53 Years After the Coup, Justice Remains Out of Reach: 13 Convicted Human Rights Offenders Remain at Large

Original article: A 53 años del Golpe, la impunidad persiste: 13 condenados por crímenes de lesa humanidad siguen prófugos

As 53 years have passed since the coup d’état against President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973, 13 individuals convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the military dictatorship are still fugitives from justice.

A new list released by the Caucoto Law Firm, which specializes in human rights, reveals that the list includes a civilian, an investigative police officer, Carabinero non-commissioned officers, Navy and Army officers, as well as members of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA). Some of these convicts have been at large since 2022, with sentences including aggravated kidnapping, qualified homicide, criminal conspiracy, and torture, among other crimes.

The crimes for which these fugitives were sentenced encompass some of the most emblematic cases of human rights violations during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Notable among the legal proceedings they are involved in are the Operation Condor, the murder of Reinalda Pereira, the assassination of Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria, as well as the case of «Los Quemados», linked to the homicides of Carmen Gloria Quintana and Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, among others.

“Crimes Against Humanity Demand Ending Impunity”

“We continue to raise awareness about the fugitive criminals from the dictatorship, stressing the importance of enforcing sentences, because crimes against humanity demand overcoming impunity,” stated lawyer Francisco Bustos, who compiled the list.

According to the jurist, this issue becomes even more pressing in a challenging context, where “the political authority has instructed the Ministry of Justice’s Human Rights Program to cease intervention and oppose requests for sentence reductions made by agents of the dictatorship without complying with legal requirements”.

Bustos argued that this is “contrary to domestic regulations, international human rights treaties, and the consistent practices of the last three governments that upheld the law.”

He also referenced specific cases that highlight these “new practices,” mentioning César Manríquez of DINA and Héctor Osses Yáñez, the latter having evaded justice from 2021 to 2023 despite his advanced age.

As explained, Osses Yáñez began requesting the substitution of his sentence on mental health grounds in 2025, and this year the Human Rights Program withdrew all appeals that sought to conduct further assessments to verify his true health condition.

“When we asked for justification regarding this, we were denied all information,” accused Bustos in statements gathered in a press report.

List of 13 Fugitives

The list prepared by Caucoto Law Firm details the identities, sentences, and the duration of each convict’s fugitive status:

1) Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning (businessman), sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in medium degree as a co-author of seven aggravated kidnappings (forced disappearances) committed in Santa Bárbara. Fugitive since 2022.

2) Federico Humberto Chaigneau Sepúlveda (Army officer ®, DINA), sentenced in Episode Conference II to 12 years of major imprisonment in medium degree for the aggravated kidnappings of Fernando Navarro Allendes and Héctor Véliz Ramírez, and to 3 years of minor imprisonment in medium degree for the simple kidnappings of Juan Fernando Ortiz Letelier, Horacio Cepeda Marinkovic and Lincoyán Berríos Cataldo. He also has sentences in the Operation Condor case and for the forced disappearance of Reinalda Pereira Plaza: two sentences of 18 years of major imprisonment in maximum degree for the aggravated kidnappings of Alexei Jaccard Siegler and Héctor Velázquez Mardones; and as a co-author of the qualifying homicides of Ricardo Ignacio Ramírez Herrera, Jacobo Stoulman Bortnik, Matilde Pessa Mois, Hernán Soto Gálvez, and Ruiter Enrique Correa Arce. He was also sentenced to 7 years of major imprisonment in minimum degree as a co-author of Reinalda Pereira Plaza’s forced disappearance. Fugitive since 2023.

3) Alberto Roque del Sagrado Corazón Badilla Grillo (Navy officer ®), sentenced as the author of qualified homicide and torture against Enrique López Olmedo, to 12 years of major imprisonment in medium degree and 541 days of minor imprisonment in medium degree respectively. Fugitive since 2023.

4) Pablo Belmar Labbé (Army officer ®, DINA), sentenced to 10 years and one day as a co-author of the qualified homicide of Carmelo Soria, and to 541 days of imprisonment for criminal association. Preventive prison was also ordered against him regarding the crime of Jorge Renato Francisco León Zenteno. Fugitive since 2023.

5) René Patricio Quilhot Palma (Army officer ®, DINA), sentenced as a co-author of the qualified homicide of Carmelo Soria Espinoza and as the author of criminal association. For the former, he received 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in medium degree; for the latter, 541 days of minor imprisonment in medium degree. Preventive prison was also decreed for the qualified homicide of Jorge Renato León Zenteno. Fugitive since 2023.

6) Juan de Dios Higueras Álvarez (Carabinero non-commissioned officer ®), sentenced in Episode Mulchén as a co-author of the qualified homicides occurring in Fundo Carmen and Maitenes, involving seven victims: Florencio Rubilar Gutiérrez, José Liborio Rubilar Gutiérrez, José Lorenzo Rubilar Gutiérrez, Alejandro Albornoz González, Luis Alberto Godoy Sandoval, Miguel del Carmen Albornoz Acuña, and Daniel Alfonso Albornoz González; and in Fundo Pemehue, involving five victims: Alberto Albornoz González, Felidor Exequiel Albornoz González, Jerónimo Humberto Sandoval Medina, Juan de Dios Roa Riquelme, and José Fernando Gutiérrez Ascencio, committed on October 6 and 7, 1973. A sentence of 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in maximum degree was imposed. He was also convicted as a co-author of the aggravated kidnappings of six individuals from Fundo El Morro: Juan de Dios Laubra Brevis, José Florencio Yáñez Durán, Celsio Nicasio Vivanco Carrasco, Edmundo José Vidal Aedo, Domingo Sepúlveda Castillo, and Guillermo José Albornoz González, committed starting on October 5, 6, and 7, 1973, in the Mulchén commune, receiving 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in medium degree, plus legal accessories. Fugitive since 2023.

7) Miguel René Riveros Valderrama (Army officer ®, DINA), sentenced in the Operation Condor proceedings to two sentences of 18 years of major imprisonment in maximum degree for the aggravated kidnappings of Alexei Jaccard Siegler and Héctor Velázquez Mardones; and as a co-author of the qualified homicides of Ricardo Ignacio Ramírez Herrera, Jacobo Stoulman Bortnik, Matilde Pessa Mois, Hernán Soto Gálvez, and Ruiter Enrique Correa Arce. Fugitive since 2023.

8) Jaime Ojeda Torrent (Army officer ®), convicted in the Caravan of Death, episode La Serena, as an accomplice in 15 qualified homicides, sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in medium degree.

According to evidence, his victims include: Óscar Aedo Herrera, Marcos Barrantes Alcayaga, Mario Ramírez Sepúlveda, Hipólito Cortés Álvarez, Jorge Contreras Godoy, Roberto Santa Cruz, Jorge Jordán Domic, Gabriel Vergara Muñoz, Carlos Alcayaga Varela, Jorge Osorio Zamora, José Araya González, Óscar Cortés Cortés, Manuel Marcarian Jamett, Víctor Escobar Astudillo, and Jorge Peña Hen.

9) Andrés Pablo Potin Lailhacar (civil engineer – Patria y Libertad – Joint Command), sentenced as a co-author of the aggravated kidnapping of Luis Emilio Maturana González, to 5 years and one day of major imprisonment in minimum degree, and as a co-author of the kidnapping of Juan René Orellana Catalán, to 400 days of minor imprisonment in minimum degree. Fugitive since 2024.

10) Iván Humberto Figueroa Canobra (Army officer ®), sentenced to 20 years of major imprisonment in maximum degree for the crimes of completed qualified homicide of Rodrigo Rojas De Negri and attempted qualified homicide of Carmen Gloria Quintana Arancibia. Fugitive since 2024.

11) Ángel Nicanor Bustos Farías (investigative officer ®), sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in medium degree for the aggravated kidnapping (forced disappearance) of José Renato Lazcano Campos. Fugitive since 2025.

12) Sergio Patricio Chifelle Kirby (Navy officer ® and former prosecutor of the Santiago Court of Appeals), sentenced to 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in maximum degree for the qualified homicide of Marcelo Barrios Andrade. Fugitive since 2025.

13) Gastón Manterola Miranda (Carabinero officer ®), convicted as the author of the qualified homicides of José Andrés García Lazo and Jorge Rodrigo Muñoz Mella, sentenced to 15 years and one day of major imprisonment. Fugitive since 2026.

Fugitives Captured

The list also includes three convicts who, having been fugitives, were captured:

Nelson Edgardo Hasse Mazzei (Army officer ®), sentenced as a co-author of aggravated kidnappings and qualified homicides of Víctor Jara Martínez and Littré Quiroga Carvajal, to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment in medium degree for the kidnappings, and 15 years and one day of major imprisonment in maximum degree for the homicides. He was a fugitive from the final sentence in August 2023, being apprehended in July 2026.

Alberto Juan Fernández Michell (Carabinero officer ®), convicted in Episode Laja – San Rosendo as the author of 19 qualified homicides, sentenced to life imprisonment, plus legal accessories. He was a fugitive for over a year, from March 2024, being captured in July 2025.

Rubén Aroldo Morales López (Carabinero officer ®), sentenced to 10 years and one day of major imprisonment as the author of the qualified homicide of Jorge Vásquez Matamala. He was convicted in December 2022 and captured in September 2024.