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 (continued)
          
          
          2. Cases of grave human rights violations in the Araucanía Region (continued)
             
             Lautaro
             

             On September 15, 1973, Luis del Carmen MORA SAN JUAN, 43, a tractor driver at the El Luchador rural cooperative, was arrested in the presence of witnesses by troops from the La Concepción Regiment in Lautaro. His relatives began to look for him in different places but without success. Two months later they found his body buried nearby and dug it out. The death certificate states that he died of "a crushed skull." Since it is established that he was arrested by government agents, and taking into account how he died, this Commission holds the conviction that Luis Mora was executed and that his body was later concealed by government agents, who thus gravely violated his right to life.
             
             On September 23, 1973, Manuel Elías CATALAN PAILLAL, 27, a farm worker who had been arrested in the Juan Catalan community in Lautaro by police and taken to the local police station, disappeared. His family says that they took food and clothing for him to the police station every day. However, his wife says that on September 23 she was told that he had been transferred to the jail in Temuco; at the jail, however, it was denied that he was being held. Since that date his whereabouts remain unknown, despite all the efforts made to locate him. Since witnesses have testified before this Commission that he was arrested and held prisoner, and since he had no further contact with his family and had no dealings with agencies of the Chilean government, the Commission has come to the conviction that Manuel Catalán was subjected to a forced disappearance at the hands of government agents and that his human rights were gravely violated.
             
             On September 27, 1973, Aníbal BURGOS SEPULVEDA, head of personnel at the Banco del Estado in Lautaro who was active in the Communist party, and Julio HADDAD RIQUELME, 47, a merchant and leader of the Communist party, were executed in the city of Lautaro. The public was informed by means of Military Decree No. 52, issued by the head of the zone under state of siege in the province of Cautín, which reads:"... On September 26, 1973 citizens Aníbal Burgos González (sic) and Julio Haddad Riquelme were arrested by police and by troops from the La Concepción Regiment in Lautaro because they were involved in carrying out 'Plan Z' in Lautaro. Together with the former governor of the department, Fernando Teillier, they were plotting to kill the senior military and the police officers in the area. 2. On September 27, 1973 in the course of a search for the fugitive Fernando Teillier, these two attempted to attack their guards and to escape toward the hills. A military patrol repelled their attack and shot them down." Their bodies were handed over to their relatives in sealed coffins.
             
             Once more, as in other instances of supposed escape attempts, the account offered by the authorities cannot be accepted since it is highly unlikely that civilians who were being held prisoner and were unarmed would try to attack the heavily armed guards who were transporting them. Likewise it does not seem justifiable that the only way to subdue them in response to their alleged aggression was to kill them. This Commission holds the conviction that Julio Haddad and Aníbal Burgos were executed without any due legal process by government agents and that they suffered a human rights violation.
             
             On September 27, 1973, Eligen PONCE ARIAS, the operational manager of CORHABIT (Corporación Habiticional) who was not known to be politically active, was arrested. Witnesses observed him being arrested by a patrol made up of troops from the La Concepción Regiment in Lautaro; he was then taken to an unknown destination. On October 8, his family found his body, with a number of cuts and with a bullet wound to the right temple, buried on the hill of Muco Alto. Since the fact of his arrest and the cause of death are established, and likewise the concealment of the body, in accordance with what was common treatment of prisoners at that time, the Commission has come to the conviction that Eligen Ponce was executed by government agents in violation of his human rights.
             
             On September 29, 1973, Pedro MILLALEN HUENCHUÑIR, 35, a married farm worker who was active in the Communist party, was arrested at the Campo Lindo agricultural cooperative by police who were accompanied by civilians. Witnesses testified before this Commission that they had seen troops beat Millalén and then put him into a vehicle that belonged to one of the civilians and that he was finally taken to the house of one of the civilians. There has been no further trace of him. Since it has been established that he was arrested, and since there is no natural explanation for the fact that he has not been heard from for seventeen years, the Commission has come to the conviction that Pedro Millalén suffered grave violations of his human rights insofar as government agents arrested him and subjected him to forced disappearance.
             
             Then on October 2, 1973, Andrés LEVIO LLAUPE, 49, a farmer who was not known to be politically active, was arrested by police at his home on the Panco indian reservation. Three days later his family found his body eight kilometers away with a bullet wound in the back and numerous bruises. Since it is established that he was arrested by government agents and was shot, this Commission holds the conviction that Andrés Levio was executed and that his body was subsequently concealed by government agents who thus gravely violated his right to life.
             
             On that same day, October 2, 1973, three people who had been arrested separately by police from the police headquarters in Cajón, were killed. They disappeared from the Cajón station until February 1974. At that point their relatives were summoned to the La Concepción Regiment in Lautaro and told without further explanation that all had died October 2, 1973. Their death certificates were handed over but not their bodies. Their names are:
             
             José Enrique CONEJEROS TRONCOSO, 32, a worker at the Carillanca experimental station, who was arrested October 2;
             
             Juan Bautista RODRIGUEZ ESCOBAR, 34, a worker at the Carillanca experimental station, who was arrested October 1; and
             
             José Abel DIAZ TORO, 29, a farm worker and labor union leader, who was arrested September 28.
             
             Having established that they were arrested and that they suffered a violent death that day or shortly thereafter, this Commission holds the conviction that the arrest, execution, and concealment of the bodies of José Conejeros, Juan Rodríguez and José Díaz was the work of government agents who thus gravely violated their human rights.
             
             A similar event was the arrest and subsequent disappearance of seven peasants from the Lautaro area. Court records indicate that most of these people had been brought before ordinary courts for common crimes:
             
             On October 4, 1973, José André MELIQUEN AGUILERA, 45, a farm worker, was arrested on the Manuel Levinao reservation in the presence of witnesses by police from the Lautaro police station. His relatives say they were later told he was not being held prisoner.
             
             Also on October 4, 1973, Sergio del Carmen NAVARRO SCHIFFERLI, 37, a farmer, was arrested by police from the Yuyinco checkpoint and taken to the Lautaro police station. Although his family was told that he had been released, he remains disappeared since that day.
             
             On October 15, 1973, José Ignacio BELTRAN MELIQUEO, 46, a farmer from the Manuel Levinao community, was arrested before witnesses in the square in Lautaro by police, and was taken to the local police station. His relatives say that they were told he was not being held prisoner there, and he remains disappeared since that day.
             
             The following day, October 16, 1973, Julio Manuel PAINE LIPIN, 27, a peasant from the Tres Luces rural cooperative in the area of Muco Bajo, was arrested by police when he voluntarily reported to the Pillanlelbún checkpoint. From there he was transferred to the Lautaro police station, and according to witnesses, he was taken away in late October. He remains disappeared since that day.
             
             On November 8, 1973, Juan MILLA MONTUY, 40, a farmer, was arrested in Lautaro. Police told his family he was not being held prisoner. He remains disappeared to this day.
             
             Manuel LIZAMA CARIQUEO, 29, the CUT secretary in Temuco and president of the El Cardal rural cooperative in that area was arrested that same day by police and taken to the Pillanlelbún checkpoint. He remains disappeared to this day.
             
             Finally in November 1973, José Bernardino CUEVAS CIFUENTES, a married farmer, was arrested along with his son, by police at the Lautaro livestock fair. They were taken to the local police station. Although his son was released, José Cuevas has completely vanished since his arrest. Since it has been established that these people were arrested, and since none of them has had further contact with his family nor conducted any official business with the Chilean government, the Commission has come to the conviction that José Andrés Meliquén, José Ignacio Beltrán, Juan Milla, Julio Paine, Manuel Lizama, Sergio Navarro and José Cuevas suffered grave violations of their human rights, since they were arrested and subjected to forced disappearance at the hands of government agents.
             

             Galvarino
             

             On October 3, 1973, Segundo Osvaldo MOREIRA BUSTOS, 22, a farmer, was shot and killed in the street by government agents. Moreira's body was left on the road and picked up by a local ambulance. The morgue handed it over to his relatives. The evidence gathered by the Commission does not enable it to formulate a completely clear idea of the circumstances under which government agents fired their weapons, but it has come to the conviction that those shots killed Segundo Osvaldo Moreira and that he died as a result of the violence existing at that time.
             
             On October 8, 1973, also in Galvarino, five persons were killed by a patrol made up of soldiers and police from Lautaro who were accompanied by a local civilian. They were killed at their homes and were buried by their relatives. In most of these cases no death certificate was issued.
             
             Julio Augusto ÑIRIPIL PAILLAO, 16, a farmer from the community of Huincaleo. At 3:00 a.m. the patrol came to his house and executed him in his yard. His mother picked up his body and buried it.
             
             Juan Segundo NAHUEL HUAIQUIMIL, a small farmer and a member of the local Council for Supplies and Prices, was executed at 2:00 a.m. at his home.
             
             Segundo LEPIN ANTILAF, 30, a small farmer, who was tied up, beaten, and executed near his home. His family picked up his body and buried it.
             
             Heriberto COLLIO NAIN, 63, a farmer who was beaten by patrol members with the bar lock on his door and then left him seriously injured. He died in his house at about 8:00 a.m.
             
             Victor LLANQUIEN, a farmer who lived in the community of Huincaleo. Witnesses observed the patrol beat him and leave him gravely injured. He died a few hours later.
             
             The available evidence on how these events took place enable this Commission to come to the conviction that Julio Ñiripil, Juan Nahuel, Segundo Lepín, Heriberto Collío and Víctor Llanquien suffered a grave human rights violation at the hands of government agents who executed them without any due process of law.
             
             In that same area, on November 17, 1973, Gregoria CARILAF HUENCHUPAN, 73, was killed. On September 15, police who were looking for her son burst violently into her house; when they saw that her son was not at home, they beat her head and her whole body. This Commission holds the conviction that Gregoria Carilaf died as a result of the beating given her by the government agents who raided her house thereby gravely violating her human rights.
             

             Carahue and Puerto Saavedra
             

             In October 1973, four persons who had been arrested in Puerto Saavedra, were killed. Three of them were killed on the night a contingent of troops arrived in the area. The bullet ridden bodies of all four were dumped in the Imperial River or left along the beach where their relatives later found them. Francisco Segundo CURAMIL CASTILLO, 18, a farmer, and his uncle Mauricio HUENUCOI ANTIL, also a farmer, and Bernardo NAHUELCOI CHIHUAICURA, 32, who was active in the Socialist party, were arrested together with a large group of small farmers by troops from Temuco. Francisco Pascual PORMA CHEUQUECOY, 42, an active Socialist, was arrested by police at his home in Puerto Saavedra and taken to the local police headquarters.
             
             Bernardo Nahuelcoi's family says that the police told them that he had been taken to Temuco, when actually his body was thrown into the ocean. His widow found it with the face utterly destroyed by a bullet wound and with the teeth missing. Mauricio Huenucoi's body, also bearing bullet wounds, was found four days after his arrest in the area of Nahuentué, at the mouth of the Imperial River. The body of Francisco Segundo Curamil was found in a similar fashion. The body of Francisco Pascual Porma, whose skull was crushed, was found lying along the beach. Having examined the facts in these cases, this Commission holds the conviction that Francisco Curamil, Mauricio Huenucoi, Bernardo Nahuelcoi and Francisco Porma were arrested and tortured by government agents, who after executing them tried to conceal their bodies. These actions gravely violated their human rights.
             
             On October 10, 1973, Juan PALMA AREVALO, 29, a worker at the warehouse of the ECA (Company for Agricultural Trade) in Carahue, was arrested at work by police and taken to the Carahue substation. One of his relatives saw him there. His body was later found at the morgue. The death certificate states, "He was shot down by reason of martial law." This Commission holds the conviction that Juan Palma was executed without any due process by government agents, thus violating his right to life. The grounds for that position are that responsibility for his death is acknowledged on the death certificate; that his family found the body at the morgue by chance when he was supposedly under arrest at a police facility; and that no official account was ever provided nor did authorities ever furnish his relatives with any explanation of what happened.
             
             The next day, October 11, 1973, something similar happened to Anastasio MOLINA ZAMBRANO, 39, a farmer who was active in the Socialist party. In response to a summons from the police he reported to the tribunal in Carahue. He was arrested and held prisoner at the police substation there for allegedly rustling cattle. On October 11 a number of residents in Carahue saw him running away from the police who were shooting at him. A few days later his relatives retrieved his body at the morgue. On his body they saw signs of beating and bullet wounds. The death certificate states that the cause of death was "suffocation by immersion," and that he died in the Damas River on that same date, October 11. After having investigated this case, the Commission finds that the most plausible version of the events is that Molina was shot by police and was already dying when he was thrown into the river and drowned. Since the accounts of shooting are believable and consistent and since it is proven that he drowned to death in a manner that was common at that time and in that area, this Commission has come to the conviction that Anastasio Molina was executed by government agents in an action that violated his human rights.
             

             Freire
             

             On October 17, 1973, Hernaldo AGUILERA SALAS, 28, and Leomeres MONROY SEGUEL, 25, both farmers who supported the left and were members of the board of directors of the El Robel peasant cooperative, were executed. That day a patrol made up of four policemen came to the cooperative, searched the houses, and then began to beat these two men in the presence of the other cooperative members. They were then tied to the police jeep and dragged along the road. About a kilometer away, the patrol stopped and executed them. Their bodies were taken to the morgue in Temuco.
             
             In Military Decree No. 93 the military governor's office in Cautín reported to the public that "on October 17, officers from the police headquarters in Freire were holding in custody the political activists, Leomeres Monroy Seguel and Hernaldo Aguilera. Police were driving them back to the station so that they could be turned over to the Fourth Military Tribunal in Valdivia for being involved in a plan to attack the police barracks and kill police personnel. About four kilometers east of Freire they attempted to seize an officer's weapon and then fled. When they did not obey the order to halt, the police fired their weapons and killed them."
             
             This Commission cannot accept that account for the following reasons:
             
             

             • It is not likely that the prisoners would have tried to seize a policeman's weapon and run away since they were in poor physical condition, were tied up, and they were being dragged behind by the police vehicle.
               
               
             • Even had they attempted to escape, the police who were armed and in a vehicle could have prevented it without having to kill two unarmed people.
               
               

             These considerations enable this Commission to hold the conviction that Leomeres Monroy and Hernaldo Aguilera were executed by government agents without any legal basis or justification, in an action that violated their human rights.
             

             Pitrufquén
             

             During September and October 1973, nine persons were arrested by police from Pitrufquén and under varying circumstances were subjected to forced disappearance:
             
             On September 15, 1973, Osvaldo BURGOS LAVOZ, 43, a clerk at the Banco del Estado in Pitrufquén who was active in the Socialist party, and
             
             Walter Raúl STEPKE MUÑOZ, 24, a farmer who was not politically active, were arrested. Witnesses observed Burgos and Stepke being halted and arrested as they were driving a pickup truck from Catrico to Pitrufquén. After they had been subdued and were tied up in the back of the vehicle, they were driven toward an unknown destination and remain disappeared to this day.
             
             That same day Pedro CURIHUAL PAILLAN, 24, a union leader, was arrested in the town square in Pitrufquén. His relatives say that police at the local station denied he was being held there even though witnesses say he was. His whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
             
             Also on September 15, Einar Enrique TENORIO FUENTES, 42, a high school teacher in Pitrufquén, an alderman, and general secretary of the Socialist party in the province of Cautín, was arrested at his home. After searching the house and questioning his wife and daughter they took him blindfolded to the police station. Witnesses saw him there. Despite his relatives' efforts to locate him, he remains disappeared since that day.
             
             On September 19, 1973, Luis Caupolicán CARFURQUIR VILLALON, 49, the administrator of the hospital in Pitrufquén who was active in the Radical party, a former alderman, and a CUT leader, disappeared in Pitrifquén. Police had arrested him and taken him from his home in the early morning hours of September 18. He was beaten and put into a vehicle owned by a local private citizen, and was then taken to an unknown destination. The police later denied that he had been arrested, and he remains disappeared since that day.
             
             On September 21, 1973, Juan Héctor ÑANCUFIL REUQUE, 21, a worker who was active in the Young Socialists, was arrested when he reported to the police station after police had searched his house. His family says that the police at the station later acknowledged that he had been arrested; they were told that Ñancufil had been taken to the Temuco jail. He never arrived there, however, and to this day his whereabouts remain unknown. On October 18, 1973, Ismael Rolando BOCAZ MUÑOZ, 31, who was active in the Communist party and an official at the municipality of Pitrufquén, was arrested in the presence of witnesses. The police later told his relatives that he had not been arrested. He remains disappeared to this day.
             
             On October 25, 1973, Luis Anselmo FERNANDEZ BARRERA, 32, an artisan, was arrested in the presence of witnesses. He was a leftist who was independent of political parties and had taken part in the land occupations that led to the formation of peasant cooperatives in the area. At the police station his relatives were told that he was not being held under arrest. Celso AVENDAÑO ALARCON, 47, the president of the Los Boldos cooperative and a furniture maker, was likewise arrested and taken to the police station in Pitrufquén. His family was later told that he had been transferred to the jail in Temuco, but they never found him there.
             
             In these nine cases witnesses have testified that the arrests took place, and there has been no word of these people either within their families or through government agencies. Therefore, this Commission has come to the conviction that they underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents. These events are a grave violation of the human rights of these people.
             

             Other places in this region
             

             Toltén
             

             On September 20, 1973, Daniel Mauricio SEPULVEDA CONTRERAS, 23, a university student who was not politically active, was arrested by the Toltén police at the boarding house where he lived and was taken to the local police headquarters. His family says they found his name in the log books, but from that point there has been no further trace of him. Since it is established that he was arrested, this Commission holds the conviction that government agents were responsible for the disappearance of Daniel Sepúlveda and that they thereby gravely violated his human rights.
             
             On October 27, 1973, Military Decree No.87 of the military governor's office in Cautín reported that "the political activist Guillermo HERNANDEZ ELGUETA, a former Cunco local representative, was under arrest after he had admitted being involved in a plan to attack the police barracks and kill the police there as well as their families. While he was being questioned, he took advantage of an open door and suddenly ran away. When he ignored an order to halt, the police fired their weapons and shot him down." This official account does not seem credible as it is quite unlikely that a prisoner would run away from a heavily guarded police station. Even had that been the case it is not clear that the only way to recapture him was to kill him. This Commission thus comes to the conviction that Guillermo Hernández was executed by government agents, and that he suffered a grave human rights violation.
             

             Gorbea
             

             On September 28, 1973, Domingo OBREQUE OBREQUE, 36, an employee at SOQUIMICH (Chilean Chemical and Mining Society) who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested by police and taken to their headquarters in Gorbea. His family was told that he had been handed over to a patrol, but he remains disappeared since that moment. Qualified witnesses have testified to this Commission that they saw Domingo Obreque at that police headquarters from September 29 onwards and that he was tortured. They say that on November 3 he failed to respond to signs from his fellow prisoners and that the police removed his body from the cell and put it into a municipal vehicle. In view of these circumstances, this Commission holds the conviction that Domingo Obreque was arrested by government agents, who after torturing him, subjected him to forced disappearance. That action constituted a grave human rights violation.
             
             On October 1973, it became known that Juan Bautista BASTIAS RIQUELME, 25, president of the San Pedro rural cooperative who was active in MAPU, had been arrested. Witnesses observed government agents seize him in Allipén. His whereabouts remain unknown to this day. Taking into account the circumstances of his arrest and the nature of his political involvement, this Commission has come to the conviction that he underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in an action that violated his human rights.
             
             On November 10, 1973, Nicanor MOYANO VALDES, 49, a merchant who was active in the Socialist party, went to the police headquarters in Gorbea in order to fulfill his weekly obligation of signing the register. He never returned home again. Later many people told Moyano's relatives that they had seen his body in the Donguil River, but his family was unable to find it. To this day he has not been found. Taking into account his political involvement, the frequency with which such occurrence took place at that time, and other aspects of his disappearance, this Commission is able to conclude that government agents were responsible.
             

             Victoria
             

             On October 27, 1973, in the city of Victoria two people were executed: Eliseo Segundo JARA RIOS, 38, the area head of INDAP (National Institute for Agricultural Development) who was active in the Socialist party. He was arrested and taken to jail in Victoria four times. The last time was October 16, 1973. In response to this Commission's inquiry the head of the Center for Social Rehabilitation in Victoria said that Jara left the facility "on October 27, 1973 and was en route to the prosecutor's office. He did not come back that day, nor did he return at a later date." Witnesses testified to this Commission that on October 27 soldiers took Eliseo Jara out of the jail, handcuffed and in poor physical condition, and that he said goodbye to his fellow prisoners.
             
             Pedro MUÑOZ APABLAZA, 21, a high school graduate. He was arrested at his home by a patrol of black berets, also on October 27.
             
             According to information gathered by this Commission, on October 27 an army black beret patrol came to Victoria in helicopters on a special mission. These commandos left that same day in a truck heading toward Curacautín and executed these two prisoners on the California estate. Their remains were turned over to their relatives. These relatives say that they were told that these two prisoners had been executed when they attempted to escape. This explanation was not issued publicly, but it contradicts consistent and credible testimony by witnesses who observed troops take one of them out of the jail in Victoria and the other from his house. This Commission holds the conviction that both of these people were executed at the hands of government agents. That action was a human rights violation.
             

             Angol
             

             On October 5 in the city of Angol, Military Decree No. 64 reported that "two terrorists were shot for attacking the garrison." Their names were:
             
             Ricardo Gustavo RIOSECO MONTOYA, 22, a student at the State Technical University in Santiago who was in Angol to visit his father, the former Communist alderman who was being held in jail; and
             
             Luis COTAL ALVAREZ, 15, a primary school student.
             
             Neither was known to be politically active. Rioseco had been arrested at home by a military patrol. En route the troops arrested Luis Cotal, who was out in the street during the curfew period. According to eyewitness accounts received by this Commission, the two prisoners were taken to a warehouse which was under construction. There they were beaten and executed with several gunshots. Their bodies were left overnight in the warehouse and retrieved in the early morning hours by a military vehicle. They were never turned over to their relatives.
             
             The Commission cannot regard as plausible the official account according to which the prisoners were executed for "attacking a military patrol of the Angol Regiment (Húsares)," because:
             
             

             • Both of them had been arrested independently of one another some time before the moment in which they allegedly attempted such an attack.
               
               
             • It is not credible that two unarmed civilians, one of them only fifteen years old, would have tried to attack a military patrol. Even had this been the case, there was enough time between the moment of arrest and that of the execution to disarm the prisoners, as is obligatory procedure in any arrest.
               
               
             • Under no circumstances whatsoever is it acceptable that their bodies should have been concealed from their family members. Their concealment confirms the abnormality of their death.
               
               

             This Commission has come to the conviction that Ricardo Rioseco and Luis Cotal were executed without any due process by government agents and that their bodies were then concealed, thus gravely violating their right to life and that of their families to have them buried.
             
             Another situation in which human rights were violated in Angol is that of Oscar Armando GUTIERREZ GUTIERREZ, 29, an agronomist and CORFO official who was a supporter of the Socialist party. He was arrested December 7, 1973, by investigative police in Traiguén and taken to the jail in Angol. At the jail his relatives were told that he had been released on December 10. He remains disappeared since that day. Since it is established that he was arrested, and taking into account his political sympathies and the general observations made concerning all cases of forced disappearance, this Commission has come to the conviction that Oscar Gutiérrez underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents. That action was a grave human rights violation.
             

             Cunco
             

             This Commission examined the situation of the following people who were arrested in Cunco by police and who subsequently disappeared:
             
             On September 14, Osvaldo Manuel SEPULVEDA TORRES, 30, and Cardenio SEPULVEDA TORRES, 35, both of whom were farm workers, were arrested at their home. The police took them to the Los Laureles headquarters. They were then released but obliged to return to sign the register each day. As they were fulfilling this obligation on September 20, they were arrested. The testimony it has received enables this Commission to establish that on that day the police took the prisoners to the Cunco checkpoint in a pickup that belonged to a local private citizen. The victims' whereabouts remain unknown since that moment.
             
             On September 26, 1973, Alejandro ANCAO PAINE, 22, a farmer and a leader at the Luciano Cruz Agrarian Reform Center who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested on the premises of the Banco del Estado in Cunco by local police who later told his family that he had not been arrested. This Commission received testimony indicating that Alejandro Ancao's body was thrown into the Allipen River. Since that date his whereabouts remains unknown.
             
             On October 11, 1973, Luciano AEDO HIDALGO, 37, a shoemaker who was president of the Center for Rural Supplies, was arrested at his home in Cunco by local police. These police later told his family that he had been taken to Temuco. They did not find him in any detention site in the city.
             
             Having examined and analyzed the evidence, this Commission holds the conviction that Manuel Sepúlveda, Cardenio Sepúlveda, Alejandro Ancao, and Luciano Aedo were arrested and subjected to forced disappearance by government agents who thereby gravely violated their human rights.
             

             Melipeuco
             

             Four farm workers from Melipeuco were likewise imprisoned and underwent disappearance at the hands of the police.
             
             On September 11, 1973, Luis Alberto SOTO CHANDIA, 25, a tractor driver, was arrested and taken from his home by police from Melipeuco. Witnesses saw them beating him near the river. His relatives say that police at the checkpoint did not acknowledge that he had been arrested. Since that day his whereabouts remain unknown.
             
             On October 14, in the Trufultruful section of Melipeuco, José Alejandro RAMOS JARAMILLO, 46, and his two sons Gerardo Alejandro RAMOS HUINA, 21, and José Moisés RAMOS HUINA, 22, were arrested at their home by police. The relatives say that despite all their inquiries, officials never acknowledged that these people had been arrested. Credible witnesses testified before this Commission that they had seen their bodies, with their hands tied, floating in the Allipen River. The bodies have never been found.
             
             Since it is established that these people were arrested by official forces and since neither their families nor the Chilean government has had any information on any of these people, this Commission has come to the conviction that Luis Soto, Alejandro Ramos, Gerardo Ramos, and José Ramos suffered a violation of their human rights at the hands of government agents who arrested them and subjected them to forced disappearance.
             

             Lonquimay
             

             Since September 27, 1973, Jorge AILLON LARA, 33, an employee of the Agricultural Trade Company who was active in the Communist Party, remains disappeared. On September 11 he had been arrested by police from Lonquimay and taken to the local substation. His relatives say they visited him there until September 13. That day he was transferred to the jail in Victoria, and he was released on September 26. On September 27 he arrived at Lonquimay by train. In the presence of many witnesses soldiers arrested him at the station and took him to Curacautín where several people saw him in very poor physical condition. Since then his whereabouts remain unknown. Since it established that he was arrested and held prisoner, and there has been no word of him (that is, he has never had contact with his family and has never had any dealings with the government, such as renewing his identification card, or registering to vote), and he is not registered as having left the country, this Commission holds the conviction that Jorge Aillon suffered a grave human rights violation at the hands of government agents who arrested him and subjected him to forced disappearance.
             

             Llaima
             

             Antonio ANINAO MORALES, 49, a small farmer who was active in the Communist party, was arrested September 11, 1973 by police from Llaima checkpoint. He was released on the 16th, on the condition that he come to sign the register three times a day. When he came to do so on September 24, he was arrested at the checkpoint. Witnesses saw him there, but since that day he remains disappeared. Since it is established that he was arrested and held prisoner and since there has been no further word of him for seventeen years, the Commission has come to the conviction that the arrest and disappearance of Antonio Aninao by government agents constitute a human rights violation.
             

             Curacautín
             

             On September 29, 1973, Julio SAN MARTIN, 39, a local representative for Lumaco and Capitín Pastene who was active in the Communist party in Curacautín, was arrested by local police while he was riding on a bus from Curacautín to Lautaro. His whereabouts remain unknown since that day. Witnesses testified before this Commission that Julio San Martin was executed and that his body was abandoned. Taking into account the fact that he was arrested, the nature of his political commitment, and the lack of any further word from Julio San Martín this Commission holds the conviction that he was arrested and forcibly made to disappear by government agents, and that his human rights were thereby gravely violated.
             

             Villarica
             

             This Commission examined the disappearance, on September 13, 1973, of eight active members of the Young Socialists in Villarica:
             
             José Luis AGUAYO OLAVARRIA, 16, a student,
             
             Juan CABRERA FIGUEROA, 20, a student,
             
             Alejandro ESCOBAR VASQUEZ, 18, a student,
             
             Raúl Marcial FIGUEROA BURCKHARDT, 22,
             
             Elías Dagoberto GONZALEZ ORTEGA, 25, an employee of a beach resort owned by the Banco del Estado in Villarica,
             
             Hugo Armer GONZALEZ ORTEGA, 23, a student,
             
             Carlos Schmidt Arriagada, 21, a CORVI employee, and
             
             Ricardo Augusto SCHMIDT ARRIAGADA, 20.
             
             Suspecting that the authorities were going to arrest them for their political involvement, this group of young people decided to leave the city. They told people that they intended to cross the Andes mountains near Curarrehue. According to the evidence gathered by this Commission, they were probably captured near Pucón. Since that date there has been no word of them. They are not registered as having left the country, they have not had any official dealings with the Chilean government, and they have not contacted their families. All members of the group are regarded as disappeared and probably killed, presumably for political reasons. There is no compelling evidence for designating particular groups of government agents or persons working for them as responsible; however, their political involvement and what has already been said about other cases of disappearance during that period, inclines the Commission to regard them as victims of human rights violations.
             
             Héctor Ernaldo VELASQUEZ MARDONES, 29, a furniture maker who was active in the Young Communists, was arrested November 3 at home by a civilian who lived in Villarrica and two army reservists. They shot him in the foot and in that wounded condition they drove him away in the vehicle of the civilian. He has remained disappeared since that date. This Commission holds the conviction that Héctor Velásquez suffered a violation of his rights at the hands of private citizens who wounded this active Communist, and that they are responsible for his subsequent disappearance.
             
             On November 11, 1973, Reinaldo CATRIEL CATRILEO 42, a small farmer and representative of the Ancalef indian community, was beaten and arrested at his home by soldiers. These events are the last information about his whereabouts. Since there is sufficient evidence to establish that he was arrested by military troops, and since he had no further contact with his relatives, he is not registered as having left the country, nor does his name subsequently appear in the civil registry or election lists, this Commission has come to the conviction that Reinaldo Catriel suffered a forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in what constituted a grave human rights violation.
             

             Curarrehue
             

             On September 14, 1973, Alberto Segundo KRUTELER QUIJADA, 47, a farmer and a community leader who was an active Communist, disappeared from his estate in Puente Basa in the municipality of Curarrehue. That day he was staying in a hideout on his estate. Credible witnesses have testified that bursts of fire were heard near the hideout and that troops then went searching through his house. From that time on, his family had no further indication of his whereabouts until 1977 when local residents found some human remains, presumably Kruteler's, and also remnants of his clothes. Those remains were found on an adjacent piece of property. The Commission came to the conviction that Alberto Segundo Kruteler Quijada suffered a forced disappearance, that this was a violation of his human rights and that there is good reason to assume that government agents were involved.
             
             In October 1973, Mariano LONCOPAN CANIUQUEO, 42, a farmer who was active in the Communist party, was arrested by police. His relatives saw him being held in custody near the arrest site. Since then there has been no further trace of him. Having established that he was arrested, bearing in mind his political involvement and the fact that he has not contacted his family since that moment and has not had any dealings with Chilean government agencies, this Commission has come to the conviction that Mariano Loncopan underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents and that he thereby suffered a grave human rights violation.
             
             

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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), 401-414.
Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.