Raúl Iturriaga

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal surname
is Iturriaga and the second or maternal family name is Neumann.
Raúl Iturriaga
Born (1938-01-23) 23 January 1938 (age 86)
AllegianceChilean
Service/branchArmy
RankGeneral
Commands heldLa Venda Sexy
Other workDeputy director of the DINA

Raúl Eduardo Iturriaga Neumann (born 23 January 1938) is a

Carmelo Soria as well.[4]

In June 2007 Iturriaga went into hiding to escape a 10-year prison sentence handed down by judge Alejandro Solís (reduced to five years by the

forced disappearance of Revolutionary Left Movement member Luis San Martín.[5] He was finally captured in August 2007 in Viña del Mar.[1]

Life and career

Raúl Iturriaga became an instructor in

Pinochet's coup against Salvador Allende. First responsible for the Department of Exterior Affairs of the DINA, he was named head of the Brigada Purén, based in the torture center Villa Grimaldi, in December 1975.[6]

He attended a special military course again in Panama in 1976. Iturriaga became vice-director of intelligence in DINA in 1977, before also taking charge of its economic department, responsible for firms owned by DINA.[citation needed]

Iturriaga was responsible for Operation Colombo, during which political opponents "disappeared" in Argentina while Santiago claimed they had killed themselves as a result of political in-fighting.[6][7] Although he officially retired in 1991, an association of victims claims that he has maintained links with DINE, DINA's successor.[7]

Criminal prosecution

In 1989, before the transition to democracy, Iturriaga was elevated to the highest grade of general in the Chilean Armed Forces, with his base in Iquique. He officially retired in 1991 as general. The same year, he was interrogated by Minister Adolfo Bañados concerning the DINA's role in the assassination of Orlando Letelier, Salvador Allende's former minister, in Washington, D.C.[7]

In 1995, Iturriaga was also sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment in Italy for the 1975

failed assassination attempt against Christian Democrat Bernardo Leighton in Rome, in part because of the testimony supplied by Michael Townley.[2]

In 2002, he was indicted for the "disappearance" of Víctor Olea in September 1974.[8]

The following year he was indicted by magistrate Alejandro Solís, along with his former chief

María Servini de Cubría.[citation needed
]

The former vice-head of staff of the Chilean Army, General Guillermo Garín, who was also Pinochet's spokesman, gave his support to Iturriaga following his escape on 11 June 2007.[5] Iturriaga had been sentenced to five years for the kidnapping of Luis Dagoberto San Martín, a 21-year-old opponent of Pinochet who "disappeared" in a DINA detention centre in 1974. In a June 2007 video broadcast, Iturriaga stated: "I openly rebel before this arbitrary, biased, unconstitutional and anti-judicial conviction."[3]

Head of DINA Manuel Contreras has been the only other general to have contested the Chilean justice during democratic rule. Contreras was on the run from justice for two months, taking refuge in the south and then in a military regiment, before being captured by security forces and detained.

Isabel Allende (PS), Antonio Leal (PPD), Tucapel Jiménez (PPD), and also Iván Moreira (UDI), have condemned Iturriaga's flight from justice. Jiménez warned of the existence of a "network" of protectors, as did Jaime Naranjo (PS).[9]

On 2 August 2007, Iturriaga was captured in the Pacific coastal city of

UFOs."[11] Francisco Encina (PS) considered it strange that one of the defenders of Iturriaga, the UDI senator and former head of staff of the Chilean Navy, Jorge Arancibia, was a representative of the Valparaíso Region where Iturriaga has been detained.[11]

On 2 June 2017, Iturriaga was among 106 former intelligence officers who Chilean Judge Hernan Cristoso sentenced to prison for the kidnapping and murder of 16 leftist activists in 1974 and 1975.[14]

On 22 August 2023, Iturriaga was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Chile to 15 years and one day in prison for his role in the assassination of Carmelo Soria.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Claudia Lagos and Patrick J. McDonneln Pinochet-era general is caught, Los Angeles Times, 3 August 2007
  2. ^ a b "Two Chileans Convicted in 1975 Shooting". Associated Press. 23 June 1995.
  3. ^ a b Claudia Lagos and Patrick J. McDonnell "Fugitive ex-general stirs 'dirty war' animosities in Chile", Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2007
  4. ^ Newman, Ed (24 August 2023). "Chilean ex-military officers convicted for murder of Spanish diplomat". Radio Havana. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Un general chileno se declara en rebeldía contra un fallo que le condena a 5 años, El País, 14 June 2007
  6. ^ a b c La Gran Mentira – El caso de las "Listas de los 119" (capitulo 7), published by Equipo Nizkor
  7. ^ a b c d Raúl Iturriaga, Memoria Viva
  8. ^ El Mercurio, 9 March 2002, Someten a proceso a Raúl Iturriaga Neumann (quoted by Raúl Iturriaga, Memoria Viva)
  9. ^ Parlamentarios repudian rebeldía de general Iturriaga Neumann, La Nación (Chile), 13 June 2007
  10. ^ Martin, Claire (3 August 2007). "Arrestation d'un ancien général en fuite". RFI. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b c Raúl Iturriaga Neumann ya está tras las rejas del Penal Cordillera, Radio Cooperativa, 2 August 2007
  12. RFI
    , 3 August 2007
  13. La Nación
    , 30 July 2007
  14. ^ "Chilean judge sends 106 former secret agents to prison". BBC News. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Government celebrates convictions in Chile for the murder of Spaniard Carmelo Soria". The Diplomat in Spain. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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