Minister Cifuentes Pursues Charges Against Air Force Officers for the 1975 Kidnapping and Death of PC Activist Gustavo Castro Hurtado

Original article: Murió asfixiado: Ministra Cifuentes somete a proceso a efectivos de la FACh por secuestro calificado de militante del PC Gustavo Castro Hurtado The extraordinary visiting minister for human rights violations at the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes, has issued an indictment against four retired members of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (DIFA) for their involvement in the aggravated kidnapping of PC activist Gustavo Humberto Castro Hurtado (pictured), committed starting September 3, 1975, in San Bernardo. In the resolution (case role 156-2011), the visiting minister has initiated legal proceedings against former squadron commander Juan Francisco Saavedra Loyola, along with agents Sergio Fernando Contreras Mejías, Juan Luis Fernando López López, and Otto Silvio Trujillo Miranda, classifying them as perpetrators of the crime. During the investigation, the visiting minister collected sufficient evidence to establish the following facts: “1° That in 1975, the Directorate of Intelligence of the Chilean Air Force (DIFA), under the command of Brigadier General Freddy Enrique Ruiz Bunger, aimed to dismantle the Communist Party by repressing its members.

To accomplish this, it had a Counterintelligence Department, led by Colonel Edgar Benjamín Cevallos Jones and supported by Squadron Commander Juan Francisco Saavedra Loyola, with investigative and operational teams made up of officers, subordinate personnel, conscripted soldiers, and even civilians, as well as secret detention centers, including ‘Nido 20’ located at Santa Teresa N°37, stop 20 on Gran Avenida José Miguel Carrera, La Cisterna, and ‘Nido 18’ at Perú N°9. 053, stop 18 on Vicuña Mackenna Ave, La Florida. 2° That in this context, authorities sought to locate and apprehend various members of the Communist Party, including Gustavo Humberto Castro Hurtado (54 years old), nicknamed ‘comrade Díaz’ or ‘chino’, who was unlawfully detained on the morning of September 3, 1975, at the residence on General Las Heras N°10.

185 in San Bernardo by agents from DIFA, including Roberto Fuentes Morrison, Sergio Fernando Contreras Mejías, Ricardo Domingo Matus Arancibia, Luis Enrique Campos Poblete, Eduardo Enrique Cartagena Maldonado, Fernando Patricio Zúñiga Canales, César Luis Adolfo Palma Ramírez, Guillermo Enrique Bratti Cornejo, and Carol Fedor Flores Castillo. 3° That subsequently, Gustavo Humberto Castro Hurtado was taken to the clandestine detention center operated by the agency, known as ‘Nido 20’, where he was illegally confined. 4° That on multiple occasions, Gustavo Humberto Castro Hurtado was transferred from ‘Nido 20’ to another clandestine detention center known as ‘Nido 18’, where he was subjected to physical mistreatment.

5° That during his detention at ‘Nido 20’, Gustavo Humberto Castro Hurtado was brutally beaten with feet and fists by a group of agents, including Roberto Fuentes Morrison, Otto Silvio Trujillo Miranda, and César Luis Adolfo Palma Ramírez, resulting in multiple fractured ribs and bruising on his lower extremities. 6° That ultimately, Gustavo Humberto Castro Hurtado died due to asphyxiation on September 14, 1975, while in custody and completely helpless under the care of personnel at the clandestine detention center known as ‘Nido 20’. 7° That at the time of these events, the detention centers ‘Nido 20’ and ‘Nido 18’ were managed by officers Sergio Fernando Contreras Mejías and Juan Luis Fernando López López, both of the Chilean Air Force,” concludes Minister Cifuentes’ investigation.