Monday, April 1, 2013

Torture in Tejas Verdes (1)

According to the Rettig Commission report, the concentration camp 'Tejas Verdes' corresponds to Campamento N2 de prisioneros de la Escuela de Ingenieros Militares 'Tejas Verdes', used as a detention and torture centre from September 11, 1973 until mid 1974. Various socialist adherents detained in Tejas Verdes form part of the detenidos desaparecidos, including Miguel Rivas and Rebeca Espinoza.

Under the command of later DINA chief Manuel Contreras Sepulveda, Tejas Verdes was described by torture survivor Hernan Valdes as a centre of macabre violations. "... all I knew about evil until then was only caricature, only literature. Now evil has lost all moral reference.' (Valdes, 1974).

Former political prisoners and torture survivors cite extreme torture tactics as having been consistently applied to detainees, who were subjected to electric shocks, beatings, mock executions, burning of skin with wax and cigarettes, the pulling of nails, exposure to extreme temperatures, immobilisation, nakedness, sexual violence, deprivation of food and water, forced to eat their excrement and to listen to other detainees being tortured. Medical attention was restricted to checking each detainee's resilience, in order to avoid premature death and allow for other bouts of torture. 

A brief look at some of the DINA agents operating at Tejas Verdes reveals the extent of networking amongst other detention and torture centres.

Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko - later transferred to Londres 38 and Villa Grimaldi, also collaborated with Cuartel Simon Bolivar in the detention and torture of MIR militants.

Marcelo Moren Brito - head of Brigada Caupolican and in charge of Villa Grimaldi, also a participant in the murder of MIR secretary general Miguel Enriquez and accused of participating in the detention and disappearance of MIR militant Alfonso Rene Chanfreau Oyarce.

Ingrid Olderock - notoriously renowned for training dogs to violate women and associated with other torture centres, including Villa Grimaldi and Venda Sexy.

Cristian Labbe - personal friend of Krassnoff and later member of Brigada Halcon, instructor in torture methods and former mayor of Providencia.

Vittorio Orvieto Tiplizky: torture consultant. Referred to as 'el medico torturador'. Associated with Tejas Verdes and Villa Grimaldi.

Pedro Espinoza Bravo: associated with the 'Caravan of Death', torture at Villa Grimaldi, as well as the assassination of Orlando Letelier.

Gerardo Urrich Gonzales: tortured detainees at 'La Torre' in Villa Grimaldi and responsible for the disappearance of Rodolfo Valentin Gonzales Perez. 






 

No comments:

Post a Comment