Punta_Peuco_Prison

Punta Peuco Prison

Punta Peuco Prison

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Punta Peuco Prison (Penal de Punta Peuco), officially Centro de Detención Preventiva y Cumplimiento Penitenciario Especial Punta Peuco, is a prison located in the municipality of Tiltil, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Punta Peuco is a special facility specifically built in 1995[1] for individuals convicted by the Judiciary of "crimes against humanity" and "human rights abuses" during the Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–90). The Judiciary uses the old criminal procedure system originated in 1906 for these cases, without the guarantees introduced with the reform carried out between 2000 and 2005.[2]

Map of the Punta Peuco Prison, Til Til, Chile
Entrance of Punta Peuco Prison

The prison, which holds approximately 130 inmates, is considerably more modern than a standard Chilean jail. After considerable military protest and insubordination in response to the sentences against violations of the human rights, Punta Peuco was built within a military community, but the prison is administered by the Chilean Gendarmerie, the national prison service, similar to the country's other prisons.

In June and October 1995, convicted Caravan of Death commanders Manuel Contreras and Pedro Espinoza were incarcerated at the prison, respectively.[3] 22 July 1995 some 1,500 people, many of them members of the army, attended a rally outside the Punta Peuco prison in solidarity for Brigadier Espinoza.[4] Inmates have included Manuel Contreras, Raúl Iturriaga, Miguel Krassnoff, Pedro Espinoza and Marcelo Moren Brito.[5]

Protests regarding the Punta Peuco Prison
Protest demanding the liberation of the prisoners from the Punta Peuco prison in September 2021.
Protest demanding the closure of the Punta Peuco prison in May 2017.

Between 2020 and 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prison suffered an outbreak. Nearly 70 percent of the inmates (~80 out of 110+) fell ill. Five of them died:[6]

  • General Héctor Orozco, 93, died on 26 October 2020. Since 2017, he had been serving a 10-year sentence for his role in the murders of two left-wing activists.[7][8]
  • Colonel Jaime García Zamorano, 85, died on 3 September 2021. Since 2014, he had been serving a 7-year sentence for his role in the massacre of 18 peasants.[9]
  • Miguel Estay Reyno, 68, died on 4 September 2021. Since 1995, he had been serving a life sentence for his role in the kidnapping and murder of three Communists.[10]
  • Air Force commander Luis Enrique Campos Poblete, 82, died on 5 September 2021. Since 2017, he had been serving a 17-year sentence for murder of a leftist and the kidnapping of another leftist.[11]
  • Marco Antonio Bustos Carrasco, 61, died on 11 September 2021. Since 2017, he had been serving a 5-year sentence for his complicity in the kidnappings of five leftists who were later murdered.[12]

Inmates

References

  1. [1]
    U.S. Department of State (March 1996). "1995 Human Rights Report: CHILE (Chile Human Rights Practices, 1995)". Dosfan.lib.uic.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  2. [2]
    Florencia Blume (28 May 2018). "Presos en Punta Peuco" (in Spanish). La Tercera. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  3. [3]
    Diamond, Larry; Plattner, Marc F. (1996-10-17). Civil-Military Relations and Democracy. JHU Press. p. 65. ISBN 9780801855368. general Pedro Espinoza Bravo 1995 conviction.
  4. [4]
    "CHILE, Transition at the Crossroads, Human Rights Violations, under Pinochet Rule Remain the Crux" (PDF). University of Essex. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
  5. [5]
    "Murió a los 80 años el exagente de la DINA Marcelo Moren Brito". BBC Mundo. 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  6. [6]
    Buitrago, Leonardo (2021-09-13). "Confirman muerte de cuarto reo por brote de Covid-19 en Punta Peuco: Cumplía condena por secuestro calificado de cinco integrantes del FPMR". El Ciudadano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  7. [7]
    "Chile justice: Row as General Héctor Orozco, 91, jailed". BBC News. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  8. [8]
    24horas. "Muere por COVID-19 en Punta Peuco el general (R) Héctor Orozco". www.24horas.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. [9]
    mauriciomorales (2014-01-29). ""Operación Retiro de Televisores": 9 ex militares procesados por desaparición de 18 campesinos en dictadura". El Ciudadano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  10. [10]
    "Muere "El Fanta" Miguel Estay Reyno condenado por el Caso Degollados « Diario y Radio Universidad Chile". radio.uchile.cl (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  11. [11]
    Buitrago, Leonardo (2021-09-06). "Confirman muerte de un tercer reo de Punta Peuco en menos de 24 horas por Covid-19: Cumplía condena por asesinato de dirigente del MIR". El Ciudadano (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  12. [12]
    "Condenan a 33 ex agentes y militares por secuestros calificados de 5 frentistas en 1987 | Resumen.cl". resumen.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-05.

33.1150°S 70.8169°W / -33.1150; -70.8169
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