Excerpt: "Over 100 former members of the secretive National Intelligence Directorate, DINA, under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet are facing jail time for the kidnapping and murder of 16 people belonging to dissident left-wing movements."

Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet reviews troops as he enters La Moneda Palace in the capital Santiago. (photo: Reuters)

Chile Judge Jails 106 Ex-Agents of Pinochet Dictatorship

By teleSUR

04 June 17

The former secret police personnel were involved in the kidnapping and murder of 16 leftist activists.

ver 100 former members of the secretive National Intelligence Directorate, DINA, under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet are facing jail time for the kidnapping and murder of 16 people belonging to dissident left-wing movements.

The sentence was issued early Friday against 106 secret police officers belong to �Operation Colombo� during the years that followed the 1973 overthrow of democratically-elected President Salvador Allende, when Pinochet was consolidating his U.S.-backed military government.

Judge Hernan Cristoso ruled that the 16 killed belonged either to the socialist party or leftist groups like the Revolutionary Left Movement, MIR. Those killed had been abducted before being transferred to torture centers in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

The 16 are among over 3,000 people who faced enforced disappearances and murder by the Pinochet government, which acted in league with neighboring governments in Argentina, Brazil and other South American nations through Operation Condor, a Cold War-era campaign across Latin America that resulted in tens of thousands of activist deaths.

The United States supported the right-wing governments during its competition with the Soviet Union, which it feared was undermining U.S. interests in the region through its own support for left-wing groups.

Chile has been attempting to grapple with its authoritarian past as judges and government figures increase convictions of Pinochet-era officials found to have committed human rights violations.

The 106 former agents have been sentenced to between 541 days and 20 years in jail, where they will be joining other former state security personnel that are serving time for other cases.

The Chilean government has also been ordered to pay the equivalent of US$7.5 million to the families of the deceased activists.

Comments

We are concerned about a recent drift towards vitriol in the RSN Reader comments section. There is a fine line between moderation and censorship. No one likes a harsh or confrontational forum atmosphere. At the same time everyone wants to be able to express themselves freely. We'll start by encouraging good judgment. If that doesn't work we'll have to ramp up the moderation.

General guidelines: Avoid personal attacks on other forum members; Avoid remarks that are ethnically derogatory; Do not advocate violence, or any illegal activity.

Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.

- The RSN Team

+2 # hoodwinkednomore 2014-01-26 01:02

Fantastic! This is what we need in this country. Not the zero-tolerance, racial profiling, hate speech form of 'education' that has been the norm. Thank goodness for women like Marilyn Tillman! Gives all of us hope for the future...

-2 # lorenbliss 2014-01-26 03:01

-5 # Penn 2014-01-26 06:06

The problem with racism is the minority population that use the race card as their "get out of responsibility free" excuse every time on of them is caught violating the rights of others. The claims racism using one person as an example. She lied, you leftist parasites buy it every time, and you fools think are contributing to a conversation. Sounds and reads like the son is a jerk that searches to be a victim, and who is supported by a racist parent hoping to make a payday out of her lying complaints. In other, much more truer words; there is not enough of both sides of this story to reach any conclusion, but you leftist losers glom on racism as the only possible theme.

+2 # Jingze 2014-01-26 08:23

The problem is not a school problem. The USA is a hate-filled and incurably racist nation. Nothing can be done about it. The rise of the Tea Party proves it.

+1 # jwb110 2014-01-26 12:53

I certainly think the country is racist and that is the truly unfixable part of the equation. As much as I am loathe to admit it, I am beginning to think that going back to neighborhood schools may be the better answer. I am not suggesting creating ghettos like Warsaw because the ghetto exists anyway. As early as the mid-70s educators knew that local community schools were more effective for students and bi-lingual in the long run didn't work. Integration is a great idea but maybe not on this level. Maybe integration is something best done on an employment or opportunity level. I have spent my life (starting at age 17) working in multi-racial circumstances. I love it. My experience as an employee made me comfortable with race in America all over America. The fact that we were adults with a common goal made this all work. Community schools might be a preparation most effective in changing this countries problem.
Do I wish it could work the way it is now? Certainly! Clearly, it doesn't.

Refresh comments list

JComments

THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community.

Name:	*
Username:	*
E-mail:	*
Password:	*
Confirm password:	*
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.