Original article: La fuga terminó, pero las siete víctimas siguen desaparecidas: capturan a Luis Barrueto, condenado por secuestros durante la dictadura

Capture of Luis Barrueto Ends Long Manhunt, But Seven Victims of Forced Disappearances Remain Missing

After being on the run since 2022, Luis Enrique Barrueto Bartning, convicted for seven serious kidnappings committed in the commune of Santa Bárbara during the Pinochet dictatorship, was apprehended by the Police Investigations (PDI). However, despite his capture, the victims are still missing.

The 80-year-old businessman and farmer, sentenced to 10 years and one day of imprisonment for his role in the forced disappearances associated with the Santa Bárbara–Quilaco events, was arrested in the Pucón-Villarrica area on Thursday, October 22.

According to Bio Bío Chile, he was transferred to the Concepción Court the following day, where Minister Waldemar Koch Salazar communicated the order for incarceration, which was executed hours later with his transfer to the Biobío Penitentiary Center to serve the sentence imposed by the judiciary.

The appeals court confirmed that Luis Barrueto Bartning was the last of the 17 convicted in this judicial process to enter prison, having evaded justice for four years as a fugitive.

Unlike other individuals involved, Barrueto was not a member of the Armed Forces or the police but was an agriculturist who acted alongside his brother Manuel and Carabineros personnel after the coup d’état against President Salvador Allende in 1973, marking the beginning of Pinochet’s regime.

During the investigations, the accused admitted that the head of the Military Garrison of Los Ángeles summoned him to carry out transport and patrol operations, coordinating with the Santa Bárbara police to locate supposed “extremist elements.”

The investigation, corroborated by the Supreme Court, demonstrated that Barrueto used his personal truck to actively assist in the identification and transport of detainees, even returning with his brother and police personnel to capture another individual. Due to these actions, the court ruled that his involvement was a direct intervention, rejecting the notion of simple complicity and affirming his criminal responsibility as a principal.

Seven Kidnappings in 1973

The repressive actions for which Barrueto was tried occurred on September 20, 1973, when a mixed contingent of civilians and police conducted an operation without a judicial order across various sectors of Santa Bárbara, resulting in the apprehension of seven individuals. During the morning, the group stormed El Huachi estate and captured José Domingo Godoy Acuña, Julio César Godoy Godoy, and Desiderio Aguilera Solís, taking them to the local police station, where they lost track of them that very night.

Later that afternoon, the same patrol detained José Nazario Godoy Acuña in Los Junquillos to take him to the same police facility. As night fell, they arrested Manuel Salamanca Mella at his residence on Avenida La Feria in front of his family, then proceeded to a boarding house on Rosas Street, where they captured José Mariano Godoy Acuña. Finally, Miguel Cuevas Pincheira was violently removed from his home in the presence of his family. None of the seven detainees returned home.

Profile of the Victims and the Search for Truth

According to Bio Bío Chile, the victims of these forced disappearances were primarily agricultural workers and merchants from the area, several of whom held leadership positions in the farmworkers’ union of El Huache estate.

Records compiled in the Rettig Report and safeguarded by the Museum of Memory indicate that José Domingo Godoy Acuña (20 years old), José Nazario Godoy Acuña (22 years old), and José Mariano Godoy Acuña (25 years old) worked as laborers and led the union organization, a role also shared by Julio César Godoy Godoy (56 years old). Meanwhile, Desiderio Aguilera Solís (42 years old) was a farmworker, Miguel Cuevas Pincheira (41 years old) was a cobbler and a member of the Socialist Party, and Manuel Salamanca Mella (38 years old) was involved in livestock trading.

In response to inquiries from their families, Carabineros initially claimed that the men had been sent to the Los Ángeles Regiment; however, testimonies given to the Rettig Commission suggest that they were murdered and thrown into the Biobío River from the bridge towards Quilaco. Despite these allegations, search efforts have been unsuccessful in locating their remains, and their final whereabouts remain unresolved.

Impact on Families and the Fight for Justice

Barrueto’s prolonged evasion from justice has left deep marks on the victims’ families. Erika Hennings, director of the London 38 memory site, remarked: “Imagine that he was a fugitive in 2022, which greatly affects the families,” according to the cited media.

She also criticized the systemic failures that allow those convicted to evade fulfilling their sentences, stating, “Because there are always some who escape,” though she appreciated the arrest and the ongoing pursuit of restitution: “These are small droplets of justice that are being achieved.”

The judicial process to achieve this sentence underwent multiple stages since Minister Raquel Lermanda issued a ruling in 2013 for 10 years and a day against the Barrueto brothers as perpetrators of qualified kidnapping. Although in 2019 the Concepción Court of Appeals reduced the sentence to six years, reclassifying their role as accomplices, the Supreme Court corrected this stance on October 19, 2022, reinstating the classification of principal offenders and the 10-year and one-day sentence. Nonetheless, Luis Barrueto went underground until his recent capture by the PDI in the La Araucanía Region.

Demand for Effective Sanctions

Human rights lawyers emphasize the state’s duty regarding crimes against humanity. Regarding Barrueto’s capture, attorney Francisco Bustos, a member of Caucoto Abogados, stated, “States have the obligation to investigate, to judge, but also to sanction in a proportional and effective manner.”

He warned that “the escape of a person convicted for forced disappearances, murders, or torture is extremely serious,” adding that it is “excellent news to know that Luis Barrueto, convicted in the Santa Bárbara-Quilaco case for the disappearances, will now face responsibility for the crimes he committed.”

Finally, Bustos questioned the recurring use of age as a defense strategy to avoid prison. “Typically, defenses emphasize that yesterday’s perpetrators are now elderly and try to use that as an argument for impunity.”

With this arrest finalized, 12 individuals remain fugitives from the list presented by this law firm, while the families in Santa Bárbara continue to demand clarity on the final fate of the seven missing individuals.