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)
      
      
      10. Ninth Region-Araucanía
          
          
          1. Overview
             
             This report presents the most serious human rights violations leading either to a proven death or to disappearance which occurred between September 11, 1973 and January 31, 1974 in the Ninth Region of the country, which today encompasses the provinces of Malleco and Cautín. Among all the incidents it examined in this region, the Commission came to the conviction that in 115 cases the government was responsible for human rights violations due to the actions of its agents or persons working for them.
             
             The percentage of the rural population in this region is one of the highest in the country, and there are a great number of Mapuche indians. Even before September 11, 1973, problems rooted in land tenure had led to major social conflicts. Despite this climate, however, once the September military intervention took place, there was no resistance to the new regime. Indeed when asked to do so, many people voluntarily reported to the new authorities. The purpose, it was said, was to enable them to register their homes (Military Decree No. 11 of the office of the governor of the province of Cautín, September 12, 1973).
             
             The army took control of political and administrative matters in the region and appointed its own officers to serve as intendant and as governors over the provinces.
             
             During the initial period, from September 11 until approximately mid-October, 1973, those who suffered grave human rights violations were primarily agriculture and health professionals who had worked in the previous government, and leaders of labor unions and social organizations, that is, generally people connected to movements supportive of the deposed government. Many of them were Mapuches and small farmers. Starting in mid-October the criteria for choosing the victims underwent a change. Most of the people imprisoned at this point were active in, or connected to, leftist parties. Some were active in other parties or were even not politically involved.
             
             Among the main detention sites in this region were the Tucapel Regiment, the Maquehua Air Base, and the jail in Temuco. The number of people imprisoned in these places between September and December 1973 can be estimated at between five and seven hundred. In other cities the local regiments were used as prison sites: in Angol, Cavalry Regiment No. 3-Húsares; in Traiguén Artillery Regiment No. 4-Miraflores; in Victoria, Transportation Batallion No. 4. In other towns and places in the region the police stations were used.
             
             Procedures varied from one city or town to another. In Temuco individuals were called to report to the authorities by means of military decrees published or broadcast in the media, or a summons was sent directly to those being sought. In other cases, their houses or workplaces were raided, and they were arrested and taken to the sites mentioned above. Sometimes military decrees offering an official explanation for executions were published. Prisoners in the Temuco jail were taken to the Tucapel Regiment and placed in a cell next to the guard's room. From there they were taken to the military prosecutor's office, which was located within the grounds of the base, or to the gymnasium where prisoners were interrogated. Torture and other unlawful forms of mistreatment were used during interrogation.
             
             Initially, soldiers had no kind of written order as they took prisoners out of the jail. Later the procedure was more formalized, and an order from the military prosecutor's office had to be presented whenever a prisoner was taken out. This Commission received numerous accounts from witnesses testifying that torture was used at the Maquehua Air Base and the Tucapel Regiment.
             
             In other cities and areas the procedure was different. It was generally the police who were ordered to carry out detentions. They went to the homes of those being sought and arrested them; they raided homes and sometimes set them on fire or destroyed them, and they stole the goods of those they were arresting. In these operations the police were often accompanied by private citizens from the area.
             
             When people were not to be interrogated but simply eliminated, they were executed close to the site where they had been apprehended, and their bodies were thrown in nearby rivers or buried in the fields. In many instances, the families or witnesses observed or heard the execution and later found the dead bodies buried, left exposed, or floating down a river. Often the relatives buried them, first checking with the police. The police generally granted the request, indicating that it should be done quickly and without telling the community. If the aim was to interrogate the prisoners, they were taken to the nearest checkpoint or police station, and from there to some regiment. At those sites family members were most often told the person was not being held prisoner. In rural areas people were also taken in air force helicopters. They were brought to the most important police station in the area or directly to the Maquehua Air Base in Temuco.
             
             On one of its visits to the region, the Commission received a great deal of consistent testimony from the victims' families recounting the physical mistreatment and humiliations to which they themselves were subjected, both in the raids on their houses and during the efforts they made to locate their relatives in police stations and regiments and at checkpoints. In some instances the relatives were also arrested.
             
             We should emphasize the harsh treatment given to the Mapuches and their families and how difficult it has been for these people in the most rural areas to have to live alongside those who killed their loved ones, sometimes even to the present. Due to fear, poverty, or hopelessness, only a small percentage of these families have taken advantage of whatever chance there was to seek redress in the courts or to present their complaints to human rights organizations.
             
             In six of the cases studied, it has been established that civilians were involved in repressive actions.
             
             This report provides an account of those cases in which this Commission has come to the conviction that human rights violations led to proven death or to disappearance. They are organized according to location and in chronological order.
             
             
          2. Cases of grave human rights violations in the Araucanía Region
             
             Temuco
             

             On September 14, 1973, Eduardo GONZALEZ GALENO, 31, a doctor who was director of the hospital in Cunco and was active in MIR, was arrested at work by members of the air force. They arrested him along with his wife, who was also a doctor and shared his political commitment, and they took them to the police headquarters in Cunco. They were then taken by helicopter to the air force base in Maquehua. Witnesses have testified to this Commission that they were at that military base, although the authorities told his relatives he was not being held there. To this day Eduardo González remains disappeared. After examining the evidence in this case very closely, and establishing that he was arrested, and ascertaining that he has not conducted any official government business nor has he had any further contact with his family, the Commission has come to the conviction that Eduardo González suffered a grave human rights violation at the hands of government agents who were responsible for his arrest and subsequent disappearance.
             
             On September 15, 1973, Arturo HILLERNS LARRAÑAGA, 29, a doctor who was working for the National Health Service in this area and was a MIR activist, disappeared. During curfew hours he was arrested at his home by police from the Second police station in Temuco. Military Decree No. 1 from the commander's office at the Temuco garrison, which was issued the next day, stated that "Dr. Arturo Hillerns Larrañaga escaped September 15, 1973 at 3:00 a.m. while he was being taken from his home to Helicopter Squadron No. 3 in order to gather evidence on subversive groups. This citizen is a fugitive, and military and police patrols have been ordered to find him. They have orders to shoot if they encounter any resistance." This Commission finds the official account implausible, since it is clear that Dr. Hillerns was being held prisoner by about twenty police who were being followed by a number of vehicles while curfew was in effect, at a time when the city was under heavy guard. For all these reasons it is quite unlikely that he would have tried to escape, let alone that he would have done so successfully. In view of the foregoing, and because he has not had any further contact with his family or conducted any business with the government, and bearing in mind the general features of the period that have already been explained, this Commission has come to the conviction that Arturo Hillerns was arrested by government agents and that they made him disappear in an action that gravely violated his human rights.
             
             On September 18, 1973, José Félix GARCIA FRANCO, 31, an Ecuadorian seventh year medical student at the University of Chile who was serving his internship at the hospital in Temuco, disappeared. García had voluntarily reported to the Second police station in response to a call to all foreigners issued by the authorities. His wife says that on September 18, when she took him food at the police station she was told that he had been taken to the border and released that day. Since that date his whereabouts have been unknown. When consulted by this Commission, the National Bureau for Foreigners reported that José Félix García is not recorded as having left the country.
             
             After September 19, 1973, there was no further information concerning the fate or whereabouts of José SAN MARTIN BENAVENTE, 27. He was the former head of DIRINCO (National Bureau of Industry and Trade) in Temuco and was not politically active. He had been arrested when he voluntarily reported to the headquarters of the police in the city. His relatives say that they were later told that he was not being held prisoner.
             
             Since in both these cases there is evidence that these people were held prisoner in police facilities; since the Commission inquired about them with the Chilean police, who stated that all the documentation from that period had been legally burned; and since there has been no word on them either through their families or through dealings they might have had with the Chilean government; and in view of the features specific to these cases, this Commission has come to the conviction that José García Franco and José San Martín underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents who gravely violated their rights.
             
             Since September 19, 1973, there has been no word on the fate and whereabouts of Esteban Marie Louis PESLE DE MENIL, 49, a former priest of French nationality who was an expert on cooperatives, worked at INDAP (National Institute for Agricultural Development) and was active in the Socialist Party and a member of the Christians for Socialism Movement. Witnesses saw him being arrested in his office by air force reservists in uniform, and taken toward an unknown destination. Despite countless efforts to find him on the part of his family and his embassy, he remains disappeared to this day.
             
             Three days later, on September 22, 1973 Ambrosio BADILLA VASEY, 28, a former employee of the Banco del Estado [State Bank] who was a member of the central committee of MIR, disappeared. He was arrested at a friend's house in Temuco by air force troops. His relatives say that when they made efforts to locate him, the authorities told them that he had been released because there were no charges against him. That, however, would not be consistent with the manner in which authorities at that time were dealing with MIR activists whom they captured. He has remained disappeared since the date of his arrest.
             
             On September 25, 1973, Ricardo BUSTOS MARTINEZ, 21, a worker who was not politically active, was arrested in the presence of witnesses by air force troops at a sawmill on the Los Laureles estate where he was working. Witnesses observed that the agents who arrested him were beating him as they did so, and they then put him onto a helicopter. His whereabouts remain unknown since that date.
             
             In these three cases, it has been established that people were arrested and that there has been no sign of them, that is, they have not contacted their families or conducted any official business with the Chilean government. This Commission holds the conviction that the human rights of Esteban Pesle de Menil, Ambrosio Badilla, and Ricardo Bustos were violated by government agents who arrested them and then subjected them to forced disappearance.
             
             On September 25, 1973, José Eulalio MUÑOZ CONCHA, 21, a worker and a leader in the Ampliación Amanecer neighborhood who was arrested in the presence of witnesses and taken to the Temuco jail, disappeared. The family says that they were told that he was being held in solitary confinement and was going to be transferred to the Tucapel Regiment before being released. They looked for him at a number of facilities without success. When this Commission consulted the jail officials, they responded that Muñoz Concha "entered this jail on 9-24-1973 by order of the army prosecutor's office in Temuco, crime not specified. He left 9-25-73 by order No. 24 of the army prosecutor's office, Temuco." Jose Muñoz remains disappeared to this day.
             
             Something similar took place September 25, 1973 with Luis Jorge ALMONACID DUMENES, 22, a social work student at the Temuco campus of the University of Chile who was a MIR activist. Police arrested him in the presence of witnesses on September 16 and took him to the police station in Padre Las Casas. On September 19, he was taken to the Tucapel Regiment and the next day to the jail in Temuco. Witnesses who testified before this Commission declare that police took him away. In response to inquiries from this Commission, jail authorities in Temuco replied that Luis Almonacid "entered this jail 9-19-1973. He left 9-25-1973 by order of the prosecutor's office. Order to release No. 21." Since that date Luis Almonacid remains disappeared despite all his relatives' efforts to find him.
             
             Since it is established that these two people were arrested and were then held prisoner in the Temuco jail and since none of them has ever indicated to their relatives that they are alive, nor have they conducted any official business with the Chilean government, the assertion that they were released is in effect refuted. Indeed, the evidence in its possession enables this Commission to state that they both left the jail under military guard. This Commission holds the conviction that José Muñoz and Luis Almonacid were subjected to forced disappearance by government agents who gravely violated their human rights.
             
             Since September 18, 1973, there has been no further word on the fate of María ARRIAGADA JEREZ, 40, a teacher at School No. 31-Gabriela Petesmen in Chilpaco, who was active in the Communist party and a leader in the teachers' organization. She was arrested at work in the presence of witnesses on September 27 by members of the air force and police. Together with another teacher she was taken in an air force helicopter to the police substation in Lonquimay. On September 28 she was taken to the police station in Curacautín and then to the Maquehua Air Base in Temuco. Her whereabouts have remained unknown since that moment.
             
             On September 30, 1973, Jorge Eduardo CALDERON OTAIZA, 28, who worked at the Caja Nacional de Empleados Publicos [National Bank for Government Employees], was studying civil engineering at the University of Temuco and was active in the Young Socialists, disappeared from that same military installation. He was arrested at home by police from the police station in Padre las Casas and later was taken to the Maquehua Air Base. When seen there he was in poor physical condition. His relatives say that government forces never acknowledged that he was being held prisoner. To this day Jorge Eduardo Calderón remains disappeared.
             
             After very carefully examining the evidence in these two cases, this Commission has come to the conviction that Maria Arriagada and Jorge Eduardo Calderón suffered a forced disappearance at the hands of the government agents stationed at the Maquehua Air Base who arrested them. These actions were a grave human rights violation.
             
             In late September, 1973, Luis Bernardo MALDONADO AVILA, 24, who was studying mechanical engineering at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University and was active in the Socialist party, was arrested. Troops arrested him in the presence of witnesses in front of the post office in Temuco and took him to an unknown destination. Despite the many inquiries made by his relatives, Luis Maldonado remains disappeared to this day. Having established that he was arrested, and taking into account his political commitment, the fate of leftist prisoners during that period, the manner in which he was arrested, and the fact that neither his family nor the Chilean government has received any information on him, this Commission has come to the conviction that Luis Maldonado underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in an action that violated his human rights.
             
             On October 2, 1973, four persons were executed at the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco. In their public explanation of these deaths, military authorities claimed that two of them had attempted to escape and the other two had attacked their guards.
             
             With regard to the two persons killed in an alleged escape attempt, a military decree issued by the commander's office of the garrison in Temuco reported to the citizenry that "two persons who were being held prisoner inside the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco were shot down by guards when they attempted to escape from that facility." The two people executed in this fashion were:
             
             José María ORTIGOSA ANSOLEAGA, 42, a merchant and a farmer who was a personal friend of President Salvador Allende. Because of accusations that a guerrilla school was operating on his estate, he had been summoned by the military prosecutor's office, and hence he travelled from Santiago to Temuco to report to the authorities. He was arrested by a military patrol on the outskirts of the city and was taken to the jail and from there to the Tucapel Regiment. Many witnesses saw him in poor physical condition as a result of the torture he underwent.
             
             Daniel de los Angeles MATELUNA GOMEZ, 53, an advisor to the CUT labor federation in Temuco.
             
             In Military Decree No. 9 the commander's office of the Temuco garrison reported on the two executions which were carried out in response to alleged attacks on military personnel as follows: "In keeping with the provisions of Military Decree No. 24 of the military junta, the guards of Infantry Regiment No. 8-Tucapel shot to death Pedro Ríos Castillo and Guido Troncoso Pérez. At the instigation of Perez, who was a member of the presidential body guard, they had tried to seize the guards' weapons and assault them." Pedro RIOS CASTILLO, 43, was vice-president of the Development Council of Bío Bío, Malleco, and Cautín, a teacher at the University of Concepción and active in the Socialist party. He voluntarily reported to the military authorities in Temuco on September 11 in response to a summons issued through official communiques, and he had been allowed to go free. Soldiers then arrested him and his son, who was a minor, in Los Angeles, and took him to the local regiment. He was then transferred to the jail in Temuco and then to the Tucapel Regiment the day before he died. Witnesses have testified that he was in poor physical condition as a result of the torture to which he was subjected.
             
             Guido TRONCOSO PEREZ, 21, a mechanic who was active in the Socialist party. He had been arrested at home a few days previously by the investigative police who tortured and then released him; they rearrested him on October 2. His captors took him to the Tucapel Regiment.
             
             The Commission did not find acceptable the official accounts provided to the public to explain these four deaths in view of the following considerations:
             
             

             • The four people executed were imprisoned in a heavily guarded military base, and hence it was not very likely that they would make an irrational attempt to seize the guards' weapons or attempt to escape.
               
               
             • Testimony offered to this Commission indicates that several of the prisoners were in poor condition as a result of the torture they had undergone, thus making it even more unlikely that they would attack armed guards.
               
               
             • If indeed the prisoners had made such an attack or attempted to escape, in all probability they could have been subdued without having to be killed, since they were unarmed civilians facing a military unit.
               
               

             For these reasons, this Commission holds the conviction that José María Ortigosa, Daniel Mateluna, Pedro Ríos, and Guido Troncoso were executed by government agents, who deprived them of their right to life in an entirely unlawful fashion.
             
             That same day, October 2, two public health officials who were active in the Communist party were executed at the Maquehua Air Base:
             
             Alejandro FLORES RIVERA, 33, an official at the Temuco regional hospital who was the regional president of FENATS (National Federation of Health Care Workers);
             
             Hernán HENRIQUEZ ARAVENA, 38, a surgeon who was in charge of the National Health Service in the provinces of Malleco and Cautin.
             
             In the period immediately following September 11 both had been summoned and reported voluntarily to the military prosecutor's office and were put under house arrest. They were later arrested and taken to the Maquehua Air Base. Credible witnesses have testified that both were in poor physical condition as a result of the torture they had undergone. On the night of October 2 air force personnel took them out of the base. That was the last time they were seen alive.
             
             Three days later, in Military Decree No. 5, dated October 5, 1973, the commander's office of the Temuco garrison reported that "Alejandro Flores Rivera and Hernán Henríquez Aravena were killed by their guards in response to an escape attempt that they had planned with the assistance of outside persons while they were being held under arrest at the headquarters of Helicopter Squadron No. 3. The outsiders escaped without suffering any casualties. These subversives were buried." The official report does not indicate the date on which they were executed, nor where their mortal remains were buried. The death certificates, however, state that they died on October 2, 1973. To this day their bodies have not been returned to their relatives. There is no explanation for failing to do so, nor is it acceptable.
             
             This Commission rejects the official account in view of the following circumstances:
             
             

             • It is not credible that while they were under arrest at a military base and could not receive visits and indeed when no acknowledgement had been made to their relatives that they were being held there, the prisoners should have arranged an escape plan with people from outside the base.
               
               
             • The poor physical condition of the prisoners as a result of the torture to which they had been subjected and the tight military guard over the base and the surrounding area, made the possibility of escaping even more unlikely.
               
               
             • Given the heavy military guard of this area at that time, it is implausible that the outsiders who were allegedly involved would have eluded being captured.
               
               
             • Credible witnesses have testified to this Commission that on October 2 air force personnel took these two prisoners out of the Maquehua base toward an unknown destination.
               
               

             Taking into account these circumstances, the Commission holds the conviction that Alejandro Flores and Hernán Henríquez were executed by government agents and that their human rights were thereby violated.
             
             On October 3, 1973, Dixon RETAMAL CORNEJO, 24, a civil engineering student at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University who was active in MIR, was arrested at his boarding house in Temuco by members of the air force. He was taken to the Maquehua Air Base. According to his relatives, troops there said that he had been held prisoner at the base but then had been turned over to the police. He could not be located at any police facility and remains disappeared to this day. After carefully examining the evidence in this case, and since there is no explanation for why he never had further contact with his family, this Commission has come to the conviction that Dixon Retamal Cornejo suffered a grave human rights violation and that government agents were responsible for his arrest and subsequent disappearance.
             
             On October 4, 1973, Rubén Eduardo MORALES JARA, 29, a teacher at the Temuco campus of the University of Chile who was active in MIR, disappeared. Morales was being held prisoner at the Temuco jail on September 11, 1973, accused of having violated the weapons control law. Since that moment his relatives have never seen him again. Jail authorities reported that "on October 4, 1973 he ran away from the guard post at the Temuco Regiment." However, the report prepared by the investigative police in Temuco states that Morales Jara, "while he was being transferred by army troops at night, escaped by diving into the waters of the Cautín River, and was not found." Besides being contradictory, the official accounts are implausible. It is very unlikely that a prisoner would have tried to escape from a military base when he was alone or unarmed or on the road when he was being heavily guarded by troops. For its part, this Commission holds the conviction that Ruben Morales Jara underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in an action that violated his human rights.
             
             On October 4, 1973, all trace was lost of the whereabouts of Omar Roberto VENTURELLI LEONELLI, 31, a former priest, a teacher in the education department at the Temuco campus of the Catholic University and a member of Christians for Socialism. He voluntarily reported to the Tucapel Regiment September 25 in response to a summons broadcast by radio. He was then taken to the jail in Temuco, and from there he corresponded with his family. The family states that on October 4 they were told that he had been released. Since then they have looked for him in vain. When consulted by this Commission, jail authorities answered that Venturelli "left 10-4-73. By order of the military prosecutor's office in Cautín. Release order No. 52." Omar Venturelli remains disappeared to this day.
             
             On October 11, 1973, Luis Gastón LOBOS BARRIENTOS, 46, a teacher who was active in the Radical party, a former provincial governor and a deputy for the province of Cautín, disappeared. Police from Pitrufquén arrested him at his home and took him to the Second station in Temuco. Photographic evidence indicates that his head was shaved, and he was marched through the center of Temuco and was then put under house arrest. The same police officers rearrested him at his home on October 5, and took him to the Temuco jail. Authorities there reported that Lobos was released on October 11 at 6:50 p.m. by order of the prosecutor's office of the police in Cautín. The family says that the prosecutor's office later told them that Lobos was released October 11 at 7:40 p.m. (curfew was in effect at 7:00 p.m.) and that he had been given a safe conduct pass so that he could return home. According to credible testimony from witnesses, Gastón Lobos was put onto a helicopter. This Commission has examined testimony by witnesses who say that his body was found at the mouth of the Imperial River, and that the person who found him, knew him personally and buried him at a site that has thus far not been located.
             
             Since it has been established that these two people were arrested and held prisoner, the assertion that they were released is not convincing since neither of them has returned to his family, has had official dealings with agencies of the Chilean government (such as taking out a new identification card, or registering to vote), or is recorded as having left the country. On the contrary, the evidence it has examined enables this Commission to state that Omar Venturelli and Gastón Lobos left the jail in the custody of military troops who made them disappear by force.
             
             On October 11, 1973, Arturo NAVARRETE LEIVA, 21, worker at Ferrocariles del Estado (State Railroad Company) who was not politically active, was arrested in downtown Temuco by an air force patrol in the presence of numerous witnesses and was taken to an unknown destination. His relatives stated that military authorities never acknowledged holding him prisoner. Since it is established that he was arrested and since there has been no word about him to this day, this Commission holds the conviction that Arturo Navarrete suffered a violation of his human rights at the hands of government agents who arrested him and then made him disappear by force.
             
             Since October 12, 1973, there has been no information on the fate or whereabouts of Jaime Emilio ELTIT SPIELMANN, 27, a law school graduate who was active in the Radical Youth. On September 13 he was arrested in Santiago by troops from the Tacna Regiment. He was put under house arrest until October 6, when he was rearrested and taken to the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco on October 7. His relatives last saw him there October 12. They say that the next day officials at the regiment told them that he had been released that same day. He remains disappeared to this moment. Since it is established that Jaime Eltit was arrested by government agents and that he was held prisoner at a military base, and since he has never had further contact with his family or had any dealings with the government, this Commission holds the conviction that he underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents who gravely violated his rights.
             
             On October 13, 1973, José FUENTES FUENTES, 44, a small scale industrialist who was not politically active, was arrested by police from Temuco at the hotel where he lived and was taken to the Second police station. His relatives say that police later denied that he was being held prisoner. He has remained disappeared since that moment. Since there is evidence that he was held prisoner at a police facility; since there has been no word on him since that day; and since the Chilean police, when consulted on this matter, stated that all documentation from that period had been legally burned, this Commission has come to the conviction that José Fuentes suffered a forced disappearance at the hands of government agents who gravely violated his rights.
             
             Since October 13, 1973, Nelson CURIÑIR LINCOQUEO, 22, a fifth year student in civil engineering at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University who was active in the Young Communists, has been disappeared. Air force troops arrested him at his home in Temuco during the very early morning hours of October 5. His family says that troops told them that they were taking him to the Maquehua Air Base, but representatives at the base denied that he was being held there. On October 18, 1973 the newspaper published Military Decree No. 10 of the Temuco garrison, which stated: "Since citizen Nelson Vladimir Curiñir, a MIR activist, escaped from a military patrol while he was being taken from the site of his capture to the Temuco jail, all units of the armed forces and police are ordered to capture him dead or alive."
             
             Witnesses who testified before this Commission say that air force troops took Nelson Curiñir out of the Maquehua base early on the morning of October 13 and that he never returned. From that day on his family looked for him in vain until his remains were found in 1990 at the cemetery in Nueva Imperial. He had been buried there anonymously in October 1973. The autopsy report says that in the back of his cranium was a hole from a bullet that exited above his right eye. For these reasons this Commission holds the conviction that government agents were responsible for the arrest, disappearance, death, and improper burial of Nelson Curiñir. They violated his right to life and his family's right to know what had happened to him and to bury him.
             
             On October 26, 1973, two health workers who were active in the Socialist party were executed by military troops in Temuco:
             
             Manuel Gastón ELGUETA ELGUETA, 28, a hygiene educator, grammar school teacher and an official at the regional office of the National Health Service who was active in the Socialist party and a FENATS (National Federation of Health Care Workers) leader. A few days before he was killed, he had been held under arrest at the Second police station. He was released and then rearrested at home by military troops in the early morning hours of October 26.
             
             Jecar NEHGME [sic] CORNEJO, 32, a hygiene educator, instructor in health at the Temuco campus of the University of Chile and an employee at the National Health Service who was a regional leader of the Socialist party. He was also the father of Jecar Neghme Cristi, a MIR leader who was murdered in 1989. Soldiers arrested Neghme at his home on October 27, 1973.
             
             In Military Decree No. 12, the commander's office of the Temuco garrison reported: "By order of the military prosecutor's office, citizens Jecar Neghme Cornejo and Gastón Elgueta, who have been proven to be terrorists, were arrested on October 25 at 10:30 p.m. As they were being taken to the garrison of Mountain Infantry Regiment No. 8-Tucapel, they tried to assault the patrol and wrest their guard's weapon away, and therefore they were shot down."
             
             Having analyzed the circumstances of their deaths, this Commission cannot accept the account provided by the authorities, in view of the following points:
             
             

             • Although the military decree and their death certificates state that they died October 25 at 10:30 p.m., neither the day nor the hour was correct. According to a number of consistent accounts this Commission received, these people were arrested by a military patrol in the early morning of October 26.
               
               
             • It is not likely that two people who had been taken prisoner and subdued by military personnel would attempt to wrest away a guard's weapon.
               
               
             • Even if the official account were true, it does not seem acceptable that the only way to prevent these two unarmed civilians from running away would have been to kill them.
               
               

             Therefore, this Commission has come to the conviction that Jecar Neghme and Gastón Elgueta were executed without any due process by government agents in violation of their human rights.
             
             On November 9, 1973, seven people, all active Communists, were executed by army troops:
             
             Juan Antonio CHAVEZ RIVAS, 26, a student at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University. He was arrested November 5, 1973 at his home and taken to the Tucapel Regiment. His relatives saw him there.
             
             Pedro MARDONES JOFRE, 22, a student at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University.
             
             Florentino MOLINA RUIZ, 44, a worker, regional secretary of the Communist party in the province of Cautín and a member of the party's central committee. He was arrested November 5, 1973 at his home by two plainclothes agents and taken to the Second station and then to the Tucapel Regiment.
             
             Amador MONTERO MOSQUERA, 21, a student at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University. He had been arrested at home by plainclothes agents on November 7, 1973, and taken to the Tucapel Regiment.
             
             Juan Carlos RUIZ MANCILLA, 21, a civil engineering student at the Temuco campus of the State Technical University. He had been arrested November 7, 1973 at his parent's home in Punta Arenas and flown to Temuco in an air force plane and was held prisoner at the Tucapel Regiment.
             
             Victor Hugo VALENZUELA VALASQUEZ, 22, an aide at the property registry office in Temuco. He was arrested November 7, 1973 at work by plainclothes agents and taken to the Tucapel Regiment where he was seen by witnesses.
             
             It is reasonable to presume that Carlos AILLAÑIR HUENCHUAL, 57, a farm worker who was active in the Communist party, was killed along with them. Troops had arrested him at a relative's house on November 6.
             
             An official report issued November 10 mentions an attack on a explosives supply room at the Tucapel Regiment which occurred at 11:45 p.m. the previous day. "Subversives outfitted with a good supply of explosives attempted to reach the back of the regiment where the explosives are stored. The sentries caught them on time, an intense exchange of fire took place, and seven of the attackers were hit." In its report on the same incident, the army stated: "Last night at 11:45 an estimated fifteen people armed with dynamite, grenades, and firearms attempted to attack the Tucapel Regiment garrison. Seven of them were killed in the attempt; two were captured and the rest ran away. The regiment suffered no casualties and there was no material damage." The Commission connects the seven people listed above with this account since all their death certificates indicated that their deaths took place at the very same date and hour as on the official accounts and they note that they were killed on a "military base" by "firearm-action of a military unit."
             
             This Commission cannot regard this official account as credible by reason of the following considerations:
             
             

             • It is not plausible that, during the gun battle which is alleged to have taken place by night, the sentries would have fatally wounded seven of the supposed attackers without suffering any casualties themselves.
               
               
             • At the morgue the relatives were able to view the victims' bodies, which bore clear indications that they had been tortured. That is consistent with the death certificates of Pedro Mardones, Amador Montero and Víctor Hugo Valenzuela, which indicated that the cause of death was a "crushed skull." That note indicates that they died not only of bullet wounds, but also because their skulls were smashed.
               
               
             • The most convincing point for this Commission is that the abundant testimony and evidence gathered prove that these people were held prisoner for several days at the Tucapel Regiment. Hence it was impossible for them to have attempted to break into the back of the regiment grounds, armed with explosives, as asserted in the official account.
               
               

             For all these reasons, the Commission has come to the conviction that the seven persons on the list were executed by government agents in violation of their human rights.
             
             On November 22, 1974, Luis Alberto LEAL ARRATIA, 55, a farmer who was active in the Radical Left party and had been actively involved in the agrarian reform process in the area, was arrested and disappeared. He was arrested three times. He was first arrested by air force troops, and next by the police, who took him to the Temuco jail and then released him October 17, 1973. Finally on November 22, 1973 he was arrested again, this time by plainclothes agents at his daughter's house in Temuco. Since then there has been no word about him despite all the inquiries made by his relatives. Since it has been established that Luis Alberto Leal was arrested, and in view of the way he was apprehended, the date on which it took place, the nature of his political involvement, and the fact that neither his family nor the Chilean government have had any word of him for seventeen years, this Commission has come to the conviction that Luis Alberto Leal suffered a forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in an action that gravely violated his human rights.
             
             On November 30, 1973, Santiago FAUNDEZ BUSTOS, 23, a university student who was active in the Socialist party, was killed. He had been arrested by soldiers November 27 and taken to the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco, where his mother was able to see him two days later. His relatives say that on November 30 the military told them that he had been released. Santiago Faúndez's dead body was found and identified by his family at the local morgue. The death certificate indicates that he died November 30, 1973, in Temuco, and states that the place of death was a "military base" and that the cause of death was "suffocation; convulsive state under study." These facts make it possible to come to the conviction that Santiago Faúndez was executed by government agents who were holding him prisoner inside a military base, in an action that gravely violated his human rights.
             
             In November 1973, Manuel Orlando BIOLEY OJEDA, 20, who was visiting his family in Temuco from San Bernardo, where he was fulfilling his obligatory military service, disappeared. After staying out on leave too long, he reported to the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco and was put under arrest. He was then taken to the investigative police, where his mother visited him. His family says that members of the investigative police told them that he had been taken back to the regiment, but at the base they were told he was not there. This is the last information available about him. Since it is established that he was arrested by government agents and was held prisoner at a military base, and since he has never had further contact with his family or conducted any official business with the government, this Commission holds the conviction that he disappeared at the hands of government agents in an action that violated human rights.
             
             On December 25, 1973, Omar TORRES ANTINAO, 21, a fruit vendor who was not known to be politically active, was killed by soldiers from the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco. Soldiers had been to his house a number of times looking for one of his sisters who was active in MIR but had not found her. When his captors came to the house that day Torres fled toward the back yard. The soldiers chased him and shot him down in the presence of his mother and sisters, killing him on the spot. His body was turned over to his family at the hospital in Temuco. Since witnesses have verified this account of what happened, this Commission holds the conviction that Omar Torres was executed without due legal process by government agents in an action that violated human rights.
             
             In December 1973, Juan RIQUELME RIQUELME, 31, a teacher at the Colegio Alemán in Temuco who was not known to be politically active, was arrested by official forces in civilian clothes at his home in Temuco. A relative was arrested with him and both were driven to the Maquehua Air Base. Witnesses say they saw him being held prisoner there. There has been no trace of him since then. After examining the evidence in this case, this Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Riquelme suffered a grave human rights violation and that government agents were responsible for his arrest and subsequent disappearance.
             
             

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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.j), 387-401.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.