Minister Paola Plaza indicted former military officer Pedro Barrientos as the perpetrator of the kidnapping and murder of Víctor Jara and Littré Quiroga in 1973. Deported from the United States in 2023, Barrientos now faces proceedings that could lead to a sentence. The victims' families' lawyer anticipates penalties proportional to the crimes' severity.
In September 1973, during the early days of the coup d'état in Chile, singer-songwriter Víctor Jara and activist Littré Quiroga were kidnapped and murdered at the Chile Stadium, now Víctor Jara Stadium. Visiting Minister of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Paola Plaza, formally indicted former Army officer Pedro Barrientos as the author of the qualified kidnappings and qualified murders of both victims.
Barrientos fled to the United States at the end of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. In 2013, Chile's Supreme Court authorized his extradition, but he had obtained U.S. citizenship. However, in July 2023, it was revoked for providing false information in his application. Deported to Chile by late that year, Barrientos was notified of prior indictments issued in 2012 and 2014 by Minister Miguel Vásquez. Now, with Plaza's accusation, the case moves toward a potential sentence.
Lawyer Nelson Caucoto, representing the Jara and Quiroga families, stated: “The fate of Mr. Barrientos cannot be different from that of the other military personnel who were convicted and sentenced in this case, with significant penalties proportional to the severity of the crimes and unanimously confirmed by the Supreme Court.” He added: “This accusation by Minister Plaza marks the beginning of the end of a trial that has lasted more than 50 years and fulfills the families' longing for justice for Víctor and Littré. Justice in this case will be possible despite the passage of time.”
In August 2023, the Second Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld convictions against seven former Army members: Raúl Jofré González, Edwin Dimter Bianchi, Nelson Haase Mazzei, Ernesto Bethke Wulf, Juan Jara Quintana, and Hernán Chacón Soto, to 15 years and one day for the murders, and 10 years and one day for the kidnappings. Additionally, former officer Rolando Melo Silva received five years and one day as an accessory to the murders, and three years for the kidnappings. Haase Mazzei remains a fugitive.