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PART THREE
Chapter One (A.2)
September through December 1973 (continued)
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HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS OR PERSONS WORKING FOR THEM (continued)
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CASES (continued)
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Metropolitan Region (continued)
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Cases of grave human rights violations in the Metropolitan Region (continued)
On September 14, 1973, Jaime Alejandro ALCAZAR AGUILA, 29, a Radical Party leader and a member of the party's central policy committee (CEN), left the hotel in Santiago where he was staying on his way to work at a fishing company since his superiors had ordered him to present himself. Upon leaving the offices, he was hit by three bullets. He was taken to the Central Emergency Clinic but died before arrival. Even though it has not been able to uncover the precise nature and specific circumstances of the shots, with the evidence available, this Commission has come to the conviction that Jaime Alcazar was killed as a result of the atmosphere of political violence at that time. Government agents were presumably responsible for his death.
On September 14, 1973, Ramón Augusto MUÑOZ MIRANDA, 25, a farm worker, was executed in the National Stadium. On September 12, at about 6:00 p.m. police from the Vista Alegre station in Cerillos arrested him along with other workers at the Cerillos chicken farm where he worked. They were taken to the station, and on September 14, the prisoners were transferred to the National Stadium. There he was executed by military personnel and taken to the Military Hospital. The death certificate states that his death was caused by the multiple bullet wounds he sustained, and that it took place on September 14, 1973, at 6:30 p.m. in the National Stadium. Since it is established that he was arrested and the circumstances and cause of his death are known, this Commission has come to the conviction that Ramón Muñoz was executed, and that he suffered a grave human rights violation at the hands of government agents.
On September 14, 1973, Carlos Alberto BUSTAMANTE MANCILLA, 23, who worked at the Embassy of Argentina, was killed. He was executed by a military patrol during curfew hours when he was leaving his house with a friend. His death certificate states that he died as a result of gunshot wounds sustained in downtown Santiago on September 14 at 10:00 p.m. The fact that witnesses establish that the shots were fired by military personnel and that he died of bullet wounds, leads the Commission to the conviction that Carlos Bustamante died as a result of the unreasonable use of force by government agents in an action that violated human rights.
On September 14, 1973, Angel Gabriel MOYA ROJAS, 15, a high school student, was killed. He was coming home with a friend before curfew when they ran into a military patrol that stopped and searched them and then ordered them to run and shot them down. He died on the spot. According to his death certificate he was killed on September 14, 1973 at 4:00 p.m. in Santiago as a result of a "bullet wound to the left lung cavity." Given the circumstances and cause of his death, this Commission has come to the conviction that he was killed by government agents who used excessive force and that his human rights were violated.
On September 14, 1973, Luis Alejandro LARGO VERA, 26, an unmarried student who was a Socialist party activist, disappeared. He was in the streets on his way from his own house to that of some friends near curfew time. Many raids had taken place there, since it was a university housing area. A number of his fellow party members were arrested during this same period, and he was well known in the area as a party activist. Although the Commission does not know exactly how it happened, it has come to the conclusion that Luis Alejandro Largo Vera disappeared for political reasons. The grounds for this conviction are his political activism, the repression against other party members at that time, the non-renewal of his identification card, the lack of any death certificate, voter registration, or record of travel,s and the fact that he did not have any contact with his family and that there are no other possible reasons for him to have disappeared.
On September 14, 1973, Luis Alfredo ROJAS GONZALEZ, 35, was killed. That day he left his house in El Pinar shantytown to buy some items; his body was found in the street in that neighborhood. The death certificate says he died of a "perforating bullet wound" on September 14, 1973. While this Commission does not know the circumstances under which Luis Rojas died, the characteristics of that period and the fact that he died of a bullet wound leads it to the conviction that he was an innocent victim of the political violence in the country.
On September 14, 1973, Eduardo LEIVA ADASME was killed. He was still outside at curfew time as he was coming back home from the Metropolitan Cemetery. His relatives say that they received word that same night that he was lying dead in the street, and they were even given his identification card. The next day they found his body in the Medical Legal Institute. The autopsy report gives the cause of death as bullet wounds. Without knowing precisely the circumstances surrounding his death, this Commission has come to the conviction that he died as a result of the political violence of that period.
On September 14, 1973, José Eusebio RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ, 24, a worker who was a MIR activist, was shot by a firing squad. According to newspaper reports, he was tried by a war tribunal and killed by a military firing squad carrying out the sentence. He was accused of being the deputy of "Mickey," the pseudonym of a top MIR leader. Despite the requests it made to the proper authorities, the Commission has not obtained a copy of the supposed war tribunal record. His death certificate says he died on September 14, 1973, and that the cause of death was "multiple bullet wounds." In view of the newspaper report, which was not denied, and the cause of his death, and even though it does not know the circumstances of his arrest, this Commission has come to the conviction that José Eusebio Rodríguez was executed without due process of law by government agents and that his human rights were thereby violated.
On September 14, 1973, Guillermo del Carmen BUSTAMANTE SOTELO, 39, a farm worker who was the president of the union at El Gomero farm, and Juan de Dios SALINAS SALINAS, 29, a farm worker, were arrested in the sector of Isla de Maipo by police officers assigned to the police headquarters there. They were seen by witnesses at the Isla de Maipo station, and their relatives were told that they had been transferred to the National Stadium. They have remained disappeared since that time. Since it is attested that they were arrested and imprisoned and since there has been no further word on either of them, and since furthermore it is known that similar events took place around this police headquarters as is also the case at Lonquén, the Commission has come to the conclusion that Bustamante and Salinas were subjected to a forced disappearance at the hands of government agents and that such action was a violation of their human rights.
On September 15, 1973, Carlos Alberto CASTRO LOPEZ, 20, a street vendor, and Serafín del Carmen ORELLANA ROJAS, 32, who was unmarried, without a profession and not politically active, were executed. According to witnesses' accounts and evidence gathered by this Commission, they were picked up near curfew time by a military patrol on the grounds of a sports club located in the Cerro Navia area. They seem to have failed to obey orders given by the troops searching the place and were taken out and beaten. From there they were taken to an unknown destination. Carlos Alberto Castro's relatives searched for him in all the prison sites, but failed to find him. After receiving a tip, they decided to look for him among the bodies appearing in the Mapocho River and that the people of the Cerro Navia area were burying along its banks. Thus they came to the area of El Resbalón Bridge and saw piles of sand in which a number of bodies were half buried. One of them stood out, and Castro's wife was able to identify it as that of her husband. She dug it out and later had it sent to the Medical Legal Institute. The autopsy attested that the blows the victim suffered were ultimately the cause of his death, although the documentation gives the reason for death as "trauma to the spinal cord and intense bleeding." In view of the foregoing, this Commission came to the conviction that Carlos Castro was executed without due process of law by government agents with no justification. The care taken to conceal his body by throwing it in the Mapocho River only reaffirms that conviction.
Serafín Orellana's body could not be located but insofar as the circumstances were similar, he probably suffered the same fate as Carlos Alberto Castro López. The fact that inquiries made on his behalf have not been able to determine his fate or his whereabouts only confirm that such must be the case. Serafín Orellana has been disappeared since the day he was arrested, and it can be presumed that he was executed without any due process of law by government agents.
On September 15, 1973, Blanca Marina de la Luz CARRASCO PEÑA, 27, an art student who was a MIR activist and student leader at the State Technical University, was killed. That day she left her house to go to the Central Emergency Clinic to see a fellow student who was wounded and hospitalized. On the way she was apprehended, apparently by police since witnesses later saw her at the Macul police headquarters. That same day she was taken out in a truck, apparently in order to be transferred to the National Stadium. Some days later her husband found her name on a list at the Medical Legal Institute; she had been taken there unidentified. According to her death certificate she died at 11:00 p.m. on September 15, just a few minutes after she was taken from the police station. The cause of death was "bullet wounds to the thorax and abdomen with complications." The body had been found in the street and sent there by the Grecia police district headquarters. The Commission came to the conviction that Blanca Carrasco was executed by government agents in what constituted a human rights violation. The grounds for that conviction are that it is established that she was at a police installation and was taken out apparently headed for the National Stadium, that she was found dead in the street with her body bearing many bullet wounds, and that she was a political and student leader.
On September 15, 1973, Guillermo INOSTROZA FLORES, 34, a worker, was killed. On that date he turned up dead at the Barros Luco Hospital as the result of a bullet wound to the neck. Even though it has no knowledge of the circumstances of his death, the Commission has been led to the conviction that Inostroza Flores died as a result of the political violence in the country at that time. This conviction is based on the characteristics of that period and the cause of death.
September 15, 1973, Juan Fernando VASQUEZ RIVEROS, 15, a high school student, was killed. On September 13, at about 5:30 p.m., before the curfew in Santiago (which began at 6:00 p.m.), he was walking by in the street just as a police squad was raiding the union office at the Ferriloza company. Without even giving any orders to halt, police proceeded to shoot at him. In a wounded condition he was taken to the José Joaquín Aguirre Hospital, where he died on September 15 as the result of an "abdominal bullet wound." Since the circumstances of what happened are attested, this Commission has come to the conviction that Fernando Vásquez died as a result of the political violence of that period.
On September 15, 1973, Humberto Antonio VALENZUELA OLEA, 48, a worker, was killed. He left his home in the Conchalí neighborhood intending to do some errands and passed by his brother's house located in the Independencia area. It is presumed that he was shot when he left the house while the curfew was in effect. The next day his dead body was taken to the Medical Legal Institute. According to the autopsy report, he was found on Avenida Chile in the area of Plaza Chacabuco. He died as the result of "abdominal bullet wounds with complications." Taking into account the circumstances of that moment and the causes of his death, this Commission has reached the conviction that Humberto Valenzuela died as a result of political violence.
On September 15, 1973, Julio Enrique REYES ESPINOZA, an employee of the Ministry of Public Works, was killed. On September 14, he was coming home close to the hour of curfew. According to testimony gathered, a police patrol travelling in an official truck shot at him. The next day his body was found in the shantytown plaza. The death certificate listed the cause of death as "bullet wounds to the abdomen and neck." The family received the body from the Medical Legal Institute in a sealed coffin on September 18, and Reyes was buried in lot No. 29 of the General Cemetery in Santiago. In view of the circumstances and cause of his death, and in view of the characteristics of that period, this Commission has come to the conviction that he was a victim of the political violence of that moment.
On September 15, 1973, Enrique Antonio SAAVEDRA GONZALEZ, 18, unmarried, and Carlos Ramiro GONZALEZ GONZALEZ, 18, unmarried and both university students of Bolivian nationality, disappeared in Santiago. On that day they were together when they left the Hotel Sãao Paulo where they lived. According to their relatives, these young men were seen in the National Stadium, and a reliable witness later saw them at a detention center in San Felipe. Despite numerous efforts made by the families of both victims, there has been no word concerning their whereabouts. It is clear that they did not leave the country. The Commission has come to the conviction that government agents were responsible for the disappearance of Enrique González and Carlos González and that their human rights were violated, since it has been established that they were arrested, that they were held in detention centers, and that since that time there has been no information on their whereabouts or their fate.
On September 15, 1973, Gabriel Augusto MARFULL GONZALEZ, 22, a student, was killed. He was arrested in the street on September 14 by air force troops, who seized him and his bicycle. He was driven to the El Bosque air base. There his family was told that he was being transferred to the National Stadium the next day. On that same occasion they were given his bicycle pump. His name never appeared on the list of those imprisoned in the Stadium. Twenty-five days later his body was found at the Medical Legal Institute. On his death certificate it is stated that the body was taken from Cuesta Barriga and that it was identified by the Central Bureau of Identification. The cause of death is ascribed to a "bullet wound" and the date is said to be September 15. The Commission came to the conviction that Gabriel Marfull was executed without due process of law by government agents in an action that constituted a violation of his human rights. The grounds for that conviction are the established fact that he was arrested and was held at the El Bosque air base, and the cause of death.
On September 15 or 16, Nelson Ricardo ORELLANA TAPIA, 30, a worker, disappeared. He was arrested by police in the presence of witnesses at the home of relatives in Padre Hurtado. Testimony received by this Commission indicates that he was taken to the Malloco police station and later to the Talagante station. From that point on there are no further traces of him. All inquiries made by his relatives have proven fruitless. Since it is established that he was arrested by police, this Commission has come to the conviction that Nelson Orellana's human rights were violated in his arrest and subsequent disappearance at the hands of government agents.
On September 15, 17, and 19, 1973, three military operations took place inside San Juan de Dios Hospital. Soldiers of a battalion of the Yungay Regiment of San Felipe who were being quartered in Quinta Normal and at the Diego Barros Arana School, arrested many people. Five of those arrested were executed and two remain disappeared to this day. Their names are:
Pablo Ramón ARANDA SCHMIED 20, a medical student at the University of Chile western campus, a member of the student federation and an active member of the Young Communists. He was abducted from the campus on September 17. He was arrested on September 17 on the grounds of San Juan de Dios Hospital in an operation carried out by troops from the Yungay Regiment from San Felipe. He was probably held at the Barros Arana school. Witnesses have told this Commission they saw him at an empty lot in the 7000 block of Calle San Pablo; he had been taken there along with other prisoners by soldiers who indicated they were going to execute him. Since the circumstances of his arrest are established and witnesses saw him in the hands of his captors, this Commission has been able to come to the conviction that Pablo Ramón Aranda Schmied was abducted by force and presumably executed by government agents, who violated his human rights.
José Lucio BAGUS VALENZUELA, 43, staff member at the San Juan de Dios Hospital who was an active member of the Socialist party, disappeared on September 17. He was arrested that day at the San Juan de Dios Hospital by troops of the Yungay Regiment. He was probably held at the Barros Arana public school; later according to statements made by credible witnesses, he was taken to an empty lot on the 7000 block of Calle San Pablo. Taking into account the strength of the evidence and especially the fact that he was arrested and the sites where he was held, this Commission has determined that José Lucio Bagús Valenzuela was made to disappear by force and was presumably executed by government agents, who thus violated his human rights.
Manuel BRICEÑO BRICEÑO, a non-specialized staff member of the San Juan de Dios Hospital, was executed on September 18. He was arrested on September 17 along with other employees who were inside the hospital by troops of the Yungay Regiment. Where he was held is not known, but it was presumably the same school. He was executed the day after his arrest. The autopsy report says "the wounded man was transferred from the street to the (Medical Legal) Institute" and that the cause of death was "many bullet wounds to the chest and abdomen with complications." Taking into account the circumstances of his arrest, the cause of his death and the manner in which the body was found, this Commission has come to the conviction that Manuel Briceño Briceño was executed without due process of law and without any justification by government agents who violated his right to life.
Raúl Francisco GONZALEZ MORAN, 31, an employee at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, was killed on September 18. On September 17 he was arrested at the hospital by troops of the Yungay Regiment. He was executed in the early morning of the following day. The police sent his body to the Medical Legal Institute, which wrote that he died of "two penetrating bullet wounds one to the neck and chest and the other to the chest." His family identified him on September 27 and took him away for burial. The Commission determined that the government agents who illegally executed Raúl Francisco González Morán committed a human rights violation.
Joan ALSINA HURTOS, 31, a Spanish Catholic priest who exercised his ministry in the San Ignacio parish in San Bernardo and was working as the head of personnel at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, was executed on September 19. He was arrested in the basement of the hospital by troops from the Yungay Regiment. He was then taken to the hospital patio where he remained for a long time. He was driven to the Diego Barros Arana Institute and then to the Mapocho River where he was executed that same day. On the 27th, his body was found at the Medical Legal Institute. He was buried the following day in the parish cemetery at San Bernardo. The death certificate says he was killed on the Bulnes Bridge over the Mapocho River and says that death was caused by "multiple bullet wounds" and "lash wounds to the face." In accordance with the merit of the testimony and evidence it gathered, the Commission came to the conviction that the execution of Father Juan [sic] Alsina Hurtos constituted a violation of his rights, and that those persons responsible were government agents.
Manuel Jesús IBAÑEZ GARCIA, 25, leader of the labor union at the San Juan de Dios Hospital who was a Socialist party activist, was executed on September 20. He was arrested on September 15, 1973, by troops from the Yungay Regiment while on his job at the hospital. On the 23rd, relatives found his dead body at the Medical Legal Institute. He was buried the next day at the General Cemetery. The death certificate says that he died on September 20 at about 7:00 a.m. Place: Bulnes Bridge over the Mapocho River; the cause: multiple bullet wounds. The Commission came to the conviction that the execution of Manuel Ibañez, which took place without due process of law, constituted a violation of his human rights by government agents.
Jorge Rolando CACERES GATICA, 28, staff member at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, was executed on September 21. He was arrested at work on September 17 by troops of the Yungay Regiment. He was probably held at the Diego Barros Arana school. He was executed in the early morning of the 21st and his body was found on the Bulnes Bridge near the Mapocho River, where other executions of people arrested at the San Juan de Dios Hospital took place. The autopsy report says that the cause of death was "multiple bullet wounds to the cervical region and the thoracic and abdominal regions." Given the circumstances of his arrest as well as the causes of his death, the Commission has been able to come to the conviction that Jorge Cáceres was executed without due process of law or justification by government agents.
On September 16, 1973, Gladys del Tránsito BALBOA CISTERNAS, 26, a textile factory worker, was killed. While troops were carrying out an operation in La Legua shantytown, she was wounded by a bullet and died that same day. The death certificate states that it was caused by a "penetrating bullet wound to the head." Having established the cause of death, and particularly taking into account the date and context, this Commission, even without knowing the exact circumstances in which Gladys Balboa was killed, has come to the conviction that she died as a result of the situation of violence prevailing in the country.
On September 16, 1973, Sergio ANABALON VERGARA, 38, a police employee who, according to testimony received, was held prisoner at the general police headquarters and killed there by police officials. Although the Commission does not know the exact circumstances of his death, it believes he died as a result of the political violence in the country during the days after September 11, and believes the date on which the events occurred is especially significant in this regard.
On September 16, 1973, Walter Carlos SCHNEVER XUBERO, 21, a student who was active in FER-MIR (Revolutionary Student Front), was arrested. His family says that on that day he told them he was being followed. He left his house and was arrested in the street by policemen. The family later found his body at the Medical Legal Institute. When they asked for his remains, they were told that they had already been buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery. Some time later the family had them exhumed. In this instance, as in a number of others in the Metropolitan Region, the death certificate gives a date prior to the one given in the many and consistent testimonies that the Commission has received concerning the date of arrest. The death certificate says he died on September 11, 1973, and gives the cause as a "bullet wound to the head." The autopsy was carried out on September 26 and the certificate is signed October 4, 1973. The Commission came to the conviction that the execution of Walter Schnever constituted a grave human rights violation, since it was carried out by government agents and without due process of law. The grounds for this conviction are that the victim was politically active, that his arrest is well established, and that he died of bullet wounds.
On September 16, 1973, Luis Eduardo SAAVEDRA GONZALEZ, 24, photographer and folklorist, was executed. He was arrested September 16, during a military operation in the Yarur shantytown where he lived. The family was advised of his death when they went to the Legal Medical Institute; there they identified Saavedra's body. The autopsy report indicates that the body was sent from the Yarur shantytown, and that the cause of death was bullet wounds. The date of death is the same as that of his arrest. The Commission came to the conviction that he was executed by government agents and that his fundamental rights were violated, especially since his arrest was sufficiently attested, and in view of the cause of death as registered and the place it occurred.
On September 16, 1973, Vicente Patricio CLEMENT HECHENLEITNER, 27, a leader in the Vicuña Mackenna industrial belt, was executed. He had been arrested on September 14, by air force troops when he arrived at the Loncoleche factory. Credible accounts claim that he was executed by government agents on September 16, next to La Aguada alleyway near the intersection of Avenida Vicuña Mackenna and Calle San Joaquín and that his body was left there. The San Joaquin police headquarters sent his body to the Medical Legal Institute. His death certificate gives the place of death, and says it occurred on September 16. Since his arrest is credibly attested and since there are credible accounts of the circumstances of his death and a legal document to that effect, this Commission has come to the conviction that Vicente Patricio Clement was executed, that his human rights were violated, and that government agents were responsible.
On September 16, 1973, five persons were executed at the Barriga upgrade, near Curacaví:
Segundo Nicolás GARATE TORRES, 28, retired from the military;
Jorge Gustavo GOMEZ RETAMALES, 28, a radio repairman,
Justo Joaquín MENDOZA SANTIBAÑEZ, 23, a worker who was an activist in the Communist party,
Gastón Raimundo MANZO SANTIBAÑEZ, 34, a highway worker who was a shantytown leader and active Communist; and
Jorge Manuel TORO TORO, 30, a newspaper vendor.
In the days after September 11, these five and two other persons, were arrested by policemen in Curacaví and taken to the police district headquarters there. From there they were driven to the Barriga upgrade on the night of September 16, 1973. There they were forced out of the vehicle and made to go to an abandoned hut where they were forced to stand up against the wall while flashlights were shone in their faces. The patrol chief gave the order, and they were executed and died immediately. The other two persons were wounded and managed to escape.
Later the lifeless bodies of four of the victims showed up at the morgue, with the observation that they had come from the Barriga upgrade. There has been no certification of the death of Nicolás Gárate. One of the survivors, Juan Guillermo Barrera Barrera, came with his family to the Ministry of Defense in Santiago in March 1974, where he described these events and his own situation. There he was told that although there was no legal summons for him, he had to report to the Curacaví police headquarters on March 14. He went there with relatives and on the night of the 13th a group of police came to his house and arrested him. Since that day there has been no information concerning his whereabouts and his fate.
The Commission has come to the conviction that Nicolás Gárate Torres, Jorge Gómez Retamales, Justo Joaquín Mendoza Santibañez, Raimundo Manzo Santibañez and Jorge Toro Toro were executed, without any due process of law by government agents, who violated their human rights.
On September 16, 1973, Juan Bautista CERDA LUCERO, 27, a railroad conductor, was killed. On the day after September 11, he left his house on his way to that of a friend in the El Bosque No. 1 shantytown in Conchalí. His family heard nothing more about him from that moment until his body turned up at the Medical Legal Institute. The body, bearing twenty bullet wounds, had been left in the street. The Commission has come to the conviction that the death of Juan Bautista Cerda Lucero can be reasonably attributed to action on the part of government agents using excessive force against him and violating his fundamental rights.
On September 16, 1973, Gustavo Edmundo SOTO PEREDO, 50, an unmarried father of five children who was a shantytown leader and an active Communist, disappeared. On September 13 he had been arrested at work by a military patrol. Until the 16th he was listed as under arrest at the National Stadium. That day his relatives were told that he had been moved to the Chile Stadium, but there his presence was denied. Later his house was raided. From that point on there has been no information on his whereabouts or fate. Approximately one year later, his son Gustavo Soto Cabrera was also arrested and disappeared. The Commission came to the conviction that government agents were responsible for the disappearance of Gustavo Edmundo Soto and that it constituted a violation of his fundamental rights. The grounds for this conviction are that it is sufficiently established that he was arrested and that he was present in the National Stadium, that he was a shantytown leader and politically active, and that since his disappearance there has been no word concerning his whereabouts or his ultimate fate.
On September 16, 1973, Osvaldo Alfonso TORRES ALBORNOZ, 24, a merchant, disappeared after being arrested at his home in the Roosevelt shantytown. Those who arrested him were police from the local police station. The family assumes that he was taken to that police station. Since that time there has been no word on his fate and his whereabouts, despite the efforts of his family. A check of government agencies indicates that he has not left the country; he has not registered to vote and has not requested a new identification card. Since his arrest is established it is the conviction of this Commission that Osvaldo Torres Albornoz disappeared at the hands of government agents who violated his human rights.
On September 16, 1973, three brothers:
Hernán Rafael SEPULVEDA BRAVO, 28;
Juan Manuel SEPULVEDA BRAVO, 25; and
Ricardo del Carmen SEPULVEDA BRAVO, 16,
were executed in the Los Nogales shantytown. At about 5:00 p.m. policemen violently entered their house searched it and beat the residents. They took the three brothers to the intersection of Calle Uspallata and Calle Antofagasta. There they executed them in the presence of eyewitnesses. Hernán and Juan Manuel were killed on the spot. Ricardo del Carmen was taken to Clinic No. 3, where he died at 1:00 p.m. Such circumstances enable this Commission to come to the conviction that these brothers, Hernán Rafael, Juan Manuel, and Ricardo del Carmen, were executed without any due process of law by government agents who gravely violated their right to life.
That same day, September 16 and in that same location, Victor Galvarino SILVA LOPEZ, 20, a shoe factory employee, was executed. He was arrested by police in his house in the Los Nogales shantytown. The police searched the house and immediately took him to the edge of La Aguada alleyway where they proceeded to execute him. The death certificate says he died of "a bullet wound to the neck and torso" and says it took place at Uspallata in the Los Nogales shantytown. These circumstances and the cause of death lead this Commission to the conviction that Víctor Silva's human rights were violated by government agents who executed him without any due process of law.
On September 16, 1973, Jorge Enrique DIAZ LOPEZ, 23, a truck driver, was killed. He was arrested in front of his parents' home on Avenida El Bosque in the community of Conchalí and taken to the Chacabuco Plaza police station. The family found his dead body at the Medical Legal Institute on September 20. The death certificate says he died at 10:00 a.m. on September 16 in the street and that the cause of death was "multiple bullet wounds." Since his arrest and the cause of death are attested, this Commission is convinced that due to the actions of its agents the government was responsible for violating the human rights of Jorge Díaz.
On September 17, 1973, the Elecmetal factory had begun operations again after the events of September 11. The workers also returned to work, in accordance with the request of the new government officials. That day at about 10:00 a.m. a contingent of police and soldiers showed up, and began to single out some of the workers and arrest them. The arrests were said to be related to accusations against the labor union at that company and against what was called the Vicuña Mackenna industrial belt, the area where the company was located. The managers, owners, and the other workers, including a brother of one of the victims, were present while the arrests were being made. According to testimony and other evidence presented to this Commission, those arrested were:
Augusto Andino ALCAYAGA ALDUNATE, 42, the company's chief accountant who was also president of the union and active in the Radical party;
José Rosa DEVIA DEVIA, 27, a welder and union leader;
Juan Dagoberto FERNANDEZ CUEVAS, 24, a worker who was the secretary of the union and of the Vicuña Mackenna industrial belt and also active in the Socialist party;
Miguel Alberto FERNANDEZ CUEVAS, 22, a worker who was a union coordinator and active in the Socialist party; and
José MALDONADO FUENTES, 33, a welder.
According to testimony and other evidence gathered by this Commission, these five people were arrested inside the Elecmetal factory by a contingent made up of both police and soldiers. They were taken away in two different vehicles, one of which belonged to Elecmetal. The site to which they were taken and where they were executed is not known. Their bodies were found in the street and sent to the Medical Legal Institute by police from the Macul checkpoint. They died between 10:50 a.m. September 17 and 6:30 a.m. September 18, all from multiple bullet wounds.
Taking into account the circumstances of their arrest, the cause of their death, and the fact that police sent their bodies to the Medical Legal Institute, this Commission has come to the conviction that Augusto Andino Alcayaga Aldunate, José Rosa Devia Devia, Juan Dagoberto Fernández Cuevas, Miguel Alberto Fernández Cuevas, and José Maldonado Fuentes were executed by government agents in a violation of their fundamental human rights without any due process of law or any justification.
On September 17, 1973, Luis Alberto LOBOS CAÑAS, 31, a driver for a high ranking female leader in the Communist party who was himself active in that party, was executed. According to numerous consistent witnesses' reports and other evidence examined, it has been established that he was arrested in his home in the Los Nogales shantytown on the afternoon of September 17 by a group composed of police and civilians. Where he was taken is not known. He was executed hours after his arrest, and his body was found in the street. The autopsy stated that the cause of death was "two perforating bullet wounds, one to the head and the other to the abdomen and torso." Since the circumstances of the arrest, the victim's political activity, and the cause of his death are attested, this Commission concludes that Luis Alberto Lobos Cañas was executed without any due process of law by government agents.
On September 17, 1973, Juan Segundo UTRERAS BELTRÁN, 23, a street vendor, disappeared. The evidence and testimony gathered by this Commission indicate that he was arrested at his home in the Cerro Navia neighborhood on September 17, 1973, during the curfew period by a military patrol. Noting that there were eyewitnesses to the arrest and having examined other evidence, this Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Segundo Utreras Beltrán was arrested by government agents and disappeared in their custody.
On September 17, 1973, two brothers, Paulino Ernesto ORDENES SIMON, 21, a small farmer who was active in the MIR, and Juan Miguel ORDENES SIMON, 20, a small farmer, were arrested in the presence of witnesses. Army personnel from the Patratroop and Special Forces Regiment of Peldehue made the arrest in a peasant community in Lampa.
During that same operation Victor Joaquín MALDONADO GATICA, 21, a student who was active in the MIR, was arrested in the peasant community of El Esfuerzo in Lampa. Other persons were also arrested in that same raid. One of them was Maldonado's brother, who was released after he had been held for some time. The following day their father, Manuel Maldonado Miranda, was also arrested and taken to the installation at Peldehue (his case is related below).
The prisoners were taken to Peldehue where they were beaten. On the night of the 18th they were transferred to the National Stadium where, according to credible witnesses, they were interrogated. According to the statement of a survivor, they were taken out of the National Stadium along with others on September 19, 1973 and executed at the Grecia traffic circle during curfew. According to the death certificates, Paulino died as a result of "two perforating bullets to the torso," Juan Miguel Ordenes died as a result of "bullet wounds to the torso and abdomen," and Victor Maldonado Gatica died of "bullet wounds to the abdomen and the head."
It should be noted that the death certificates of the Ordenes brothers put the time of death as 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. September 16, 1973. Both certificates were written on October 1. This information conflicts with that of the many eyewitnesses to their arrest and that of others who were arrested with them, who consistently say that they were killed later. Maldonado's death certificate, however, puts his death at 11:00 p.m. September 19, 1973 on the corner of Avenida Grecia and Américo Vespucio, which is consistent with the account received.
The Commission has come to the conviction that the Ordenes Simón brothers, Paulino Ernesto and Juan Miguel, and Victor Joaquín Maldonado Gatica, were executed without any due process of law by government agents and that the killing constituted a grave human rights violation.
s) Obligatory civil procedures: This term refers to those procedures such as identification card registration, tax number registration (R.U.T.), and voter registration which are obligatory for all Chileans. Upon leaving the country, Chileans are also obliged to register the exit and reentry if one occurs. "To conduct official business/dealings with government agencies" makes reference to complying with these obligatory civil registration procedures.
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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), 167-179.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.
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