Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SANTIAGO612
2006-03-23 21:32:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Santiago
Cable title:
13 FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS INDICTED IN
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000612
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM CI
SUBJECT: 13 FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS INDICTED IN
PINOCHET-ERA "CARAVAN OF DEATH CASE"
REF: A. 05 SANTIAGO 1306
B. 05 SANTIAGO 1052
Classified By: Charge d' Affaires Emi L. Yamauchi for reasons 1.4(b) an
d (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000612
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM CI
SUBJECT: 13 FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS INDICTED IN
PINOCHET-ERA "CARAVAN OF DEATH CASE"
REF: A. 05 SANTIAGO 1306
B. 05 SANTIAGO 1052
Classified By: Charge d' Affaires Emi L. Yamauchi for reasons 1.4(b) an
d (d).
1. (C) Summary: On March 21 presiding judge Victor Montiglio
filed murder charges against 13 former Chilean Army officers
in the Pinochet-era "Caravan of Death" case, whereby military
officials traveled the length of Chile in 1973, killing a
number of suspected dissidents. Eleven of the thirteen were
jailed in a military facility, but are expected to be
released on bail as early as today. One of the remaining two
indicted is reportedly traveling "in the United States."
Days earlier, Judge Montiglio revised charges against other
defendants in the same case from aggravated kidnapping to
first-degree murder. This opens the door to eventual
application of the statute of limitations or amnesty law to
these crimes. Montiglio did not name former dictator Augusto
Pinochet in this round of indictments. End Summary.
CHARGES FILED AGAINST 13
--------------
2. (C) Judge Victor Montiglio filed murder charges against
13 retired Chilean Army officers on March 21. In the
so-called Caravan of Death, then General Sergio Stark led a
helicopter expedition in September-October 1973 to "ensure
uniform criteria for the administration of justice," which
left 72 dead and 22 disappeared across Chile. Several of
those charged were members of Stark's entourage, while others
were stationed at military bases in Copiapo and Calama where
39 of the executions took place.
3. (C) Eleven of the thirteen accused were served warrants
and taken into custody at the Military Police Battalion
Headquarters in Penalolen, a Santiago suburb. The other two
were reportedly not in Santiago, one in northern Chile and
the other vacationing in the United States. (Note: Post is
attempting to determine the identity and location of the
person reportedly in the U.S. End Note.) Montiglio has
recommended those he charged be granted provisional liberty.
An appeals court panel is expected to rule on that
recommendation March 23.
THE END OF PERMANENT KIDNAPPING?
--------------
4. (C) Previously, on March 16, Judge Montiglio had changed
the indictments against six others charged in the case from
aggravated kidnapping to first degree murder. These included
General Stark, who is imprisoned in Chile, and Armando
Fernandez Larios, who currently resides in Florida. In
throwing out the charges of aggravated kidnapping, Montiglio
said death warrants had been issued for the victims,
eyewitnesses testified to their executions, and in some cases
those involved had confessed. "I believe it is nearly
impossible to say they have been kidnapped," he said.
5. (C) The legal doctrine of aggravated or "permanent"
kidnapping was first proposed by Judge Juan Guzman in 2001.
Guzman was in charge of several Pinochet prosecutions until
his 2005 retirement (refs A and B). The doctrine essentially
states that until a physical body is produced, penalties for
aggravated kidnapping can be applied. An unresolved
kidnapping would be considered ongoing, and would not be
covered under the military government's self-decreed 1978
amnesty law. Convictions for aggravated kidnapping have been
upheld by the Supreme Court. Montiglio's decision opens the
door to the application of amnesty or the statute of
limitations when these cases reach the sentencing stage.
NO CHARGES AGAINST PINOCHET
--------------
6. (C) Despite the Santiago Appeals Court's January decision
to strip Pinochet's immunity in two Caravan of Death-related
deaths, Pinochet was not named in this latest round of
indictments. The reason is unclear. One possible reason is
that Montiglio lacks evidence against Pinochet, or has not
had time to formulate charges. Another involves Montiglio's
track record: as an appellate judge, Montiglio regularly
voted against motions to strip Pinochet's immunity in other
cases. Montiglio declined to support the latest petition,
forcing the victims' families to appeal directly to the
court. However, with the court's ruling Montiglio is now
obligated investigate and rule on Pinochet's possible
involvement.
YAMAUCHI
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM CI
SUBJECT: 13 FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS INDICTED IN
PINOCHET-ERA "CARAVAN OF DEATH CASE"
REF: A. 05 SANTIAGO 1306
B. 05 SANTIAGO 1052
Classified By: Charge d' Affaires Emi L. Yamauchi for reasons 1.4(b) an
d (d).
1. (C) Summary: On March 21 presiding judge Victor Montiglio
filed murder charges against 13 former Chilean Army officers
in the Pinochet-era "Caravan of Death" case, whereby military
officials traveled the length of Chile in 1973, killing a
number of suspected dissidents. Eleven of the thirteen were
jailed in a military facility, but are expected to be
released on bail as early as today. One of the remaining two
indicted is reportedly traveling "in the United States."
Days earlier, Judge Montiglio revised charges against other
defendants in the same case from aggravated kidnapping to
first-degree murder. This opens the door to eventual
application of the statute of limitations or amnesty law to
these crimes. Montiglio did not name former dictator Augusto
Pinochet in this round of indictments. End Summary.
CHARGES FILED AGAINST 13
--------------
2. (C) Judge Victor Montiglio filed murder charges against
13 retired Chilean Army officers on March 21. In the
so-called Caravan of Death, then General Sergio Stark led a
helicopter expedition in September-October 1973 to "ensure
uniform criteria for the administration of justice," which
left 72 dead and 22 disappeared across Chile. Several of
those charged were members of Stark's entourage, while others
were stationed at military bases in Copiapo and Calama where
39 of the executions took place.
3. (C) Eleven of the thirteen accused were served warrants
and taken into custody at the Military Police Battalion
Headquarters in Penalolen, a Santiago suburb. The other two
were reportedly not in Santiago, one in northern Chile and
the other vacationing in the United States. (Note: Post is
attempting to determine the identity and location of the
person reportedly in the U.S. End Note.) Montiglio has
recommended those he charged be granted provisional liberty.
An appeals court panel is expected to rule on that
recommendation March 23.
THE END OF PERMANENT KIDNAPPING?
--------------
4. (C) Previously, on March 16, Judge Montiglio had changed
the indictments against six others charged in the case from
aggravated kidnapping to first degree murder. These included
General Stark, who is imprisoned in Chile, and Armando
Fernandez Larios, who currently resides in Florida. In
throwing out the charges of aggravated kidnapping, Montiglio
said death warrants had been issued for the victims,
eyewitnesses testified to their executions, and in some cases
those involved had confessed. "I believe it is nearly
impossible to say they have been kidnapped," he said.
5. (C) The legal doctrine of aggravated or "permanent"
kidnapping was first proposed by Judge Juan Guzman in 2001.
Guzman was in charge of several Pinochet prosecutions until
his 2005 retirement (refs A and B). The doctrine essentially
states that until a physical body is produced, penalties for
aggravated kidnapping can be applied. An unresolved
kidnapping would be considered ongoing, and would not be
covered under the military government's self-decreed 1978
amnesty law. Convictions for aggravated kidnapping have been
upheld by the Supreme Court. Montiglio's decision opens the
door to the application of amnesty or the statute of
limitations when these cases reach the sentencing stage.
NO CHARGES AGAINST PINOCHET
--------------
6. (C) Despite the Santiago Appeals Court's January decision
to strip Pinochet's immunity in two Caravan of Death-related
deaths, Pinochet was not named in this latest round of
indictments. The reason is unclear. One possible reason is
that Montiglio lacks evidence against Pinochet, or has not
had time to formulate charges. Another involves Montiglio's
track record: as an appellate judge, Montiglio regularly
voted against motions to strip Pinochet's immunity in other
cases. Montiglio declined to support the latest petition,
forcing the victims' families to appeal directly to the
court. However, with the court's ruling Montiglio is now
obligated investigate and rule on Pinochet's possible
involvement.
YAMAUCHI