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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 24, 1973, Carlos Enrique Mario NICHOLLS RIVERA, 27, a chemical engineer and active Communist, was executed after being arrested at his home in the Maipú district by a military patrol. On the day he was arrested he was taken to the International Trade Fairgrounds in Santiago. From there he was taken by night and later executed at the intersection of Avenida General Velásquez and the road to Melipilla. Government officials had his body buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery without informing the family. They were able to have it exhumed only some time later. The autopsy certificate says that his death was caused by multiple bullet wounds to the torso and abdomen with complications and that it occurred on the same day he was arrested. The Commission has been able to come to the conviction that Carlos Nicholls Rivera died as a result of being executed without any due process of law, and that this was a grave human rights violation for which government agents were responsible. The grounds for that conviction are the attested fact that he was arrested, his violent death and the circumstances of his burial; his political activism has also been taken into account.
On September 24, 1973, Roberto Hernán CACERES SANTIBAÑEZ, 16, an itinerant vendor, was executed after being arrested by police. After being arrested he was taken to the Fourth police station. Some days later his bullet ridden body was found at the Medical Legal Institute, where it had been sent by the military prosecutor's office. The autopsy report states that the place of death was the corner of Avenida Departamental and Macul and that it took place on September 24, at 11:00 a.m. Since it is established that he was arrested, and taking into account the cause of death, the Commission has come to the conviction that Roberto Hernán Cáceres was executed without any due process of law, and that his human rights were violated by government agents.
On September 24, 1973, Arnoldo CAMU VELOSO, 36, a lawyer who was a legal advisor to the presidency and active in and member of the political commission of the Socialist party, was executed in the street. He had been in hiding from September 11 while still maintaining contact with his family. Prior to his death troops had come to his house intending to arrest him. On September 24, he had arranged to meet his wife in a public place in downtown Santiago but did not arrive there. According to eyewitness reports the Commission has received, he was stopped in the street by armed civilians who put him in a car and shot him there. Fatally wounded, he was taken the Central Emergency Clinic where he died. The autopsy report says the cause of death was a "recent perforating bullet wound to the spinal cord," and that it took place on September 24 at 12:45 p.m. Taking into account the political activity of the victim, his responsibilities in the party and his work as a legal advisor to the president, the fact that he was being sought by troops, that he was named in the legal process initiated by the Chilean Air Force-trial record 1-73, and that the autopsy report notes that he was shot at close range and is consonant with the eyewitness report that he was shot inside a vehicle, the Commission has come to the conviction that Arnoldo Camú Veloso was executed without any due process of law by government agents, and that this act was a grave human rights violation.
On September 25, 1973, Jorge Alberto VERGARA UMAÑA, 30, a shoemaker, was executed after being arrested by troops at his home in the Nueva Ilusión shantytown located at El Cortijo on the Panamerican highway north. He was arrested during a large scale search operation in the area. After many inquiries, the family found his body at the Medical Legal Institute. According to the death certificate the cause of death was a "perforating bullet wound to the head," and the date was the same as that of his arrest. In view of the cause and date of death, and since according to credible testimony he was arrested by government agents, the Commission came to the conviction that José Alberto Vergara was executed without any due process of law, and that his human rights were thereby violated by government agents.
On September 26, 1973
Oscar Antonio LOBOS URBINA, 24, a worker;
Amado de Jesús RIOS PRADENA, 31, a merchant; and
Manuel Jesús ARANCIBIA ARANCIBIA, 29, a street vendor,
were killed on the grounds of a police facility. The official account states that these three men had participated in an attack on a police ambulance in the La Legua shantytown on September 11, 1973. According to the newspaper report, First Sergeant José Humberto Wettlyn and three other police were killed in this attack. On September 15 air force personnel arrested Lobos and Ríos in La Legua, and the next day they arrested Arancibia at his house. Arancibia was transferred to the National Stadium, and nothing more was known of him until his body showed up at the Medical Legal Institute. The newspaper account states that the three were submitted to a war tribunal, sentenced to death, and killed by firing squad at a police unit on Calle Las Perdices in the La Reina district.
The autopsy report states that the La Reina Police Subofficers headquarters sent the bodies to the Medical Legal Institute, and that the cause of Rios Pradenas' death was a "perforating bullet wound to the head." It states that Lobos Urbina died of "perforating bullet wounds to the head and to the neck," and that Arancibia Arancibia died of "perforating bullet wounds to the thorax and abdominal thorax." The Commission submitted requests to the proper officials for the trial record but did not receive it.
By reason of the foregoing, the Commission came to the conviction that these three men were executed and were not granted their right to a proper trial, since there is no reliable record that the alleged war tribunal actually took place, that even if it did take place, they did not have the right to a legal defense that could have prevented the death penalty or modified the degree of guilt or of participation. All of this was a human rights violation, regardless of whatever responsibility those who were executed may have had for the events for which they were condemned to death.
On September 26, 1973, Freddy Flavio MOLINA RODRIGUEZ, 34, a worker, was executed after being arrested by police and soldiers the previous day at his house in the El Cortijo shantytown. All those arrested on that occasion were taken in a truck to the Fifth police station in Plaza Chacabuco. There his family was told that he had been transferred to the National Stadium, but it became clear that such was not the case. Relatives found his body on October 5, 1973 at the Medical Legal Institute. According to the death certificate he was killed on September 26, 1973 at Portezuelos, Quilicura. Since his arrest has been established, and taking into account the cause of death, the Commission has come to the conviction that Freddy Flavio Molina was executed without any due process of law, and that his human rights were thereby gravely violated by government agents.
On September 26, 1973, Juan Arturo CERON BARROS, 32, an itinerant merchant, was executed. That day he came to the La Pincoya shantytown, the departure point for the trucks with which he worked. He was arrested in the course of a search operation conducted in the neighborhood by military and police. His body was later found in Portezuelos in the Quilicura district. The autopsy report says that the cause of death was "a series of perforating bullet wounds, to the head, thorax and members, hemorrhaging and acute loss of blood. The path of the bullet wound in the middle third of the left upper arm is from back to front, left to right, and top to bottom." The date of death is the same as that of his arrest. Since his arrest by military personnel is attested, and taking into account the date and cause of death, the Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Arturo Cerón Barros was executed without any due process of law, and that government agents were thereby responsible for violating human rights.
On September 27, 1973, Juan Patricio PALMA RODRIGUEZ, 17, a student, was killed. He had disappeared on September 11, 1973, in the course of a search operation being conducted near his home in San Joaquín during which several people were arrested. His family heard no word about him from the time he disappeared until they learned that the youth's body had turned up near the Metropolitan Cemetery, and that, according to his death certificate the cause of death was "bullet wounds to the head and thorax," and that it took place on September 27. The family never saw his body, and he was buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery in Santiago. Taking into account this evidence, the fact that a police operation took place the day the youth disappeared, and the specific features of his death (which occurred several days after the date of his probable arrest), the Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Patricio Palma Rodríguez was executed by government agents and that he was consequently a victim of political violence.
On September 27, 1973, Ramón Bernardo BELTRAN SANDOVAL, 24, itinerant vendor, was killed. On the day of his death, he left home and never returned. In their efforts to determine his whereabouts, his family found his body already buried in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery and learned from his death certificate that he had been killed by multiple bullet wounds. Based on the evidence it has received, this Commission has come to the conviction that the death of Ramón Bernardo Beltrán Sandoval was a product of the political violence of that time, and it is presumed to be the work of government agents.
On September 27, 1973, Julio CHACON HORMAZABAL, 26, a member of the presidential security guard and an active Socialist, was arrested at home by men in civilian dress who identified themselves as investigative police. At the time of arrest, it was said that he was going to be taken to the Defense Ministry. He had been held prisoner at the headquarters of the San Fernando Regiment from September 8-16, 1973. After his arrest there was no further information concerning his whereabouts, despite the many efforts his relatives made on his behalf. His identification card has not been renewed, and there is no record of death, voter registration, or information on any travels. The Commission has come to the conviction that the human rights of Julio Chacón Hormazábal were violated, and that since the fact that he was arrested is thoroughly attested, his death should be regarded as the work of government agents.
On September 27, a military patrol came to the Chilean Autos Company and arrested two workers, both of them union leaders. Their names are Mario PARRA GUZMAN, 29, a worker, and Luis Ricardo HERRERA GONZALEZ, 34, a worker who was active in the Communist party. Their bodies, bearing bullet wounds, were found the next day in front of a garage at the Peugeot dealership. The management at Chilean Autos asked the army for information on the arrest of two of its workers. The answer received was that "these people had in fact been arrested and interrogated at a military facility, but that they had been released at 9:15 p.m." It added that "there is no evidence on what they were doing between the time they were released and when their bodies were found the next day. However, it can be presumed that these activists had a gun battle with an unidentified patrol and that in the course of the gun battle these citizens lost their lives." Since the fact that they were arrested is established by the express statement of their captors; since the army's official response is implausible-namely that they were released during curfew hours-and since it is even less credible that they would have been carrying weapons immediately after being released and then had a shootout with an unknown military patrol; and also taking into account their political activity and their roles as union leaders, and the cause and circumstances of their deaths, the Commission has come to the conviction that the execution of Mario Parra Guzmán and Luis Ricardo Herrera González constituted a grave violation of their human rights committed by government agents.
On September 28, 1973, Omar Enrique BALBOA TRONCOSO, 18, a student, and Patricio Humberto PARRA QUINTANILLA, 14, a student, were executed after being arrested in their homes in the Villa La Cisterna No. 1 shantytown by air force personnel from the El Bosque air base. They were arrested as the result of accusations by neighbors. Toward the end of October the Medical Legal Institute told their relatives that their bullet ridden bodies had been found alongside the Metropolitan Cemetery, that the date of death was September 28, and that they had been buried side by side in Lot 29 of the General Cemetery. As a result of the evidence it has found, and especially since it is established that they were arrested, and in consequence of the style and circumstances of their deaths, this Commission has come to the conviction that Omar Enrique Balboa Troncoso and Patricio Humberto Parra Quintanilla were executed and that they were victims of a grave human rights violation at the hands of government agents.
On September 29, Raúl Antonio MUÑOZ MUÑOZ, 50, an office worker and union leader, disappeared after being arrested at his home in the Einstein shantytown in El Salto by troops from the Buin Regiment. He was immediately transferred to the headquarters of the special forces police. He then disappeared, and there has been no further word on his whereabouts or his fate. The Commission came to the conviction that Raúl Antonio Muñoz Muñoz disappeared at the hands of government agents. This conviction is based on the fact that it has been established that he was arrested and was held in a police installation and that he has not been involved in any subsequent dealings that might provide a record that he is still alive. Consequently his human rights were gravely violated by the actions of government agents.
On September 29 at 5:00 a.m. Luis Alberto VALDIVIA CONTRERAS, 32, a cargo loader, was killed. He left his house at bus stop No. 25 on Gran Avenida on September 28 and never returned. His family later found his body at the Medical Legal Institute and was told he had been killed for violating curfew. The Commission came to the conviction that the death of Luis Alberto Valdivia entailed a violation of human rights as a result of the unreasonable use of force by government agents responsible for maintaining public order.
On September 29, 1973, Nelson Miguel SANCHEZ ROJO, 28, a street vendor, was killed. Testimony gathered by this Commission indicates that he was arrested at his home by a military patrol in late September. Neighbors had reported him when he was intoxicated and beating his sister. His body was later found in the Mapocho River, with bullet wounds in the thorax. Taking into account the established fact that he was arrested and the causes of his death as reported on his death certificate, the Commission came to the conviction that Nelson Miguel Sánchez Rojo died as the result of an execution which took place without any due process of law and a violation of human rights at the hands of government agents.
On September 29, 1973, Mario Ramiro MELO PRADENAS, 27, a retired army officer who was a private secretary of the president, a member of his security guard and an active Socialist, disappeared. On that day he was arrested at the house of a female friend by a patrol of the Chilean Air Force. He was taken to the Ministry of Defense, and according to hearsay was last seen at the military base in Peldehue. The Commission came to the conviction that his status is that of having disappeared at the hands of government agents in a violation of his human rights. In doing so it took into account the fact that he had been a member of the security guard, was an ex-member of the military, and active in the Socialist party, as well as being President Allende's private secretary, that he had been summoned by decree to present himself to the new authorities and that since that time there has been no information on his whereabouts or his fate, nor is there any record of his death or of any dealings with the government that might indicate he is alive.
On September 30, 1973, the following six residents in the Santiago Pino squatter settlement in the Puduhuel (formerly Barrancas) district were arrested:
Victor BARRALES GONZALEZ, 25, a worker, settlement leader, and active Socialist;
Sergio Osvaldo DE LA BARRA DE LA BARRA, 26, a post office worker, president of the settlement, and an active Socialist;
Raúl Eliseo MOSCOS QUIROZ, 24, a settlement leader;
Mario SALAS RIQUELME, 24, a worker, settlement leader, and active Socialist;
José Eusebio VILLAVICENCIO MEDEL, 25, a worker, vice-president of the settlement; and
Luis Sergio GUTIERREZ RIVAS, 29, a miner, active Communist and former regional secretary in Lota.
According to the accounts provided by eyewitnesses, at about 5:00 a.m., troops began a search operation in the settlement, which is located behind the Barrancas cultural center. They arrested six other persons, who were subsequently set free. The prisoners were taken to the cultural center, which was serving as a detention site. A group of military from the training school for subofficials in Santiago and the Yungay Regiment at San Felipe were quartered at the center. All the prisoners died that same September 30, and it has been determined that they died "on the streets" as a result of "multiple bullet wounds." The only death certificate that places the site of death as the Santiago Pino settlement is that of Víctor Barrales. The military took the bodies to the Medical Legal Institute.
Luis Gutiérrez did not die from the bullet wounds he had sustained, and he was taken from the Medical Legal Institute to the José Joaquín Aguirre Hospital. His wife visited him there on October 2, 1973. That day she was told he had been transferred to the Military Hospital. However, there is no record of his entering there, and there has never been any further trace of him.
The official version of what happened to these six people as published in newspapers on October 2, 1973 is that during their search operation the troops had been attacked by a group of subversives who were then captured. The news report goes on to say that, "They were all executed at that settlement." The official story provided through the press does not seem plausible since there is no sign that there was any "attack by subversives"; since even had such an attack taken place, it does not seem necessary to kill settlers who are already arrested; since there is sufficient evidence to attest to the fact that residents of the settlement had been arrested and subsequently taken to the cultural center; and in view of the selective way the arrests were carried out and the political position of those imprisoned. All these factors led the Commission to the conviction that in the executions of Víctor Barrales González, Sergio Osvaldo de la Barra de la Barra, Raúl Eliseo Moscoso Quiroz, Mario Salas Riquelme, and José Eusebio Villavicencio Medel which occurred without any due process of law, and in the disappearance of Luis Sergio Gutiérrez Rivas, human rights were gravely violated by government agents.
On September 30, 1973,
Carlos Emilio DONOSO AVILA, 30, a street vendor;
Jorge Humberto NUÑEZ CANELO, 27, street vendor; and
Romelio Antonio VASQUEZ GUAJARDO, 33, a merchant,
were executed after being arrested by police in the house of one of them. They were arrested along with one other person, who was subsequently released, and taken to the Twelfth police station where they remained that day. Although the families were told that they were being transferred to the National Stadium, witnesses who were arrested with them, attest that they remained in the station all day. On October 1, the bodies of Vásquez and Núñez were found with bullet wounds alongside the Metropolitan Cemetery. Donoso's body was found with many bullet wounds at the Departamental traffic circle.
According to credible witnesses, on the night of September 30, 1973, police took these three people to a place along one side of the Metropolitan Cemetery near a shantytown. Vásquez and Nuñez were executed there at about 9:30 p.m., by shots fired from behind at close range. The police released the fourth person and took Carlos Donoso away. He was undoubtedly executed further on, since his body appeared at a different site. By reason of these antecedents, and especially since witnesses attest to the fact that these three were arrested and executed, and taking into account their death certificates, the Commission came to the conviction that they were executed without any due process of law by government agents in violation of their human rights.
On September 30, at about 10:30 p.m.
José Sergio MUÑOZ GONZALEZ, 32, a merchant,
Jorge Eduardo Cristián OYARZUN ESCOBAR, 23, a retailer, and
Juan Joaquín ESCOBAR CAMUS, 31, a merchant,
all of whom were relatives, were executed in front of the Escuela Haiti. The first two were arrested in front of Muñoz's house after civilians and one soldier shot at their car. The third, who was walking toward the same place, showed up dead alongside the other two. Bullet wounds caused the death of all three. The relatives say that before they found the bodies at the Medical Legal Institute, a soldier involved in the arrest told them that the prisoners were being held at the Tacna Regiment, and that he had handed them over himself; he even gave the families the documentation of the two he had arrested.
Press accounts at that time said that they had been executed in that same location for having shot at a military housing compound. Despite this semiofficial version, the Commission came to the conviction that these three people were executed without any due process of law by government agents. The grounds for its conviction are that it is attested that they had been arrested (as confirmed by one of their captors); that the press version is implausible since they had previously been arrested by government agents; that there are no clear signs that any armed clash took place or that these people had weapons; and finally the circumstances and causes of their deaths. Consequently, Jose Sergio Muñoz González, Jorge Eduardo Cristián Oyarzún Escobar and Juan Joaquín Escobar Camus suffered a grave human rights violation.
On September 30, 1973, Mario Emiliano STAPPUNG LOPEZ, 30, a worker and MIR activist, was executed after being arrested at home that same day by the air force. He was active in MIR and, according to his family, he was in close contact with Miguel Enríquez.u After he was arrested his relatives went looking for him unsuccessfully until they were told at the Medical Legal Institute that he was buried in lot no. 29 at the General Cemetery. The autopsy report says he died of "multiple bullet wounds," and gives the day of his arrest as the date of death. Since it is credibly attested that he was arrested, and in view of the cause and date of death, the Commission came to the conviction that Mario Emiliano Stappung was executed by government agents, who thereby violated human rights.
In late September 1973, Carlos Ramón REYES AVILA, 19, day laborer, disappeared after being arrested in the presence of witnesses in his house in the April 16 shantytown in the Conchalí district. Those arresting him were police, who according to testimony taken, were working with a list of names. Since his arrest there has been no information on his whereabouts. The Commission came to the conviction that government agents were responsible for the disappearance of Carlos Reyes and that it was a violation of his human rights since it is established that he was arrested and that there has been no information on his whereabouts or his fate since then.
In late September, Raúl René FUENTES VERA, 42, a loader at the slaughterhouse, was arrested by the military at the boarding house where he lived. According to testimony received by the Commission, on the day of his arrest troops from the area were carrying out a raid in response to accusations that the children of the military were being robbed. The patrol came asking about a person who had recently entered that place, and that turned out to be Rojas. They arrested him and took him to an unknown destination, along with two other persons, whose identities are unknown. Since that time, there has been no information about his fate or his whereabouts, despite efforts made by his relatives. Since the Commission has received reliable testimony to the effect that he was arrested, it has come to the conviction that Raúl René Fuentes Vera was arrested by government agents and then made to disappear, also by government agents, and that human rights were thereby violated.
u) Miguel Enríquez Espinosa: In August of 1965 Miguel Enríquez Espinosa along with Baustista van Schowen, Luciano Cruz, and others founded the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). In 1967 he assumed the position of party secretary general. Miguel Enríquez was a physician from Concepción, Chile. The case of his death, on October 5, 1974, is recounted on page 538 of Volume Two.
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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), 193-201.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.
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