The latest Caravan of Death case

An active duty Chilean army general, Gonzalo Santelices, has resigned because he was implicated in the Caravan of Death (for a great book on that topic, see Patricia Verdugo’s Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death). Commander in Chief Oscar Izurieta praised him for retiring, which takes the scandal out of the active ranks (there is, however, a fund for officers who need lawyers in human rights cases). Nonetheless, such a quick army response is positive, and there are no longer the typical “close the ranks” responses from the army.

Under questioning by a judge, Santelices had acknowledged that as a young lieutenant in October, 1973, he followed orders and transferred 14 prisoners from a jail in northern Chile to a desert area where they were executed by firing squad. He said he did not take part in the executions.

However, there is an interesting twist. The presiding judge in the case said he believes General Santelices bears no criminal responsibility. Given his age at the time, as someone who just graduated from the Military Academy, he would have quite possibly been shot had he not obeyed the order.

Gutierrez said Santelices directly participated in the killings because "he selected the 14 victims, handcuffed and blindfolded them and then took them in an army truck" to the execution site.

If you are a family member of the one of the handcuffed, blindfolded, and ultimately murdered victims, then the issue of criminal responsibility is not so vague. We'll have to wait and see what the current judge decides.