Miguel Krassnoff Defends Pinochet’s Coup and Anticipates Early Release from Prison

Original article: Krassnoff reivindica el Golpe y la DINA tras publicación de El Ciudadano: desde prisión anticipa una “pronta libertad total”

Former Army Brigadier Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, who is serving a sentence exceeding one thousand years, has projected a «prompt total freedom,» reiterated his support for the coup d’état of September 11, 1973, and defended the illegal detentions, torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions carried out by the civic-military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet through the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), where he served as an agent.

From the Til-Til Penitentiary Center (formerly Punta Peuco), the emblematic figure of repression sent an open letter to Senator Iván Flores (DC) following a publication from El Ciudadano: « “I am not available for Krassnoff to be released from prison”: Senator Flores on the penal benefits bill«, which reflects the senator’s warnings that several ex-agents of the dictatorship convicted of crimes against humanity could benefit from a legislative project put forth by lawmakers from Chile Vamos that allows the possibility of canceling sentences or serving them under house arrest for those suffering from severe illnesses or advancing age.

In the letter, which was shared via the X account @PuntaPeucoHoy, Krassnoff deemed the coup d’état against President Salvador Allende on September 11 as «necessary,» marking the genesis of Pinochet’s dictatorship.

He noted that the inmates serving sentences in the former Punta Peuco, «are all uniformed, both men and women, members of the armed forces and law enforcement (Carabineros and Police of Investigations of Chile), who, in a distant but nonetheless significant and necessary September 1973, fought with absolute conviction to liberate the Chilean people from the Marxist yoke and the terrorist scourge that violently plagued our homeland.»

Despite multiple sentences against him, Krassnoff, known as “The Russian,” has never acknowledged his involvement in the crimes committed under DINA during Pinochet’s regime, instead claiming that the purpose of the suppression agency was to «neutralize violence.»

«From August 1974 until mid-1976, I was part of a new security organization called the National Intelligence Directorate, whose overall mission was to neutralize the violence, horror, terrorism, and anarchy that existed in those years and were destroying national society through fear, hatred, and crime,» he stated.

«As a young officer of that time, I obviously followed orders like any soldier, but I never, Mr. Senator, received any mission or military order related to violating any human rights against the terrorist criminals that I had to face repeatedly in situations you cannot imagine, despite the ease and irresponsibility with which you address me,» he indicated in the letter directed to Senator Flores.

Krassnoff Projects His «Prompt Total Freedom»

In the correspondence, the former DINA agent, who has over 80 cases for crimes against humanity and a cumulative sentence of more than one thousand years for kidnapping, torture, and forced disappearances during the dictatorship, asserted that «justice and truth today in Chile don’t matter at all.»

He also stated that like his «prison comrades,» he does not require «pardons, mercies, favors, nor much less special laws» to gain his freedom and that he only aspires for the «current laws to be applied.»

In fact, he anticipated his «prompt total freedom».

«Mr. Iván Flores, I warn you that despite all the pain we face today, the uniformed of yesteryear remain dignified and our honor untarnished thanks to our faith in God, the exemplary love of our families, and the selfless actions of remarkable people who provide us with affection and trust. Thanks to them, our convictions and our will to fight remain intact, along with our certainty of a soon total freedom,» he asserted.

“Krassnoff’s Attitude Shows No Remorse at All”

Senator Iván Flores confirmed that he received Krassnoff’s letter last summer when discussions about the penitentiary benefits bill for elderly convicts or those with severe illnesses were underway, a controversial subject for not distinguishing cases involving crimes against humanity or sexual assaults against minors, such as that of the former DINA agent.

«This was nothing but a facade to allow prisoners in Punta Peuco convicted of human rights violations —and he in particular—to end up under house arrest, but they mixed in that anyone over 70 years old could commute their sentences if they have a severe, chronic illness or a disability, and so on. In other words, it could free serial killers, rapists, pedophiles… a disaster from the viewpoint of its foundational idea,» he stated to Bio Bío Chile.

Regarding the letter’s content, the senator remarked that «Krassnoff Martchenko’s attitude shows he is not remorseful at all, a person who justifies the crimes he committed, exhibiting arrogance, casualness, and disregard for the lives of individuals who thought differently than he did, whether they were, in his view, terrorists or not.»

In Flores’ opinion, the historical figure of repression who also served as a member of the Caupolicán Brigade and head of the Falcon Group, «must then serve his sentence of over 1,000 years«.

«Therefore, as he says, he can continue to hold on to whatever notions he wants regarding his honor, dignity, and whatever else he pleases, but he needs to stay well-guarded for the next 1,000 years, that’s where he needs to be,» the senator asserted.