Supreme Court Increases Compensation for Children and Grandchildren of Rodolfo Marcial Núñez Benavides, Missing Since 1976

Original article: Corte Suprema aumenta indemnización a hijos y nietos de Rodolfo Marcial Núñez Benavides, detenido desaparecido desde 1976

After accepting a cassation appeal, the Supreme Court confirmed an initial ruling that ordered the state to pay a total compensation of $240,000,000 for moral damages to the children and grandchildren of Rodolfo Marcial Núñez Benavides (pictured), who was detained on May 18, 1976, by state agents, and since then, his whereabouts have remained unknown.

In a unanimous decision (case role 61.666-2024), the Second Chamber of the highest court ruled that the San Miguel Court of Appeals had erred in unjustifiably reducing the compensation amounts. Read the full ruling here.

Rodolfo Marcial Núñez Benavides, a member of the Communist Party of Chile, was 54 years old at the time of his disappearance. He was a dairy product salesman and a driver, and at the time of his arrest, he was traveling with his son in a vehicle on Avenida Departamental.

As a result of these events, three former DINA agents were sentenced to ten years in prison (in November 2023): Pedro Espinoza Bravo, a lieutenant colonel in the army at the time; Juan Morales Salgado, a major in the army; and Juvenal Piña Garrido, a first corporal in the army, as co-authors of the crime.

Read more about this case:

Ten Years in Prison for Three DINA Agents for the Disappearance of Dairy Seller Rodolfo Núñez Benavides in 1976

El Ciudadano