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The Court of Appeals of Santiago sentenced four retired members of the Army and a former Gendarmerie official for its responsibility in two completed crimes of homicide and five attempted homicides of prisoners from the former Public Jail what were poisoned cwhere botulinum toxin in a “special intelligence operation” in December 1981.
In the ruling, the Eleventh Chamber of the appeal court confirmed the convictions handed down in the first instance, in 2017, by Judge Alejandro Madrid, but modified some of its amounts. In this way, the military (r) Eduardo Adolfo Arriagada Rheren, Sergio Rosende Ollarzú, Joaquín Larraín Gana and Jaime Fuenzalida Bravo they stayed sentenced to 15 years and one day in prison, as perpetrators of qualified and accomplished homicides from Víctor Hugo Corvalán Castillo and Héctor Walter Pacheco Díaz; and of the unsuccessful qualified homicides of Guillermo Rodríguez Morales, Ricardo Antonio Aguilera Morales, Elizardo Enrique Aguilera Morales, Adalberto Muñoz Jara and Rafael Enrique Garrido Ceballos.
He then Warden of the prison, Ronald Bennett Ramírez, you must purge 10 years and a day in prison as an accomplice of the illicit.
Santiago Court condemns former State agents for poisoning prisoners in the public jail https://t.co/Omf7i5hiCg pic.twitter.com/iWpAPD95Qe
– Judicial Branch Chile (@PJudicialChile) February 1, 2021
The Court also ordered to the minister Madrid (also investigator and judge in the Frei Montalva case) issue the resolution that corresponds in law regarding the convicted person Joaquín Larraín Gana, who died during the processing of the second instance process (See attached file).
In the civil aspect, the ruling ratified the sentence that ordered the State of Chile to pay a total compensation of 950 million pesos, broken down as follows: to Peter Walter Pacheco Castro, 150 million pesos; to Ricardo Antonio Aguilera Morales, 100 million pesos; Elizardo Enrique Aguilera Morales, 100 million; to Patricia Isabel Castillo Jofré, 200 million pesos; Patricia Isabel Corvalán Castillo, 100 million; and to Guillermo Rodríguez Morales, 300 million pesos.
TOXIN ARRIVED IN CHILE IN DIPLOMATIC CASE
On its website, the Judicial Branch detailed that, in the investigation stage of the case, Minister Madrid managed to establish the following facts:
- In December 1981 they were confined in the Gallery N ° 2 of the Former Public Prison of Santiago the militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) Guillermo Rodríguez Morales, and the sympathizers of said political group Adalberto Muñoz Jara, Ricardo Antonio and Elizardo Enrique Aguilera Morales, Who they shared in the so-called ‘cart’ the food that was brought to them by their families with common processed Victor Hugo Corvalán Castillo Y Hector Walter Pacheco Diaz.
- From December 7, 1981 they began to present serious problems in their state of health. The next day they were taken to the infirmary of the prison, but they were not treated, since it was indicated that they suffered from ‘acute gastritis’ and were returned to their cells.
- With pressure from their families, through allegations of the Vicarage of Solidarity, requested the presence of a private physician, which was denied by the warden Ronald Bennett.
- Subsequently, given the severity of the symptoms, the transfer of all the intoxicated to the Hospital of the Center for Social Readaptation of Santiago (CERESO) was ordered. Víctor Hugo Corvalán Castillo died during the transfer.
- At the Hospital they were treated by Dr. Jorge Mery Silva who raised the diagnosis of ‘botulinum poisoning’, being transferred to the Intensive Treatment Unit of the Public Assistance in Santiago, where Héctor Pacheco died.
- The substance that produced the poisoning of the inmates was obtained by the Bacteriological Institute, whose director requested it from Brazil. Was sent via diplomatic bag to Chile, received at the Foreign Ministry and, later, received in a secret army laboratory located at Calle Carmen N ° 339, which depended on the Army Intelligence Directorate (DINE). Later she was introduced to the former Santiago Public Prison, located on General Mackenna Street.
- The facts described allow it to be legally established that, in order to proceed to the physical and imperceptible elimination of opponents of the military regime, a ‘special intelligence operation’ that ended with him death of inmates Víctor Hugo Corvalán Castillo and Héctor Walter Pacheco Díaz due to the ingestion of food contaminated with the ‘botulinum toxin’, which was brought to the country by the public service in charge of ensuring the health of the population and handed over to those in charge of a secret laboratory run by the Army Intelligence Directorate (DINE);
- Inmates Guillermo Rodríguez Morales, Ricardo Aguilera Morales, Elizardo Aguilera Morales, Adalberto Muñoz Jara and Rafael Enrique Garrido Ceballos suffered serious injuries produced by the ingestion of said contaminated food, managing to survive –despite the delay in the assistance– due to the timely and accurate diagnosis of the cause of the poisoning, due to the treatments that were provided and, due to the application of the respective antitoxin. In their case, “the result wanted by the participants (of the crime) did not occur, avoiding the consummation, for reasons independent of the will of the agents“.
- Failure to adopt the necessary measures to avoid the introduction of highly toxic substances, as well as the delay in the transfer of the aforementioned inmates from the prison hospital, constitutes an infringement of their rights and evidences a serious willful omission of the duty of care that fell to the warden of the former Public Prison.
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