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 (continued)
            
            On September 18, 1973, Jorge AVILA PIZARRO, 27, a doctor who was a MIR activist, was executed. He was arrested on September 17 at Police Station No. 9 when, in obedience to a request, he reported at the Psychiatric Hospital, where he worked. That day at about 4:00 he came to his house in the company of two police officers, who searched the house and impounded some books. He was taken back to Station No. 9, this time accompanied by his wife, who was told that Jorge Avila was being transferred to the National Stadium. Shortly after she returned home, her husband telephoned confirming that he was going to be transferred. Nevertheless, when his wife went to the National Stadium the next day to see Avila, she was told he was not there. Police at Station No. 9 insisted that the transfer had taken place. Only on December 20, 1973, did the family learn that Jorge Avila Pizarro had been dead since September 18 and had been buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery.
            
            According to the autopsy report, the military prosecutor's office sent the body to the Medical Legal Institute, with the name listed as "unknown" and stating that the site of death was not known. The body was identified by the Identification Bureau and the cause of death was declared to be a "gunshot wound to the face and head and a bullet wound to the left side of the thorax."
            
            The Commission came to the conviction that Jorge Avila Pizarro was executed without due process of law by government agents in what constituted a human rights violation. The grounds for its conviction are that his arrest is sufficiently attested; it is not likely nor has it been stated that he was released; and that the military prosecutor's office sent his dead body to the Medical Legal Institute.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Luis Humberto MIÑO SALINAS, 26, was arrested by government agents. Police Station No. 3 sent his dead body to the Medical Legal Institute, noting that it had been found on the Manuel Rodríguez Bridge over the Mapocho River, and that the cause of death was bullet wounds to the chest with complications. The Commission came to the conviction that Luis Miño was killed as a result of political violence.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Manuel Beltrán CANTU SALAZAR, 36, a public school teacher who was a Socialist and an aide to the governor of Santiago, and José Fernando TORRES ARENAS, 25, a DIRINCO (National Bureau of Industry and Trade) inspector, were executed. On September 11 both were arrested by police at the office of the governorship in Santiago, and were being taken toward the Ministry of Defense, but were released before they arrived. From that moment they both stayed at José Torres' apartment located at the corner of Calle Pio Nono and Calle Dardignac. On September 16 police arrested them there and took them to the Calle San Isidro police station. Credible eyewitness reports indicate that they were subsequently taken to the National Stadium and killed there on September 18, 1973. Their bodies, however, appeared at the Medical Legal Institute, where they had been sent by the military prosecutor's office as having been found in the street. The cause of death was said to be "multiple bullet wounds" and was said to have occurred on September 18.
            
            The Commission came to the conviction that Manuel Cantú Salazar and José Fernando Torres were executed without any due process of law by government agents who violated human rights. The grounds for that conviction are that their arrest and their presence in the National Stadium are attested; their dead bodies were sent to the Medical Legal Institute as though they had been found in the street, (although that is unlikely since they were imprisoned and in the custody of government agents); the circumstances of their death suggest a firing squad; and at least Cantú had a politically important position in the Popular Unity government and was an outstanding leader in his party.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Charles Edmund HORMAN LAZAR, 31, a United States citizen, filmmaker and writer, was executed. He was arrested on September 17, by a group of five or six soldiers while he was alone at his home in the Vicuña Mackenna neighborhood. When his wife arrived the next day, it was clear that their house had been raided. Documents that were part of an investigation Horman was carrying out along with other North Americans with whom he had set up a journalistic working group were taken in that raid. On the 17th, Charles Horman was sent to the National Stadium, where he was interrogated. Officials never acknowledged his arrest. Some weeks later his family was informed that he was dead and buried at the General Cemetery. The military prosecutor's office had sent his body to the Medical Legal Institute with an indication that the place of death was not known. His death certificate registers the time of death as September 18, 1973, at 9:45 a.m., and the cause as "multiple bullet wounds." The Commission has come to the conviction that Charles Horman was executed without any due process of law by government agents, and that his human rights were thereby violated. The grounds for that conviction are that his arrest by army agents and his entry into the National Stadium are sufficiently attested, that from that moment there was no further word about him until the family learned of his death, and that the bullet wounds from which he died were similar to those of a firing squad.
            
            Related to that execution, on September 22, 1973, Frank Randall TERUGGI BOMBATCH, 24, a United States citizen with Chilean residency who was a student at the University of Chile, was killed. He was involved with Charles Horman and other U.S. citizens in the press group FIN (North American Investigatory Source). On September 20 at about 9:00 p.m. he and another North American were arrested in his apartment in the ñuñoa neighborhood by policemen from the Macul Subofficers Training School. Both were taken to that school and remained there until the morning of September 21, when they were transferred to the National Stadium. At about 8:00 p.m. on the 21st, the prisoners were separated when Frank Teruggi was summoned by an army officer who was taking names from a list. His friend never saw Teruggi again. Days later his body turned up at the Medical Legal Institute. The death certificate said he died September 22, 1973, at 9:15 p.m., that the cause was "multiple bullet wounds" and that it had taken place in the street. The official version of his death presented by the Foreign Ministry asserted that Frank Teruggi had been arrested on September 20, 1973, for a curfew violation and that he had been released for lack of a reason to hold him.
            
            The Commission cannot accept the official version and in fact has come to the conviction that Frank Teruggi was executed without any due process of law by government agents and that his human rights were thus violated. In doing so it has taken into account that it is established that he was arrested at home and not for a curfew violation and that he was held in the National Stadium; it is clear that he was killed by many bullet wounds while he was being held prisoner by government agents; and his execution took place at the same time as that of Charles Horman.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Leopoldo Raúl BENITEZ HERRERA, 37, an architect who was on the department of architecture faculty at the Catholic University, was killed. On September 17 at about 7:30 p.m. while he was at the house of his wife's parents in the Ñuñoa district, police forces came from the Macul Subofficers Training School forced their way in, searched the house, and threatened the people there. After asking to see the identification papers of everyone in the house, they arrested Benítez, and took him in a police van that had previously been parked outside the entrance to the house. At the Subofficers' Training School his wife learned that he had been there and was told that if he was still alive, she should look for him at the National Stadium. Her inquiries there proved in vain. His body was found on September 24 at the Medical Legal Institute. It had been sent there by the military under the name Leopoldo Raul Benítez Herrera, with a note that he had been found on the street. The death certificate states that he died on September 18, 1973 at 1:35 p.m. as a result of "multiple bullet wounds." However, seven days went by between his arrest and the official notification of his death, and during that time his relatives were given misleading accounts of what had happened to him. One of these was that he was being brought to trial and that his case was going to be heard along with others on September 24, 1973 at the Military Academy.
            
            It is the Commission's conviction that Leopoldo Raul Benítez Herrera was executed without any due process of law by government agents who violated his right to life. That determination is based on the following elements: his arrest by government agents is attested; it is clear that he was at the Macul Subofficers Training School for police; he was killed while in the custody of his captors.
            
            On September 18, 1973 at 3:00 p.m., Humberto PICARTE PATIÑO, 30, was arrested at his home in San Joaquín by police agents. His mother found his body at the Medical Legal Institute after the Vicuña Mackenna police headquarters had sent her there. The death certificate says he died as a result of "bullet wounds to the thorax and lung areas," and says it occurred at September 18, 1973 at 3:00 p.m. in San Joaquín. Since it is established that he was arrested by police agents and died of bullet wounds, this Commission has come to the conviction that Humberto Picarte Patiño was executed by government agents who violated his right to life.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Ernesto Carlos BRIZUELAS PONTIGO, 34, a worker, died at the intersection of Calle Gorbea and Calle Molina as a result of a bullet wound to the head. In view of the nature and date of his death, the Commission has come to the conviction that Ernesto Carlos Brizuelas Pontigo was killed by government agents using excessive force.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Sergio Orlando PERALTA MARTINEZ, 39, a surveyor who was an advisor to the governor's office in Santiago and active in the Socialist party, was killed. On September 16 he was arrested by air force troops at his home on Calle Obispo Donoso in the neighborhood of Providencia, and taken to an unknown destination. Countless efforts by his family to determine his whereabouts were in vain. His body was found on September 23 at the Medical Legal Institute. The death certificate says he died of a "perforating bullet wound to the thorax," and puts the date as September 18, 1973. This Commission has come to the conviction that Sergio Orlando Peralta was executed without any due process of law by government agents who violated his right to life. The grounds for that conviction are the certainty that he was arrested, his political activity and the manner in which he died.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Jorge Rodrigo MUÑOZ MELLA, 18, a student, and José Andrés GARCIA LAZO, 29, a television repairman, were arrested at their home on Calle Bascuñán. That night a police patrol burst violently into their house and arrested both young men. Numerous consistent witnesses say they heard shouts and shots and observed the young men being put into the police truck. Then they saw the police take two people out of the truck, shoot them while they were lying on the ground, and then put them back in the vehicle. The many inquiries and legal efforts made by their relatives were all met with denials. To the present nothing is known concerning the fate or whereabouts of these young men. Since it is fully established that they were arrested, and that neither of these young men had subsequent contact with their families, had any dealings with government agencies, or were registered as having left the country, this Commission has come to the conviction that Jorge Muñoz and José Andrés García disappeared at the hands of government agents who violated their human rights.
            
            On September 18, 1973, two brothers, José Gregorio HERNANDEZ ANDRADE, 27, a public school teacher and a MAPU activist, and Roberto Darío HERNANDEZ ANDRADE, 26, an employee at CORFO who was also a MAPU activist, were killed. On September 16 police forces arrived at the home of the Hernández Andrade family. They searched the property inquiring about the Secretary General of MAPU, for whom both brothers had worked as a driver. They then arrested both of them, along with a neighbor who was in the house. Witnesses say they were taken to the Second police station. The neighbor was released the next day. The family's efforts to discover the whereabouts of the young men were fruitless. On September 26 relatives found their bodies at the Medical Legal Institute. Both had been found in the street. José Gregorio's death certificate says the cause of death was a "bullet wound to the thorax and neck region," and Roberto Dario's was "a perforating bullet wound to the head." The date of death for both is September 18, 1973. Since it is fully attested that both were arrested and that the cause of death was bullet wounds, this Commission has reached the conviction that the execution of José Gregorio and Roberto Darío Hernández Andrade was a human rights violation for which the government was responsible because it was the work of its agents.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Luis Hilario HERMOSILLA MUÑOZ, 45, a driver for a high ranking Communist party leader who was also an activist in that party, was killed. He was arrested on September 17 by police forces who took him away, telling him that they needed him to turn over the vehicle he drove which was parked a few blocks away. His relatives searched for him unsuccessfully in a number of places until September 22, when they found his body at the Medical Legal Institute. The death certificate states that he died of "a perforating bullet wound to the head." Place: the street; date: September 18, 1973. Since it is attested that he was arrested by government agents and that he died of bullet wounds, and taking into account his political activism and job, this Commission has come to the conviction that Luis Hilario Hermosilla was executed by government agents who violated his right to life.
            
            On September 18, 1973, José Fernando TORRES ARENAS, 26, an inspector at DIRINCO (Bureau of Industry and Trade) and a firefighter, was executed. On September 16 he was arrested together with another person at his home in the presence of witnesses. Those arresting him were police, and a family acquaintance says he saw José Torres that same day at the National Stadium. Some days later on the 26th, the family found his name among the lists of people dead at the Medical Legal Institute. The autopsy report indicates that the body was sent by the military prosecutor's office, supposedly after it was found in the street. The cause of death is listed as "multiple bullet wounds." The Commission came to the conviction that he was executed in an action for which government agents were responsible, and that his human rights were thereby violated, especially since his arrest is attested and that the cause of death makes it reasonable to assume that it was the work of government agents.
            
            On September 19, 1973, Segundo Enrique THOMES PALAVECINOS, 15, a high school student and a worker, was killed. On that day he took a public bus on the way back to his house. Along the way at around 6:30 p.m., police stopped the bus in the Walker Martínez neighborhood and arrested all the male passengers. An eyewitness who was among those arrested reported this information to the family. Segundo Thomes' death occurred at 9:00 p.m. on September 19; the certificate says the body was found in the street with a bullet wound to the head and many to the abdomen. The family identified the body at the Medical Legal Institute, and it was buried in the General Cemetery. In view of the evidence gathered and credible testimony received, this Commission has come to the conviction that the death of Segundo Enrique Thomes Palavecinos can be attributed to the political violence of that period and that it is reasonable to think that it was the result of actions by government agents.
            
            On September 19, 1973, Ramón Luis ESCOBAR CHAVARRIA, a taxi driver, was killed at about 2:00 a.m., while curfew was in effect. He took a woman from his neighborhood to the Carolina Freire Maternity Hospital. On his way home, at about 3:30 a.m. [sic] at the intersection of Calle Carrión and Calle Vivaceta, he was hit by a bullet, and was taken to the José Joaquín Aguirre Hospital and died there. His body had a "bullet wound in the chest with complications," according to the autopsy report. Taking into account the context in which these events occurred, and the cause of the victim's death, this Commission has come to the conviction that Ramón Luis Escobar Chavarría was killed by government agents using excessive force.
            
            On September 19, 1973, Alvaro Agustín SALCE ASCORRA, 48, a resident in the United States who worked there administering buildings and was in Chile for family reasons, was killed. That afternoon he set out toward the house of a female friend near Plaza Italia and never arrived. His family searched for him without any result, until they found his body at the Medical Legal Institute on September 26. His body had been sent there by the military prosecutor's office after he had been found on Avenida Bustamente. The autopsy report states that the cause of death was "three perforating bullet wounds to the chest." Taking into account the cause of death and the date and time of these events, this Commission is convinced that Alvaro Agustín Salce died as the result of use of excessive force by government agents.
            
            On September 19, 1973, Mario Armando CANEDO ROJAS, a security guard who was the neighborhood council secretary of Villa Salvador Allende and active in the Socialist party, was arrested. The arrest took place in the street in the presence of witnesses, in front of the San Rafael police headquarters. His relatives looked for him in a number of places, but everywhere they went they were told he was not there. On September 23 his body was found at the Medical Legal Institute. The autopsy report attests that the body was "sent by the Chilean Air Force at El Bosque, with the note that it had been found at the El Bosque air base," and that the cause of death was "a perforating bullet wound to the neck." The Commission has come to the conviction that the death of Mario Armando Canedo Rojas involved a grave violation of his right to life committed by government agents. The grounds for this conviction are the fact he was arrested and the cause and place of his death.
            
            On September 19, 1973, at 3:00 p.m. Luis Gilberto MATAMALA VANEGAS, 16, a high school student and vendor, was executed. Police forces from the San Joaquín headquarters violently entered his house in the Isabel Riquelme shantytown. Without even asking him his name, they shot him and withdrew, leaving him gravely wounded. He died on the way to the Red Cross Clinic. When the family went to the police to ask for an explanation of what had happened, they were told it had been a mistake. Nevertheless, in a 1976 response to the Interamerican Human Rights Commission, the Foreign Ministry stated that Luis Matamala had died in a shootout with the police. The information given here indicates in itself that the official version is implausible. This Commission is convinced that Gilberto Matamala was executed without due process of law by government agents.
            
            Several persons were arrested between September 19-21, 1973 at the Airolite, S.A. factory, located on the Panamerican highway north in the Conchalí district. Three of them were executed:
            
            Ernesto VASQUEZ GODOY, 22, an employee who was a MIR activist. He was arrested by police from the Fifth station inside the factory on September 19. That same afternoon police forces raided his house. His family unsuccessfully looked for him in a number of detention sites until they found his body at the Medical Legal Institute on September 26. The death certificate indicates that he died of "multiple bullet wounds." (The autopsy report attests that he was hit sixteen times). Place: the street. Date: September 19, 1973.
            
            Guillermo Osvaldo VALLEJO FERDINAND, 38, a law school graduate who was the legal advisor to the government representative at the company and an active member of the Socialist party. Police from the Fifth station arrested him September 20, 1973 inside the company and took him to that police station. His wife saw him there and was told that he was going to be transferred to the National Stadium, but officials there did not acknowledge his presence. His body was later found at the Medical Legal Institute. The death certificate says he died of a "bullet wound to the head." Date: September 22, 1973. Place: the street. The autopsy report attests to fourteen bullet holes in various parts of his body.
            
            Miguel Hernán ARANCIBIA CASTILLO, 28, an employee and union member. He was arrested on September 21 inside the company by police who took him to the Fifth station. At that station his relatives were told that he had been released. His body was found buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery on October 11 and was exhumed on October 14. The death certificate states that he died of "bullet wounds to the head and neck and to the chest and right hand." Date: September 22, 1973. Place: the street. The autopsy report notes obvious signs of torture.
            
            This Commission has come to the conviction that Ernesto Vásquez, Guillermo Vallejo, and Miguel Arancibia were executed without any due process of law and that their bodies were left in the street by government agents. The grounds for this conviction are the proof that they were arrested, the cause of their deaths, and the manner in which their bodies were found.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Jorge Carlos Romualdo RUZ ZUÑIGA, 26, a hydraulic engineer, was arrested. He worked at SERCOTEC (Technical Cooperation Service) and was arrested there by army troops from the Guardia Vieja Regiment of Los Andes. He was transferred to the grounds of the International Trade Fair of Santiago, where troops from that regiment were quartered. He was later transferred to the National Stadium, where he was interrogated but was held for only four hours. That same night, September 20, he and another of those arrested at SERCOTEC, were taken out, along with three others. They were driven in a police van to the edge of the Maipó River, where the police forced them to kneel down and executed them. Their bodies were thrown into the river. One of these people managed to escape the firing squad by jumping into the river and avoiding being hit by bullets. Jorge Ruz's body was never found. This Commission has come to the conviction that since it is established that he was arrested, held, and executed, but his remains have not been found, Juan [sic] Ruz Zuñiga is one who disappeared after arrest at the hands of government agents in a violation of his human rights.
            
            On September 20, 1973 at 6:00 a.m., air force, army and police troops in a joint operation began a raid in the La Bandera shantytown in the district of La Granja. This Commission has received testimony indicating that several people were arrested during this raid, and were taken to an athletic field in the shantytown. There the troops blindfolded them and forced them to lie face down on the ground. This operation lasted until 6:00 p.m. Later some people were transferred to the El Bosque air base and the 25th police station, which is located on Avenida Santa Rosa. This Commission examined the cases of three of those arrested on this occasion who remained disappeared and one person who was executed:
            
            Ricardo Octavio LOPEZ ELGUEDA, 15, street vendor. He was arrested inside his house in the presence of his family and taken to the athletic field. From there he was taken as a prisoner to the 25th police station, where he was last seen by witnesses. From that moment his fate and whereabouts are unknown.
            
            Héctor Orlando VICENCIO GONZALEZ, 24, a worker, was arrested at home in the presence of his family and neighbors by air force troops. They arrested him when he said he had no identification card. Despite his family's countless efforts to locate him, he remains disappeared to this date.
            
            Simón Eladio SANCHEZ PEREZ, 17, student, who lived with his family in Villa O'Higgins in the La Florida district. That day his father sent him to drop off a sheet of roofing in the La Bandera shantytown. The area was being searched at that very moment, and it is assumed that he was arrested when he entered it. His whereabouts are unknown since that date.
            
            Luis Osvaldo SILVA, 38, a street vendor. He was arrested at home, in the presence of witnesses, by troops who beat him and took him to an unknown destination. His family looked for him in vain in different places. On September 30 they were told that his body had been found on San Cristobal hill with many bullet wounds. The date of death is September 21.
            
            Taking into account the circumstances of these arrests and the fact that three of these persons had no further contact with their families, had no official dealings with government agencies, and were not registered as having left the country, this Commission has come to the conviction that Ricardo López, Héctor Vicencio and Simón Sanchez were disappeared by force and that Luis Osvaldo Silva was executed, all by government agents in violation of their human rights.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Juan Carlos DIAZ FIERRO, 27, an office worker who was the secretary of the labor union at Casa García and a Communist party activist, was killed. He was apprehended by army troops the previous day at the Casa García store, and taken to a military unit where the family says his arrest was acknowledged. However, they were later given different and contradictory accounts of his fate and whereabouts. Their countless inquiries proved fruitless. His dead body was brought to the morgue on September 20 and was buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery. Since that time his family has not been able to reclaim his body in order to bury it. The death certificate states that the cause of death was a "perforating bullet wound to the head." Place: Santiago, Avenida España, 450. Date: September 20, 1973 at 6:30 a.m. Since his arrest is fully attested, and taking into account the cause of his death, this Commission came to the conviction that Juan Díaz was executed without any due process of law by government agents, thus violating his right to life.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Vicente Ramón BLANCO UBILLA, 37, president of the association of homeless in the El Olivo shantytown in San Bernardo and active in and the registrar of the Communist party of San Bernardo, disappeared after being arrested. According to his family, the authorities were looking for him from September 11 onward and so he hid. He finally decided to surrender and did so with his wife at the San Bernardo police station. Both were arrested on September 20, 1973, but she was released two days later. After her own release she heard nothing more about the fate of her husband. Given these antecedents, this Commission has come to the conviction that the disappearance of Vicente Ramón Blanco Ubilla constituted a grave human rights violation for which government agents were responsible, since his arrest is attested by credible testimony and there is no indication that he was ever subsequently released.
            
            On September 20, 1973, José Rafael MUÑOZ CONTRERAS, 24, married, a street vendor, was killed in the street. On September 20 at about 10:00 p.m. he left his house to go to the store. Twenty days later his wife found his body at the morgue. The death certificate states that he died of "two abdominal bullet wounds" and that the place of his death was "a public thoroughfare in Santiago." Although it does not know under precisely what circumstances José Muñoz lost his life, this Commission has come to the conviction that he died as a result of the political violence in the country at the time of his death.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Rafael ARCE JEREZ, 21, an office worker, was killed. At around noon on September 20 he left his house on the way to the Gran Avenida branch of the Banco del Trabajo in order to cash a check. When he did not return home, his family began looking for him. They finally found his body at the Medical Legal Institute. According to the death certificate the body had bullet wounds. The time of death was 11:00 p.m. September 20. The family later learned that there had been a major military operation there that day and many arrests were made. Since it is attested that members of the armed forces were carrying out an operation, and taking into account the circumstances and causes of death, this Commission came to the conviction that Rafael Arce Jerez died as a result of political violence, and it is to be presumed that government agents killed him.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Pedro Armando MENA SEPULVEDA, 38, a butcher, was killed. He was last seen on September 20 as he was leaving his job at the Franklin slaughterhouse. He turned up dead of bullet wounds at the Medical Legal Institute. The date of death is September 20. Because of the antecedents noted, the fact that he was shot to death, and the circumstances of the time, the Commission has come to the conviction that Pedro Mena Sepulveda died as a result of the political violence that took place after September 11, 1973.
            
            According to his family, on September 20, 1973, Carlos Antonio GUZMAN ALTAMIRANO, 23, an unmarried vendor, was killed. His dead body was sent to the Medical Legal Institute by the Vicuña Mackenna police headquarters, and the cause of death was multiple bullet wounds. The Commission has come to the conviction that Carlos Guzmán was killed as a result of the political violence prevailing at that time.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Luis Alfredo DIAZ JERIA, 18, disappeared. That day he was arrested by police from the Curacaví police force headquarters that day, while he was buying some things, and he was taken to that police station. Since that date there has been no further information on him. Since the evidence in its possession attests to the fact that he was arrested, this Commission has come to the conviction that his disappearance was the work of government agents who violated his human rights.
            
            On September 21, 1973, Patricio Enrique MANRIQUEZ NORAMBUENA, 17, a student who was active in the Young Communists, was executed. He was arrested the previous day by police from the Fourth station, who searched his house and apprehended him as well as confiscating some books. The following day police at that station said that he had been transferred to the National Stadium, but that proved to be false. On the 22nd, the bullet-ridden body of Patricio Manríquez was found along the train tracks in the area of Lira, as indicated in his death certificate. Alongside the body were the books that his captors had taken from the young man's house. The Commission came to the conviction that the execution of Patricio Manríquez Norambuena constituted a grave violation of his fundamental rights at the hands of government agents. The grounds for this conviction are that it is thoroughly established that he was arrested, his political activity, and the place and state in which his body was found.
            
            On September 21, 1973, police from the Dávila station arrived to carry out a raid at the Clínica Bancaria de Pensiones and arrested:
            
            Antonio Artemio TAMAYO REYES, 31, an office worker;
            
            Luis Alberto ORTEGA FERNANDEZ, 31, an office worker;
            
            Luis Porfirio ALZAMORA GONZALEZ, 21, an office worker; and
            
            Luis Sergio MENDEZ ORTEGA, 25, a mechanic.
            
            They arrested a total of ten employees whose names they had on a list and took them to the police station for interrogation. That afternoon they released six of them. The other four were taken to the National Stadium, and their names appeared on the list of people there, according to testimony received by this Commission. Word came to the clinic that their bodies were at the Medical Legal Institute. All the autopsy reports indicate that the bodies were brought from the National Stadium and that the cause of death was bullet wounds. When the coffins were turned over to the families, they were already sealed. The date of their death is September 22. After examining the evidence gathered, the Commission came to the conviction that these people were executed without any legal process. The grounds for that conviction are that it is established that all were arrested and held in the National Stadium, that they died of bullet wounds, and that three died in the National Stadium; hence it is to be presumed that the fourth death took place under the same circumstances.
            
            On September 21, 1973, at about 7:45 p.m. police from the Walker Martinez station arrested the following three people at their home:
            
            Alamiro Segundo GONZALEZ SAAVEDRA, 41, a merchant;
            
            Manuel José GONZALEZ ALLENDE, 16, a student; and
            
            Simón Cirineo ALLENDE FUENZALIDA, 26, a merchant.
            
            According to those who witnessed what happened, the police were drunk and during the arrest searched the home of these men. Alamiro González was wounded in the leg in front of his house at the moment of arrest. The next day relatives found their bodies near the Pio Nono Bridge on the banks of the Mapocho River. This Commission came to the conviction that the deaths of Alamiro González Saavedra, Manuel Antonio González Allende and Simón Allende Fuenzalida were executions which occurred without any due process of law and which constituted a grave human rights violation by government agents, particularly of the right to life. The grounds for coming to this conviction are that their arrest is attested and that the bodies with bullet wounds were found on the banks of the Mapocho River, as indicated on their death certificates, which registers the date of death as September 21.
            
            On September 22, 1973, Nelson Gonzalo DURAN CASTILLO, 22, an ex-marine, was killed. On that day Durán, who had retired from the marines a few months before September 11, went to present himself at the recruiting office on 18th St.^t Since he did not return home and there was no word about him, the family went looking for him, until at the Medical Legal Institute they were told that he had died as a result of bullet wounds. The autopsy report described the body as having "many fractures and widespread destruction along the whole left side and part of the right side of the facial cranial mass, torn skin muscle and a bruise wound on the upper third of the left thigh," which indicates that he had been subjected to torture; he also had bullet wounds, to the "head and abdominal cavity with complications." The relatives said that they had not been able to view the body and that it was handed over to them in a sealed casket. The time of death registered by the death certificate is 4:00 a.m. September 22, that is, while the curfew was in effect.
            
            The Commission came to the conviction that the death of Nelson Durán Castillo was an execution which took place without any due process of law and that it constituted a grave human rights violation. The grounds for this conviction are the state of his remains and the fact that he was killed during the curfew period, which indicate a premeditated action against him. Under the circumstances government agents can reasonably be assumed to have been responsible.
            
            On September 22, 1973, police at the Conchalí checkpoint arrested:
            
            Juan Guillermo ARREDONDO GONZALEZ, 33, a lathe operator who was an active Communist;
            
            Juan Humberto Alberto ORELLANA ALARCON, 31, a worker; and
            
            José Gabriel MOLINA GUERRERO, 31, a married locksmith who was an active Socialist.
            
            They were arrested in the presence of many witnesses during a police operation in the Pablo Neruda shantytown in the Conchalí district and taken to the area checkpoint. The bodies of Arredondo and Molina were found along the General San Martín highway; that of Orellana was found in the street and taken to the Medical Legal Institute. Molina's death certificate registers the date of death as September 22, 1973, and the cause, according to the autopsy report, was "two perforating bullet wounds in the cranium which destroyed the raquidean bulb, protuberance, and cerebellum." It also adds that such wounds are made by "high power bullets." The cause of Arredondo's death, according to his autopsy report is "bilateral bleeding in the thoracic cavity, a perforating wound of the superior and middle lobes of the right lung and a perforating wound of the inferior lobe of the left lung." The cause of Orellana's death was "bullet wounds to the head." These two are dated on September 23.
            
            Given the evidence it has examined, this Commission has come to the conviction that the human rights of Juan Guillermo Arredondo González, José Gabriel Molina Guerrero and Juan Humberto Orellana Alarcón were gravely violated, and that government agents are responsible for that action since their arrest is thoroughly attested by reliable witnesses and the causes of their deaths can reasonably be attributed to armed agents, who left the bodies abandoned.
            
            On September 23, 1973,
            
            Jaime Iván MENESES CISTERNAS, 28, a freelance photographer;
            
            Miguel Segundo ORELLANA BARRERA, 32, a driver;
            
            Jorge Bernardino PINTO ESQUIVEL, 53, a union leader; and
            
            Nardo del Carmen SEPULVEDA MANCILLA, 24, a worker,
            
            were killed. The first three were arrested in a military operation carried out in the Roosevelt shantytown that morning and loaded onto a bus being used by soldiers from the Buin Regiment. It has not been possible to determine where they were taken. The fourth was arrested at his workplace, in the Conchalí district, also by troops of the Buin Regiment. All the bodies, with many bullet wounds as indicated on their death certificates, were found that same day on the Panamerican highway north. The Commission has come to the conviction that the deaths of Jaime Iván Meneses Cisternas, Miguel Segundo Orellana Barrera and Jorge Bernardino Pinto Esquivel were executions which took place without any due process of law and were grave human rights violations that can be attributed to the action of government agents, since it is established that they were arrested and in view of the specific causes of their deaths.
            
            On September 23, 1973, José Alfredo VIDAL MOLINA, 27, a worker, disappeared. He was arrested on September 23 at his house in the Nueva Matucana shantytown by a group composed of both police and soldiers and then taken to an unknown destination. From that moment there have been no indications of his whereabouts. His family went to the banks of the Mapocho River, where the bodies of people arrested under similar circumstances had been found, but they were unable to locate his body. José Alfredo Vidal has remained missing since the date of his arrest. Further confirmation comes from the fact that he has not carried out any dealings with the government, he has not left the country, and has not had contact with his family throughout this period. These facts, which the Commission has verified, support its conviction that we have here the case of someone who disappeared after being arrested by government agents.
            
            On September 23, 1973, Ramón Osvaldo JARA ESPINOZA, 23, a plumber, was killed. He was arrested at his home in the Roosevelt shantytown in the Conchalí district, by soldiers, police and investigative police, during the search operations being carried out by this shantytown's police station. His bullet ridden body turned up on the Bulnes Bridge, and it was sent to the Medical Legal Institute where it was identified by his relatives. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was a "perforating bullet wound to the head with complications." The date of death was the same as that of his arrest. Since it is established that he was arrested and held in a police facility, that his body was found in a public place, that the autopsy report says the cause of death was a bullet wound, and that it occurred on the date of his arrest, the Commission has come to the conviction that Ramón Osvaldo Jara Espinoza was executed and that his human rights were gravely violated by the action of armed government agents while he was a prisoner in their custody.
            
            On September 23, 1973, Enrique Segundo MONTERO MONTERO, 29, an itinerant vendor, disappeared after being arrested at his house by police from the San Bernardo station. Police told the family that the day after he was taken to the San Bernardo police station, he was transferred to Cerro Chena. However, at that site they did not acknowledge his arrest. Since that date the family did not discover anything more about his fate, until as a result of their efforts SENDET (Executive National Secretariat of Prisoners) answered that "according to official information in the possession of this secretariat, the citizen Enrique Segundo Montero Montero, died in combat as a result of September 11, 1973." Despite this official statement, there is no death certificate or any other document attesting to his death. This Commission is convinced that the status of Enrique Segundo Montero Montero is that of disappeared, and government agents were responsible for the violation of his human rights. The official version that he was killed in combat is not credible since it is established that he was arrested by police and therefore must have been in their custody, and that there is no legal evidence of whatever kind of death he may have suffered.
            
            On September 23, 1973,
            
            Ofelia Rebeca VILLARROEL LATIN, 29, a foreign trade department secretary who was responsible for the women's section of unionized office workers and an active Communist;
            
            Donato QUISPE CHOQUE, an employee of Bolivian nationality; and
            
            Adrián del Carmen SEPULVEDA FARIAS, 27, an employee in the thread making section who was an employee representative and a leftist sympathizer,
            
            were arrested along with twenty other workers at the Sumar factory, which was part of what was known as the Vicuña Mackenna industrial belt. Soldiers had raided and searched this factory on September 12 and taken over the company. On September 23, most of the workers obeyed a call from the new authorities and showed up for work. As the employees arrived at the factory they were lined up; those who were considered the most dangerous according to lists the military were consulting were set apart. Numerous factory and office workers who were inside the company consistently testified that soldiers arrested these people and separated them from the other workers who had also been arrested. This was the last time they were seen alive.
            
            Their bodies were found on the General San Martín highway and sent to the Medical Legal Institute. The autopsies indicated that they died the day they were arrested. Their bodies bore many bullet wounds. The fact that all were blindfolded indicated that they had been executed. The evidence gathered, particularly the testimony that credibly attests to their arrest and how it was carried out, added to the date and cause of death, has led this Commission to the conviction that Ofelia Rebeca Villarroel Latín, Donato Quispe Choque, and Adrián del Carmen Sepúlveda Farías were executed and that their human rights were gravely violated by government agents.
            
            On September 23, 1973, Fernando Isidro VERA ORTEGA, 18, was executed. He had been arrested at his house in La Pincoya shantytown during a large scale search operation. All those arrested were taken to the local athletic field and then to the La Pincoya police station. His relatives say that there they were told that the prisoners had been taken to the Buin Regiment, but all their inquiries made there were in vain. His body was later found on the General San Martín highway. The time of death is 11:15 a.m. that same day, September 23. His body had deep wounds in the left temporal and right parietal lobes and the cause of death was "bullet wounds to the head and thorax with complications." In view of the evidence it has examined, and since it is established that he was arrested on the day of his death and that the circumstances of his death prove that this was the work of armed agents, the Commission has come to the conviction that Fernando Isidro Vera was executed without any due process of law and suffered a grave human rights violation at the hands of government agents.
            
            

t) Eighteenth Street: This is a street located in the heart of downtown Santiago. The name refers to September 18, which is observed as Chile's National Day. September 19 has traditionally been observed as Armed Forces Day. The two days together are referred to as the Fiestas Patrias.

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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), 179-193.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.