Chilean Court Upholds Convictions of Military Personnel for the Murder of Jorge Lamich and Hector Garcia

Original article: Detenidos y llevados al cerro Chena, donde fueron ejecutados: ratifican condenas a militares por crímenes del obrero Jorge Lamich y el médico Héctor García

The Chilean judiciary has marked a significant milestone in the pursuit of truth and justice for the human rights violations that occurred during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, by affirming the convictions of three former Army members for the crimes against Jorge Rubén Lamich Vidal, a construction worker and communist activist, and Héctor Victoriano García García, a surgeon and socialist militant. Both were detained and taken to Cerro Chena, where they were executed in August 1974.

The First Chamber of the San Miguel Court of Appeals, in a second-instance ruling, fully confirmed the criminal sentence handed down in October 2024 by extraordinary visiting judge Marianela Cifuentes.

Judges Edwin Danilo Quezada, Carlos Hidalgo Herrera—who acted as the rapporteur—and attorney member Yasna Otárola upheld the sentences of 15 years in medium degree imprisonment for retired sub-officer Juan Enrique Ruiz Salazar and former conscript Luis Antonio Arévalo Céspedes. Both were declared guilty of the qualified kidnappings of Lamich and García.

Meanwhile, retired Colonel Pablo Gabriel Opitz Arancibia had his sentence of 10 years in minimum degree imprisonment confirmed, being regarded as a co-author of Lamich Vidal’s kidnapping, thus solidifying criminal responsibility across different levels of command.

Various Army officials have been dismissed from the proceedings due to death throughout the investigation into these crimes, including Germán Jorge Barriga Muñoz, Iván de la Fuente Séez, Pedro Montalva Calvo, and Pedro Cubillos Torres, along with soldier Jorge Connell Alarcón.

Attorney Francisco Busto from Caucoto Abogados stated that the ruling from the appellate court is a «categorical sentence that reaffirms the conclusions of the investigation and the original judgment.»

“The crimes against Jorge Rubén Lamich and Héctor García remained unpunished for decades, so the process and this ruling bring us closer to holding those responsible accountable,” he added in a press release.

Detained and Executed During the Dictatorship

According to the initial ruling by Judge Cifuentes, during the early hours of August 13, 1974, a military patrol from the Mortar Company of the San Bernardo Infantry School, under the command of then-sub-lieutenant Opitz Arancibia and in coordination with Carabineros, stormed Lamich Vidal’s home on Errázuriz Street to arbitrarily arrest him. He was immediately taken to Barracks No. 2 of the Infantry School, located within Cerro Chena, where he was imprisoned, subjected to interrogations, and brutally mistreated. Ultimately, instead of being handed over to the courts, he was executed with a gunshot to the head by conscript soldier Luis Antonio Arévalo Céspedes while still in military custody.

The case of doctor García García presents a similar dynamic but with particularities in his arrest. On the same day, around 5:00 am, a patrol arrived at his home on Villaseca Street to interrogate him, leaving without taking him. However, hours later, around 9:00 am, he was illegally detained at the San Luis Hospital in Buin by the same patrol under Opitz Arancibia. Taken to Cerro Chena, he was brought to the office of Captain Germán Barriga Muñoz, commander of the Company, where he was interrogated under illegal duress by the captain himself, sub-lieutenant Opitz, sergeant Cáceres, and corporal Ruiz Salazar. By noon, without access to a defense, he was executed by shots to the head and chest by conscript soldier Jorge Connell Alarcón.

The ruling also reveals the hierarchical structure that enabled these crimes, indicating that the Mortar Company was under Captain Barriga Muñoz’s command and was part of the Infantry Battalion of the San Bernardo School, led by Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Cubillos Torres. This unit, in turn, reported to the school’s director, Colonel Pedro Montalva, and the deputy director, Lieutenant Colonel Iván de la Fuente.