Last military officer convicted of Víctor Jara's murder arrested in Chile
Chilean police have arrested the 80-year-old former military man, who had been on the run for a quarter of a century. He was convicted of torturing and murdering singer-songwriter Víctor Jara in 1973.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The last link in the barbarity: the officer who tortured Víctor Jara is arrested
How was it possible that the last person convicted for the murder of Víctor Jara had been on the run for 25 years? Chilean police arrested him this week, at the age of 80. He was the only one of the five men involved still at liberty after the 2016 verdict that found them guilty of torturing and murdering the singer-songwriter on 16 September 1973, days after Pinochet's coup.
The sentence documented torture that still chills today: his hands were mutilated with rifle butts while his captors mocked his guitar, his tongue was cut out, his ribs were broken with kicks and his skin was burned with cigarettes. A brutality that was not an excess, but a method.
The arrested man had spent a quarter of a century in hiding. His whereabouts were known, but the Chilean justice system has taken years to execute the order. It also coincides with the presidency of Gabriel Boric, heir to the coalition that has always pursued these crimes, and with an opposition that, for some, such as candidate Kast, could raise amnesties — as already peine in Argentina under Menem.
The man is now 80 years old. Justice, which took decades to arrive, may come in the form of house arrest. But the symbol is indelible: the last person convicted for the death of Víctor Jara is no longer free. History, in its own way, keeps writing its full stops.
How was it possible that the last person convicted for the murder of Víctor Jara had been on the run for 25 years? Chilean police arrested him this week, at the age of 80. He was the only one of the five men involved still at liberty after the 2016 verdict that found them guilty of torturing and murdering the singer-songwriter on 16 September 1973, days after Pinochet's coup.
The sentence documented torture that still chills today: his hands were mutilated with rifle butts while his captors mocked his guitar, his tongue was cut out, his ribs were broken with kicks and his skin was burned with cigarettes. A brutality that was not an excess, but a method.
The arrested man had spent a quarter of a century in hiding. His whereabouts were known, but the Chilean justice system has taken years to execute the order. It also coincides with the presidency of Gabriel Boric, heir to the coalition that has always pursued these crimes, and with an opposition that, for some, such as candidate Kast, could raise amnesties — as already peine in Argentina under Menem.
The man is now 80 years old. Justice, which took decades to arrive, may come in the form of house arrest. But the symbol is indelible: the last person convicted for the death of Víctor Jara is no longer free. History, in its own way, keeps writing its full stops.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (39 replies).
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