By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
SANTIAGO, Chile — A former soldier from the days of the Pinochet dictatorship confessed to participating in at least 18 murders on a live radio show. Guillermo Reyes, going by the pseudonym “Alberto” called in to “Chacotero Sentimental” (Loving Betrayal), a radio show hosted by Roberto Artiagoitia, to talk about a failing romance. Instead, for twenty minutes, Reyes discussed his participation in the killings of Socialist Party prisoners.
According to Reyes, soldiers executed the prisoners by shooting them in the head, and then destroyed the victims’ remains with dynamite. In his call, Reyes expressed no remorse for his participation in the executions: “The first time (I killed someone), I cried but the lieutenant was saying, ‘Good soldier, good soldier, brave soldier.’ I liked the second time. I enjoyed it.”
Although he did not identify himself during the call, police were able to track the call back to Reyes. He was arrested and has so far been charged with killing Freddy Taberna Gallegos and German Palomino Lamas, both Socialist Party prisoners. Reyes is also being investigated by a human rights judge.
Reyes was drafted into Pinochet’s army as a young man and was then indoctrinated during military training in Santiago. He said he was “forced to kill” because commanders would execute conscripts for disobeying orders.
When challenged by radio host Artiagoitia about his moral conscience and “responsibilities as a human,” Reyes reiterated that he was following orders. “If we found them with a gun, we liquidated them.”
At the time of his call, Reyes was a 62-year old bus driver.
The Pinochet regime of 1973-1990 is considered one of the most violent periods of Chile’s history. Officially, 903 people were disappeared and 1,759 were executed. Chile has taken a number of steps in current months to recognize the victims and provide education regarding the human rights violations. Recently, President Michelle Bachelet created a Human Rights Department to implement policies to support Pinochet’s victims.
For more information, please see:
TeleSur – Chile Creates Human Rights Department for Pinochet Era Murders – 17 December 2015
USA Today – Radio caller confesses to 18 murders – 17 December 2015
