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)
      
      
      9. Eighth Region-Bío Bío (continued)
         
         
         2. Cases of grave human rights violations in the Bío Bío Region (continued)
            
            Chillán
            

            On September 16, 1973, Ricardo Raúl LAGOS REYES, 47, the mayor of Chillán who was active in the Socialist party (and the father of Ricardo Lagos Salinas, a Socialist party leader who was arrested and forcibly disappeared in Santiago in 1974), his wife Alba OJEDA GRANDON, 29, who was pregnant, and his son Carlos Eduardo LAGOS SALINAS, 20, a university student, were killed at their home. Local authorities claimed that these people engaged in a gun battle with the police who had come to their house in order to arrest them. However, witnesses to the events have noted that as soon as the group of police and soldiers arrived, the house was raided, and the Lagos family was then executed, and that no such gun battle with government forces ever took place. Other witness accounts add that the operation had begun hours previously and that the paths to the Lagos family's house were blocked. Lagos Reyes's death certificate states that the cause of death was "numerous gunshot wounds." Two doctors who were family friends took the bodies from the morgue in Chillán and assumed the responsibility for having them buried.
            
            This Commission finds the official account unacceptable because:
            
            

            • It finds the witness accounts to be consistent and believable.
              
              
            • The regional authority kept Ricardo Lagos in his post as mayor, and he continued to live in a normal fashion at his house, and hence he was presumably not a conflictive person who could have chosen to engage in a shootout with the forces seeking to arrest him.
              
              
            • There were no signs of an exchange of fire.
              
              
            • Moreover these three people were killed in the patio of the house and not inside as would have been the case if they were shooting from behind barriers. The Commission came to the conviction that the execution of Mayor Lagos and his family constituted a violation of their human rights by government agents.
              
              

            On September 16, 1973, Cecil Patricio ALARCON VALENZUELA, an official at INDAP (Instituto de Desarrollo Agropecuario-Institute for Agricultural Development) who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested by soldiers. According to credible testimony, soldiers took him under arrest to the Chillán Regiment. He was taken from that site that same day by a patrol of police and soldiers who were in possession of books and various items that had been found in the raid on the house of Ricardo Lagos, who had been executed that same day. It has been established that the next day Alarcón's body was sighted under the old bridge over the Ñuble River but could not be retrieved due to the swiftness of current. A news report about the destruction of a guerrilla school in October 1973 stated that Alarcón was said to be an instructor at the school. He and his superior Reinaldo Poseck (who also disappeared) were said to be fugitives.
            
            It is the conviction of the Commission that Cecil Alarcón was arrested, subjected to forced disappearance, and presumably killed by government agents. The grounds for this conviction are that:
            
            

            • It has been established before this Commission that he was arrested and that his captors were connected to the death of Mayor Lagos.
              
              
            • The official account that appeared in the press declaring him to be a fugitive is not plausible, since he was arrested and it was never announced that he had been released or had escaped.
              
              
            • Similar procedures took place elsewhere in this region.
              
              

            On September 16, 1973, Manuel LARA NUÑEZ, 30, a farm worker, was killed by police at his home in Chillán. Because of a domestic dispute, his wife placed a complaint against him. Police then came and proceeded to kill him in the presence of witnesses. His death certificate states that the cause of death was "acute loss of blood, numerous bullet perforations. Done by police." Since he was killed by shots from police, and taking into account statements by eyewitnesses, this Commission has come to the conviction that Manuel Lara was the victim of the use of undue force by government agents in violation of his human rights.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Gabriel Marcelo CORTEZ LUNA, a 17-year-old high school student, was arrested by police at his home. He was taken to the Second police station in Chillán. A month later the family learned that the body was in the morgue in Chillán and had been buried because no one had come to claim it. It was then exhumed, identified by the family, and legally buried. The body was found with bullet wounds to the head. The Commission has come to the conviction that Gabriel Cortez was executed by government agents, since witnesses have testified that he was arrested, and there was no information on him from the time he was arrested until his body was found in the manner described.
            
            On September 18, 1973,
            
            Juan Guillermo FUENTES RAVANAL, 24, a worker who was a MIR activist,
            
            Luis Alberto BARRERA RIQUELME, 45, a shoe repairer who was active in the Socialist party, and
            
            Miguel Enrique MALDONADO BAO, 22, a worker who was active in the Socialist party,
            
            were arrested and taken from their home in the Trabajadores al Poder neighborhood. According to credible and consistent accounts by witnesses, soldiers arrested these three, took them to the regiment and from there to the area of Quilmo where they executed them in another military installation. Their families later found their bodies in the local morgue. Juan Fuentes' death certificate reads: "perforating bullet wound in the chest, work of a group in uniform." Date: September 18, 7:30 p.m. Miguel Maldonado's death certificate reads "perforating bullet wound to the abdomen and chest, work of a group in uniform." Date: September 18, 7:30 p.m. Luis Barrera's death certificate reads, "Bullet wound to the skull and head, work of a group in uniform." The date is the same as the foregoing. The Commission has on hand consistent evidence supplied by witnesses and documents attesting that this was the work of official agents and has come to the conviction that these persons were executed by government agents in an action that violated their human rights.
            
            On September 19, 1973, José de la Cruz FIGUEROA BUSTOS, 43, a day laborer and active Socialist, was arrested by police from the España checkpoint at his home in the Irene Frei shantytown in Chillán. After numerous efforts to ascertain his whereabouts, his family found his body showing obvious signs of mistreatment at the morgue. The death certificate speaks of "death by immersion in water," and states that the date was September 20, 1973. Relatives subsequently received reports that the body had been found in the Chillán River and taken to the morgue by police from Huambalí. Since it is established that he was arrested, that no indications that he was released have been found, and that this kind of procedure was used in areas in southern Chile with other prisoners, and taking into account his political activity, this Commission holds the conviction that José Figueroa was the victim of an action that violated his human rights since his death can reasonably be attributed to government agents.
            
            On September 19, 1973, Reinaldo Luis JELDRES RIVEROS, an INDAP official who was active in MAPU, was arrested by soldiers in the presence of witnesses. That day he had gone voluntarily to the Chillán Regiment to pick up the authorization he needed to take things from his house, since he had been arrested from September 14-18 and then released without charges. On that same day, September 19, it was reported that police had shot him to death alongside the ñuble River. The family says that a high ranking military officer told them that his killing was prompted by pressures brought to bear by farmers in the area. There was never any official acknowledgement of either his arrest or his death. It is the conviction of this Commission that government agents were involved in the disappearance of Reinaldo Jeldres. This conviction is based on these considerations: it is established that he was arrested; his family has had no further word about him and that seems strange since he reported to the regiment voluntarily; he has not engaged in any official government business such as entering or leaving the country, obtaining an identification card, or registering to vote; and the unconfirmed information that he was probably executed can be regarded as plausible since other similar events took place in this area at this time.
            
            On September 23, 1973, police arrested two persons:
            
            Luis Antonio IBARRA DURAN, a worker at IANSA (Industria Azucarera Nacional-National Sugar Industry) who was a MIR activist, and
            
            Leopoldo LOPEZ RIVAS, a shoe repairer who was active in the Communist party.
            
            It is established that they were both taken to the Second police station in Chillán. On September 24 the family was told that López had been taken to another unspecified place, and on the 26th Ibarra's relatives were told that he had been released the previous day. Their whereabouts have remained unknown since that time. Another person, Juan Poblete Tropa, was arrested that same day by the same people and taken to the same installation. His body showed up by the El Ala bridge over the ñuble River. Two other bodies that were not identified were found there also. The Commission came to the conclusion that the arrests, disappearances and probable deaths of these two people were in violation of human rights and that government agents were responsible. It is established that they were arrested and there is no evidence that they were released, and hence the authorities were responsible for what happened to them.
            
            That same September 23, Juan Mauricio POBLETE TROPA, 20, a merchant who was not known to be politically active, was arrested by police and soldiers. Several days previously he had reported to the Chillán Regiment after being summoned since he had recently finished his military service. Since he was not ordered to stay in the barracks, he returned to his normal routine. After being arrested he was taken to the Second station and was able to receive visits there until September 27. Approximately one month later his body appeared near the El Ala Bridge over the ñuble River. In view of these antecedents, the Commission has come to the conviction that government agents were involved in the execution of Juan Poblete Tropa, which occurred without any due process of law in an action that violated his fundamental rights.
            
            On September 25, 1973, Robinson Enrique RAMIREZ DEL PRADO, 36, a master tanner who was active in the Socialist party and provincial president of the CUT labor federation, was arrested at his workplace by police. After being arrested he was taken to the Second police station; there his family was told on September 27 that he was going to be released. Testimony by witnesses to this Commission indicates that he was taken out of the police station to an unknown destination. From that time to the present there is no further information about him. Upon receiving a judicial summons, the authorities denied that he had been arrested.
            
            It has been established before this Commission that he was arrested. Furthermore, it is unlikely that he would have disappeared of his own choice as he was continuing his normal activity despite his position and his political activity, and he reported to work the day he was arrested even though police had previously come looking for him there. During the last sixteen years there has been no indication that he has contacted his family or had any official dealings with agencies of the Chilean government. These facts, taken in conjunction with the procedures used against people with similar characteristics at that time, lead this Commission to the conviction that Robinson Ramírez was forcibly made to disappear after having been arrested by government agents. That was a grave human rights violation.
            
            On October 1, 1973, civilians and police assigned to the Schleyer checkpoint arrested three people in one of their homes:
            
            José Gregorio RETAMAL VELASQUEZ, 21, a student at the teacher training school.
            
            Patricio Lautaro WEITZEL PEREZ, 26, a watch repairman who was active in the Revolutionary Radical Youth. He was arrested September 11 and accused of being responsible for an attack on a radio station in Chillán and then ordered released for lack of evidence by the investigating judge on September 18.
            
            Arturo Lorenzo PRAT MARTI, 21, a student at the teacher training school who was active in the Revolutionary Radical Youth.
            
            Despite efforts made by their relatives, no prison site ever acknowledged that these people were being held prisoner. On December 24, Patricio Weitzel's father found a group of at least nine bodies, bound with wire and bearing bullet wounds, on the banks of the ñuble River by the El Ala Bridge. He recognized the body of his son and hid it for the moment. In response to a request from him, the judge in Chillán, who was investigating the missing person report, went to that area and ordered the remains to be removed and taken to the local morgue. The remains of Weitzel and Retamal were buried in the city cemetery. The death certificate for Weitzel Pérez states that the cause of death was "Acute loss of blood. Many perforating bullet wounds. Homicide." It is presumed that he was killed the day of his arrest, as suggested by the watch he was wearing. There was no further information about Arturo Prat Martí after his arrest although it can be assumed that he suffered the same fate as those who were arrested with him. The Commission came to the conviction that the execution of Weitzel and Retamal and the forcible disappearance of Prat in the hands of government agents constituted grave human rights violations. The grounds for this conviction are the established facts that they were arrested and that the bodies of two of them were identified among a number of bodies of people executed.
            
            On October 1, 1973, Eduardo Segundo CRISOSTOMO SALGADO, 24, an agronomy student at the University of Concepción who was a MIR activist, was arrested by police from the Second station. He went there voluntarily because his house had been raided more than once. His wife saw him there on October 2, and later she was told that he had been transferred to the regiment in Chillán. Neither there nor anywhere else was his arrest acknowledged.
            
            That same day, October 1, 1973, Ricardo TRONCOSO LEON, 30, a photographer and theater director who was a MIR activist, was arrested by police from the Second station. His family says they saw his name in the prison log book. Nevertheless, on October 3, the police station refused to accept the clothes they had brought him, and they were told that he had been transferred to the regiment. There, however, it was denied that he was being held a prisoner inside. Since that time his whereabouts and fate remain unknown.
            
            Likewise on October 1, 1973, Francisco Segundo SANCHEZ ARGUEN, 43, a professor at the University of Chile who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested at home by police from the Second station in Chillán. Witnesses attest to the fact that he was arrested and held at a police installation. Police authorities told the family that he was there and then told them that he had been transferred to the regiment, but military authorities denied that such was the case. Witnesses say he was taken from the police station at around 3:00 a.m. October 1. Since his arrest there has been no information on his whereabouts and fate. On April 22, 1982 the Second District Tribunal of Chillán declared that he is to be presumed dead.
            
            The similarity between the experience of these three people and that of others whose bodies were found in this area lead to the presumption that they suffered the same fate: in all such cases it is established that they were arrested and held prisoner; all were active in left political parties; none have ever had contact with their families or conducted any business with the Chilean government. Therefore the Commission was able to come to the conviction that they were in fact arrested and forced to disappear by government agents and that these were grave violations of human rights.
            
            On October 1, 1973, Jaime del Carmen ESPINOZA DURAN, 22, a farmer, was arrested by a military patrol near his home. According to witnesses on the scene, one of those arresting him was a sub-officer with whom he had clashed over private matters some time before. Nothing further was heard of him after his arrest. Testimony given before this Commission makes it possible to conclude that he must have been shot at the El Ala Bridge the day he was arrested. It is the conviction of the Commission that the arrest and disappearance of Jaime Espinoza are human rights violations committed by government agents who were abusing their power in order to carry out private revenge by taking advantage of the authority invested in them.
            
            On October 2, 1973, Manuel Humberto CRISOSTOMO TORO, 24, a CORFO employee who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested at work by police and soldiers. He had been summoned by edict to present himself at his workplace. Six or seven other persons were also arrested there. He was later taken to the regiment in Chillán, although the authorities always denied that he had been arrested. Testimony received by this Commission confirms that he was held at that site. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
            
            That same October 2, 1973, Mario Fernando MORENO CASTRO, 39, a CORFO employee who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested at his home by police from the Second police station. They took him to the Second station and finally to the regiment in the city. The authorities did not acknowledge his arrest even though family members went looking for him in different places. There has been no information on his fate or whereabouts since his arrest.
            
            Having noted that Manuel Crisóstomo and Mario Moreno were arrested; that they were involved in a particular kind of political activity; that there is no information on their whereabouts; that they have not had any dealings with official agencies of the Chilean government; and finally that they are not registered as having left the country, this Commission has been able to come to the conviction that they were both arrested and that government agents were responsible for their subsequent disappearance, thus gravely violating human rights.
            
            On October 3, 1973, Cleofe del Carmen URRUTIA ACEVEDO, 41, a taxi driver who was an active Communist, was arrested on a public thoroughfare. He had previously been summoned by a military decree, and his home had been raided by police and soldiers. Initially the Second police station acknowledged that he had been arrested, but later they denied it. Since that date his whereabouts and fate remain unknown. In this instance, the similarities with the cases of Eduardo Crisóstomo, Ricardo Troncoso and Francisco Sánchez, examined above, and that of other persons whose bodies were found in this area, lead to the presumption that they suffered the same fate, for it is established that they were arrested and held prisoner, that they were politically involved with the left, and that they had no further contact with their relatives and no dealings with the Chilean government. Therefore the Commission was able to come to the conviction that Cleofe del Carmen Urrutia was in fact arrested and forcibly made to disappear by government agents and thereby suffered grave human rights violations.
            
            On October 3, 1973, Roberto Iván AVILA SEPULVEDA, 22, was arrested at the teacher training school where he was studying. According to eyewitnesses, he was arrested by agents in civilian clothing. Witnesses have testified to this Commission that at the investigative police headquarters he was turned over to a member of the military intelligence service. However, no detention site has acknowledged holding him prisoner. Since that time the whereabouts of Roberto Avila remain unknown, and judicial investigations into the matter have been terminated without any results. The Commission has come to the conviction that it is certain that he was arrested, that his subsequent disappearance can be attributed to government agents and that his human rights were thereby violated.
            
            On October 4, 1973, six workers from the Hogar de Cristo prefabricated housing factory were arrested at their homes or at work:
            
            José Salvador ACUÑA YAÑEZ, 29, a worker and treasurer of the union at the factory,
            
            Luis Alberto MUÑOZ VASQUEZ, 22, a worker,
            
            José Remigio PADILLA VILLOUTA, 23, a worker,
            
            Ernesto Raúl SALAZAR SALAZAR, 38, a worker,
            
            Luis Hernán SAN MARTIN CARES, 22, a worker,
            
            Ernesto René TORRES GUZMAN, 22, a worker.
            
            They were arrested by soldiers and by police from the police station on the road to ñuble. Witnesses present at the arrest say the police were carrying a list with the names of those arrested. The families then went to all the detention sites in the area, and in each case they were told these men were not being held prisoner. Nevertheless, some people are certain that they saw them at that police station on the road to ñuble. The many judicial investigations undertaken in an effort to locate them led nowhere since the authorities responded to every request for information with a denial that they had been arrested.
            
            The Commission came to the conviction that these six persons were arrested and suffered forcible disappearance at the hands of government agents, and that this was a grave human rights violation. The number of those who disappeared makes any other explanation unlikely since none of their families has had any word on them since that time. It has been established that each one of them was arrested and held prisoner, and the proper government agencies have stated that during the last seventeen years none of them has conducted those civil procedures that are obligatory for every Chilean citizen.
            
            On October 7, 1973, Reinaldo Salvador POSECK PEDREROS, 49, a lawyer who was the regional head of INDAP (National Institute for Agricultural Development) and active in the Socialist party, was arrested at his home. Those arresting him were members of a military patrol. According to a number of accounts by witnesses, after being arrested he was taken first to the Chillán Regiment and then to the Second police station, where he was interrogated under torture. The result was a cardiac arrest, and he hence was taken to the local hospital. A military patrol removed him from the hospital. As has already been noted, in October 1973 the local press ran a story about the dismantling of a guerrilla school according to which its leader, Reinaldo Posek [sic] and his aide, Cecil Patricio Alarcón (also disappeared) were said to be fugitives. Bearing in mind the following considerations: the various indications of the implausibility of the official version; the activity of the victim and his position; the procedures used at that time against leftist individuals and parties; the political violence that resulted from conflict over land ownership in this area; the lack of any word about him, either private or public, for seventeen years; and having verified that the lawyer Posek was arrested, this Commission has come to the conviction that he suffered a forced disappearance at the hands of government agents and that such an action violated his human rights.
            
            On October 9, 1973, Francisco de Asís RETAMAL MATAMALA, 26, an office worker at COU (Corporación de Obras Urbanas-Corporation for Urban Works) who was active in the Communist Party, was arrested at work and in the presence of witnesses by police from the Schleyer checkpoint. In response to all judicial inquiries, the authorities officially denied that they had any responsibility for what happened to him. Since it is established that he was arrested by government agents and since he has not had any contact with his family, nor had any dealings with government agencies, and is not registered as having left the country, this Commission has come to the conviction that the forced disappearance of Francisco Retamal by government agents was a human rights violation.
            
            On October 15, Bernabé de San José ULLOA LUENGO, 21, a worker who was a supporter of the Popular Unity, was arrested at home by members of the investigative police and taken to their headquarters. Since that moment there has been no further information on his fate or whereabouts despite countless efforts made by his family. Since it is established that he was arrested by government agents, this Commission holds the conviction that Bernabé Ulloa's subsequent disappearance can only be attributed to those who arrested him and who therefore violated his human rights.
            
            On October 22, 1973, two small farmers were arrested near Chillán in the area of Cato:
            
            Sergio Enrique CADIZ CORTES, 28, a farm worker who was secretary of the Isabel Riquelme Federation of Peasant Unions and active in the Socialist party, and
            
            Gilberto de la Cruz PINO BAEZA, 32, a farm worker.
            
            Cádiz was arrested at home, and Pino where he worked. Those arresting them were police from the Second station in Chillán. Both had been arrested before at that station and at the Chillán Regiment and released on condition that they would periodically return to sign their names at the police station in Cato. The police acknowledged that they were arrested on October 22 but said that they were released the following day. Since that date, however, there has been no further word about them. This Commission does not find plausible the claim that they were released the day after they were arrested, since despite their previous histories, their arrests, and the continual harassment against them, they had not gone into hiding, and yet after this arrest they had no contact with their families, they had no dealings with government agencies, and they are not registered as having left the country. Consequently the Commission has come to the conviction that Sergio Cádiz and Gilberto Pino suffered a human rights violation at the hands of government agents who forcibly caused them to disappear.
            
            On October 30, 1973, Octavio Saturnino RIQUELME VENEGAS, 30, a carpenter who was a leader of the Isabel Riquelme Peasant Federation and active in the Socialist party, was arrested at his home in Chillán by police from the Zañartu checkpoint. His wife, who was present when he was arrested, looked for him in all the detention sites. All her efforts were in vain. According to credible witnesses, Riquelme's body was seen in the Cato River. However, there is no official notification of his death and his family has not recovered his body. The Commission came to the conviction that Octavio Riquelme was subjected to forced disappearance at the hands of government agents and that he suffered a human rights violation. That conviction is especially supported by the credibility of the testimony to his arrest and the existence of a number of similar instances involving small farmers in this region.
            
            On November 5, 1973, the following people were arrested at their homes in the El Tejar neighborhood of Chillán:
            
            Oscar Enrique FETIS SABELLE, 35, a SAG (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero-Agriculture and Livestock Service) entomologist;
            
            Sergio Iván FETIS VALENZUELA, 27, a SAG employee who was active in the Radical party;
            
            Tomás Enrique RAMIREZ ORELLANA, 26, a construction worker who was active in the Communist party; and
            
            Luis Guillermo WALL CARTES, 22, a mechanic who was active in the National party.
            
            They were all arrested by a patrol made up of police and soldiers and were transported in a SAG truck. Witnesses saw the same vehicle the next morning at the regiment. Efforts made by their relatives to locate them proved fruitless. In view of the testimony it received, the nature of these events which resemble others whose results were similar, and given the number of people involved-none of whom has been heard from for seventeen years-this Commission came to the conviction that they were subjected to forced disappearance by government agents. The Commission finds it unlikely that four people from the same neighborhood would have taken a joint resolution of their own free will to hide even from their families, which were engaging in various legal actions in an effort to locate them.
            
            On December 20, 1973, Carlos Enrique CARRASCO GUTIERREZ, 22, a farm worker who was treasurer of the Triunfo los Valientes agricultural cooperative, was killed. He left some friends as the curfew hour was approaching. The next day his body was found along the road from Chillán to Yungay, and his motorscooter was found a great distance away. Police took his body to the Medical Legal Service in Chillán. According to the death certificate the cause of death was "numerous bullet wounds to the head region." The date of death was said to be September 20. Even though the Commission does not know under what circumstances Enrique Carrasco died, given the fact that it was due to bullet wounds and occurred during curfew, and in view of the usual procedures at that time and in that area, the Commission has come to the conviction that he fell victim to the political violence of that period.
            

            Other Places in the Province
            

            On September 14, 1973, Carlos Alberto SEPULVEDA PALAVECINO, 33, a teacher and a municipal representative of Ninhue who was active in the Communist party, was killed by police from Quirihue. The police shot him down in his own house. No explanation for why government agents had to act in this fashion was ever provided. Seeing that Sepúlveda was still alive, his wife asked permission to go to a local woman who provided medical attention, but her request was refused. The certificate from the San Nicolás cemetery says that the cause of death was "military confrontation." Police authorities ordered that he be buried immediately. All these facts indicate that there was no armed confrontation; it should also be noted that the police made no such claim. Moreover, the police did not allow him to receive medical attention when his life could probably still have been saved. The Commission came to the conviction that Carlos Sepúlveda was executed by government agents who thus violated human rights.
            
            In the early morning of September 14, 1973, a group of about twenty people was traveling toward the Andes foothills in a van in an effort to escape from the police and the military. They were stopped by police at the Niblinto checkpoint, and in the ensuing shootout Bernardo Isaac SOLIS NUÑEZ, 20, who was active in the Socialist party, was killed. Fernando Albino CARRASCO PEREIRA, 25, a taxi driver who was active in the Socialist party, was wounded in the stomach. According to testimony received, he was then executed by police who came from Chillán as reinforcements. The rest of the group managed to escape.
            
            The next day two of them, José Fernando ROMERO LAGOS, 22, a high school student, and Rubén VARAS ALENY, both of whom were active in MIR, split from the group, intending to contact small farmers in the area, but they did not return. Through testimony from credible witnesses, this Commission has been able to establish that both were arrested by police and were executed September 15, 1973 at the Niblinto checkpoint. Their status to this day is that of disappeared. According to further testimony, peasants found their bodies and buried them.
            
            There was no official account of these events at that time. The deaths of Solís and Carrasco are recorded with the note that the cause of death was "bullet wounds, acute loss of blood," and that the place of death is said to be a public thoroughfare in Niblinto. Authorities did not acknowledge that Romero and Varas had been arrested. From the events recounted here, the Commission came to the conviction that Bernardo Solís was killed in a gun battle between police forces and civilians; that Fernando Carrasco was not able to get assistance for his wounds and died after the shootout in an action that was a human rights violation since the government agents had an obligation to keep him under arrest and provide him the medical assistance he needed; and that Rubén Varas and José Romero were arrested the day after the shootout by government agents who were responsible for their disappearance.
            
            On September 17, 1973, José René GOMEZ VELASQUEZ, 38, a farmer, and his 17-year-old son José Domingo GOMEZ CONCHA, a student, neither of whom was politically active, were killed in their home by two police from Cobquecura. Numerous credible and consistent witnesses declare that there was no provocation on the part of the victims. Those who killed them forced the relatives to bury them in Cobquecura within two hours without allowing a doctor to certify that they were dead. They were later transferred to the cemetery in Quirihue. The Commission came to the conviction that this was a grave instance of the abuse of power. It may not have had any political connotation, but it was a human rights violation-and particularly of the right to life-for which government agents were to blame.
            
            On September 18, 1973, Orlando RIFFO PASTENES, 34, a construction worker and president of the neighborhood association in Confluencia, was arrested by police from Quinchamalí who were driving around in a private truck. He was arrested in the presence of witnesses at the door of a grocery warehouse near his home and taken to the Quinchamalí checkpoint. The next day his body appeared in the ñuble River. His family drew it out with the permission of the police. After it had been taken to the morgue for an autopsy, the body was handed over to his family for burial on September 20. The death certificate states that the cause of death was "perforating bullet wound to the head, the work of a group in uniform." Police authorities offered no explanation for these events. The Commission came to the conviction that Orlando Riffo was executed by government agents in an action that constituted a grave human rights violation. The lack of any official explanation for this event confirms that conviction all the more.
            
            On September 20, 1973, Darío Hugo MONTOYA TORRES, 19, an enlisted man in the Buin Regiment who was not politically active, was executed in Cobquecura in total disregard for the law. Early in the morning that day police from Cobquecura came to his grandmother's house, where he was visiting while on sick leave. They forced him and a friend who was also there to get out of bed and go outside. As they did so, they were accusing them of having destroyed a public telephone, despite their protests that they were innocent. The police shot them, killing Darío Montoya on the spot. His friend was wounded, but after feigning that he was also dead, he managed to escape. Hours later the police came back and ordered Montoya's relatives to bury him immediately, and they did so. Some days later they received permission to have him exhumed and legally buried. The death certificate issued on that occasion states that the cause of death was "internal hemorrhaging as the result of three shots to the shoulders and the liver, at least two of which were perforating. Execution by being shot to death." In this case the Commission came to the conviction that Montoya's human rights were gravely violated. Those responsible were government agents who in total disregard for the law killed him on the presumption that he had been involved in a very minor offense, which, moreover, he had not committed. The fact that police officials provided no explanation for these events contributed to that conviction.
            
            On September 26, 1973, Mario FERNANDEZ GONZALEZ, 25, foreman in the Antártica mine belonging to the Lota Green, was arrested by police from Ninhue and by soldiers at the boarding house where he was living on the Torrecillas estate. Witnesses to the event say that he was arrested because there were explosives in the mine, as is normal in that kind of work. In the course of its investigations, the family learned that those who arrested him turned him over to police from Quirihue, who then handed him over to those in Chillán. At the police station in Chillán his relatives were told that he had been sent to the regiment in Los Angeles, but this turned out not to be true. Since the day of his arrest, there has been no further information on his whereabouts and fate. Having established through credible testimony that he was arrested, and since he has had no contact with his family and has had no dealings with government agencies, this Commission has come to the conviction that Mario Fernández underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in violation of his human rights.
            
            On September 27, 1973, Carlos Roberto MONTECINOS URRA, 44, a craft-person and alderman of Coihueco who was a leader of the peasant league and active in the Communist party, was arrested by police. He had voluntarily reported to the regiment in Chillán, accompanied by the mayor of Coihueco, because his house had previously been searched by police who were looking for him. After leaving him there, the mayor went to the Sixth station where he explained that Montecinos had been left at the regiment, and he asked that the police in Coihueco be informed so that they would stop looking for him. He was released from the military garrison that same day, with orders to return to sign in the next day. As he was leaving, however, police arrested him and drove him in a vehicle belonging to the municipality of Coihueco to the Sixth station in Chillán, as eyewitnesses have testified to the Commission. He spent the night of September 27 at the police station and was then transferred to the police unit in Coihueco. His family has had no information on his whereabouts and fate since his arrest.
            
            The next day, September 28, José Lorenzo COFRE OBADILLA, 42, a farm equipment operator for the Montaña Bustamante agricultural cooperative, was arrested by the police in Coihueco when he went to their headquarters. His tractor remained parked in front of the building for several days, even though it was denied that he had been arrested. The tractor was later pushed over the bank into the Niblinto River.
            
            Testimony received by the Commission indicated that both Montecinos and Cofre were killed at the police headquarters in Coihueco, and their bodies were thrown into the Niblinto River near Minas del Prado. The Commission came to the conviction that, official denials notwithstanding, Carlos Montecinos and José Cofré were in fact arrested by government agents and that such agents were responsible for their ultimate fate. The basis for that conviction is the information provided in the reliable testimony received by the Commission.
            
            On October 1, 1973, Juan Pablo BARRERA ANABALON, 35, a shoe repairer, was killed by police in the area of Pinto. He had gone there along with one of his brothers and another person intending to make charcoal. A group of police from those assigned to Pinto arrived on the scene and killed him and wounded one of his companions. There had been no provocation on their part nor did police officials offer any prior explanation. The police apparently regarded them as "subversives" because someone in the area had denounced them. Juan Barrera's death certificate states that the cause of death was a "perforating bullet wound to the head, inflicted by police." It is the Commission's conviction that the execution of Juan Barrera was a grave human rights violation, since there is no explanation for killing a defenseless person on the basis of mere suspicion-and in fact no explanation was offered at that time. The fact that his two companions were immediately allowed to go free is a further proof that there was no justification or reason for Barrera's death.
            
            On October 8, at 2:20 a.m., Jaime Alberto VEGA TAPIA, 33, a farmer, was killed. His body was found on the road between Cobquecura and Quirihue. The death certificate, which was issued with the authorization of the operational commander in Quirihue, states that the cause of death was, "internal hemorrhage; a gunshot through the torso, passing from the left shoulder through the right chest. Execution by shooting." The time of death is that stated above. Credible witnesses have testified that police from Cobquecura carried out the shooting. With the evidence of the death certificate in hand, the Commission came to the conviction that Jaime Vera was executed without any due legal process and that this was a grave human rights violation, since there is no proof of any legal proceeding whatsoever.
            
            On October 11, 1973, police from Chillán and from the unit in San Nicolás on the Ranquil agricultural cooperative (now La Victoria estate) of the municipality of San Nicolás arrested three farm workers:
            
            Wilson Alfredo BECERRA CIFUENTES, 25, a farm worker who was a supporter of the Socialist party and secretary of the Ranquil Peasant Committee;
            
            Tomás Rogelio DOMINGUEZ JARA, 24, a farm worker who was vice-president of the Ranquil Peasant Committee; and
            
            Gustavo Efraín DOMINGUEZ JARA, a farm worker.
            
            Many credible and consistent witnesses observed the arrest and the manner in which the police who were arresting them questioned and tortured them in the cooperative shed, asking them about arms that they had supposedly hidden and about Marxist literature. They raided the houses on the cooperative and examined the documentation they found there. They then drove these three men toward Chillán by way of the road that leads to the El Ala Bridge. After these events their relatives were unable to obtain any further information on their whereabouts and final fate, although they believe they may have been killed near the bridge. The authorities never acknowledged that they had been arrested. The Commission came to the conviction that government agents were involved in the forced disappearance of Wilson Becerra, Tomás Domínguez and Gustavo Domínguez. It believes that it is sufficiently established that these people were arrested and that there has been no further word about the three small farmers since then.
            
            On October 23, 1973, Juan Félix ITURRA LILLO, 50, a farmer who was active in the Communist party, was arrested at his home in Liucura by a police patrol from Pemuco. After arresting him they went back toward Pemuco. Along the way, in the area of General Cruz, the patrol arrested Francisco del Rosario JELDRES VALLEJOS, 25, a carpenter, whom they forced to get on the same truck which was going toward Iturra. According to reliable accounts, both prisoners were killed on the Chequén Bridge, and their bodies were left there. They were buried by a local resident. There is no official acknowledgement that they were arrested nor any certification of their deaths. The Commission was able to come to the conviction that government agents were responsible for the forced disappearance of Ibarra and Jeldres and for their ultimate fate, and thereby for a violation of human rights. Its conviction is based on statements by reliable witnesses to the fact of their arrest; the unlikelihood that they would have gone into hiding of their own free will; and finally, the fact that such incidents were a common occurrence in this area.
            
            

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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.i), 353-366.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.