an active Communist. The official version as presented by the Chilean Foreign Ministry on March 27, 1974, stated, "Littré Quiroga Carvajal: Dead. This official of the defeated regime was killed by common criminals."
            
            This Commission received many credible reports refuting this official story and indicating that what actually happened was quite different. On September 11, 1973, Littré Quiroga ended a sick leave and went to his office at the National Prison Bureau. There he decided to send most employees home, and he spoke with a high ranking military officer in order to inquire about where matters stood with regard to his agency and himself. In response he was told to present himself at 8:00 a.m. at the Ministry of Defense. Nevertheless at 9:45 p.m. a contingent of twenty police came to the offices of the Prison Bureau but did not go into the building. Littré Quiroga surrendered to them of his own free will. During the night he was taken to Armored Regiment No. 2. On the morning of September 13, he was sent, along with other prisoners, to the Chile Stadium where, according to eyewitness reports, he suffered many forms of torture and humiliation inflicted by army personnel. He remained there until September 15. In the early morning of September 16, his body was found near the Metropolitan Cemetery, along with five others including that of Víctor Jara.
            
            The Commission came to the conviction that Littré Quiroga was executed without due process of law by government agents in violation of his fundamental human rights. The grounds for its conviction are that his arrest is attested, that he was in the Chile stadium, that his death was due to multiple bullet wounds, that his body was found alongside those of others executed under similar circumstances, and that given the nature of the wounds and the date on which they occurred, they can be reasonably explained only as the work of government agents. The torture Littré Quiroga underwent is described in the overview of this period.
            
            On September 13, 1973, Eduardo Alejandro Alberto CAMPOS BARRA, 29, an auto mechanic who was a MIR activist and a JAP [Council for Supplies and Prices] leader, disappeared. On that day he left the home of a relative located in the Roosevelt shantytown along with a police lieutenant and two more police officials. His whereabouts have been unknown since that moment. The family made many efforts to determine what had happened to Campos but all of them, including legal procedures, proved in vain. The Commission came to the conviction that the disappearance of Eduardo Campos was a human rights violation carried out by private citizens for political reasons. The reasons for that conclusion were his prior political activity as an active and well known leader in the shantytown, the fact that he was last seen in the company of police agents and that since then there is no information on his whereabouts despite all efforts made by his relatives and the judicial inquiries attempted.
            
            

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Posted by USIP Library on: October 4 2002
Source: Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
(Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993), vol. I/II, Part Three, Chapter One (A.2.a.2), 153-167.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.