Operation Albania

Operation Albania (Spanish: Operación Albania), also known as the "Corpus Christi massacre" (Spanish: Matanza de Corpus Christi), was the targeted killing of members of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) guerrilla group carried out by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Santiago, Chile, on June 15 and 16, 1987.

In this operation, 12 FPMR members were killed by agents of the National Information Center (CNI) secret police with the objective of "neutralizing" the organization, which had previously attempted a failed ambush against the dictator's convoy, resulting in the death of five bodyguards. These events were presented by the authorities as a supposed "confrontation."

General Hugo Salas Wenzel, the former director of the CNI, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005 as a co-author of five counts of simple homicide and seven counts of aggravated homicide, a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007.

Background

Operación Albania originated from concerns within Chilean repression agencies following the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Augusto Pinochet on September 7, 1986, in Cajón del Maipo. The operation gained momentum through consistent surveillance efforts that had identified a significant portion of the FPMR leadership in Santiago by early 1987. In June of that same year, the FPMR National Directorate had planned an important meeting of its top leaders. This presented the perfect opportunity for the CNI to capture as many FPMR leaders as possible in one coordinated action.

The CNI obtained much of its information from intelligence gathered after the failures of the Carrizal Bajo arms shipment and the assassination attempt on Augusto Pinochet. These events led to the arrest of numerous FPMR members and members of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh).

Due to the acts of torture they committed, the CNI had a clear list of individuals to detain and eventually eliminate. Therefore, in early 1987, they initiated an extensive surveillance operation and established fixed surveillance points targeting important FPMR members.

One significant achievement of this effort was the identification of José Joaquín Valenzuela Levi, who, using the alias "Ernesto," had led the failed assassination attempt on Pinochet. Valenzuela was referred to as "Rapa Nui" in CNI files because he was initially seen leaving a house on a street with that name. Additionally, Ignacio Recaredo Valenzuela was known as "Chaqueta de cuero" due to the clothing he wore when first observed.

Álvaro Corbalán, who headed the operational arm of the CNI, received an order from the then-director of the institution, General Hugo Salas Wenzel, for personnel from all the brigades under his command to act, with support from the Army's Anti-Terrorist Unit and Investigations officials. According to Corbalán's later confession, Salas Wenzel's order implied that all detained FPMR members were to be killed. In other words, they were to "neutralize" the FPMR definitively, as was the terminology used at the time.

According to the initial document in the 30-volume file, military prosecutor Luis Acevedo had authorized all detentions and searches on June 15.

Operación Albania

The death of Ignacio Valenzuela

Ignacio Recaredo Valenzuela Pohorecky, a well-known engineer and public figure, had been under surveillance since March 1987 due to his involvement in the Front, where he held a high-ranking position. He was known for his bold actions, including participating in an attack on an arms store and confrontations with security officials.

On the morning of June 15, 1987, CNI agents had been monitoring Valenzuela's activities since around 6 a.m. They followed him for hours until he was killed on Alhué Street in the Las Condes commune. The fatal shots were fired from a van approximately 25 meters away, resulting in three gunshot wounds – one to the chest, which proved fatal, one to the buttock, and one to the foot. Additionally, the tree behind which he sought cover was struck four times, and nearby buildings were also damaged by gunfire. Valenzuela was only about 30 meters away from his mother's house when he was intercepted, according to the account provided by René Valdovinos, one of the CNI agents involved in the operation.

We had him surrounded and we were armed. Honestly, I thought he would surrender in the face of the disadvantage he was in, but he did not, and on the contrary, he picked up the pistol with the intention of repelling the arrest, so we all fired at him simultaneously, and he fell to the ground.

— René Valdovinos, CNI Agent

At the time, the CNI claimed that Valenzuela had a pistol and a grenade, but witnesses said he was unarmed. They shot him in the buttock and foot when he turned around. Witnesses also said they were warned of gunshots in advance and told to leave the area.

On November 9, 2000, former CNI agent Manuel Morales Acevedo revealed important new details about the actual events:

While the mission was to apprehend this individual, he attempted to draw a weapon, took it, and had to be fired upon, and indeed the subject was carrying the weapon. However, for added effectiveness, a grenade was placed among his clothing.

— Manuel Morales, CNI Agent

The death of Patricio Acosta

On the same day, six hours later, another large group of agents gathered on the west side of Varas Mena Street in San Miguel. These agents were monitoring Patricio Acosta Castro, who they nicknamed "Jirafales" because of his tall stature. Acosta was a significant figure in the FPMR. Various testimonies available in the judicial records indicate that the street had been under surveillance by individuals in cars for about a week.

That evening, around 6:00 or 7:00 pm, Acosta left his house and was closely followed. According to neighbors, he was often seen alone, and all they knew about him was that he had a child and worked as a teacher. What followed, as reported by other agents, is almost universally attributed to a CNI agent.

Around 6:00 to 7:00 pm, an individual matching the description of the person they were looking for left that house, so I followed him to Santa Rosa, from where he turned back to the house, and I followed him on foot. I was ordered to arrest him, but I couldn't make the arrest alone because of the subject's large physical build. However, while I was following him at a certain distance, I noticed that Captain Zúñiga and other agents were coming in the opposite direction, so I thought they were going to make the arrest. However, at some point, when the subject was about five meters away from me, Captain Zúñiga suddenly shot him from about seven meters away, and he fell to the ground. Then, I heard two more shots and realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

— Juan Jorquera, CNI Agent

According to witness testimonies, the victim fell to his knees. Then, around eight individuals, including Zúñiga, surrounded him. Instead of being taken to a healthcare facility once he was subdued, Acosta was gunned down. Zúñiga himself shot him in the head, while another person finished him off with a burst of machine gun fire. Once he was dead, a CNI agent placed a revolver and a balaclava in his hands. In that position, they filmed him and took several photographs. This version, in which Zúñiga shot him when he was already dead, was confirmed by at least three CNI agents, including his subordinate, Jorge Vargas Bories.

The deaths on Varas Mena Street

On the same night, civil police agents arrived at 417 Varas Mena Street, one of several properties targeted for a raid by the CNI at 11:00 PM. This is where the only recognized confrontation took place.

Inside the house, which served as a safe house and training center, there were roughly a dozen FPMR members. The supposed homeowner was Cecilia Valdés, who had her two-year-old son with her. Her alleged partner was Juan Waldemar Henríquez, an FPMR officer and the grandson of former communist deputy Bernardo Araya Zuleta, who had been detained and disappeared by the DINA in 1976. The CNI considered Juan Waldemar Henríquez as the top leader of the FPMR. On that night, inside the house, they were already aware of the deaths of Ignacio Recaredo Valenzuela and Patricio Acosta just a few blocks away.

Around midnight, CNI agents surrounded the house, leading to a fierce shootout between the security forces and the two FPMR members who were covering the retreat of their comrades from inside: Juan Waldemar Henríquez and Wilson Henríquez Gallegos.

At the same time, a dozen FPMR members managed to escape amid the gunfire. From the rooftops of the house, the two FPMR members responsible for covering the group responded to the police attack with their weapons. At one point, the roof collapsed, and Juan Waldemar Henríquez, a 28-year-old engineer, fell injured into a neighboring house. Later, the police entered the property and found him lying on the floor, no longer offering resistance. However, he was shot and killed right there. Some witnesses claimed that Henríquez had surrendered with his arms raised when he was killed.

The skirmishes didn't end with the death of Juan Waldemar Henríquez. In the case of his comrade Wilson Henríquez, he was surrounded by CNI agents in the yard of another house where he had sought refuge. He was quickly captured, beaten, and then executed. According to the autopsy report, his body had 21 bullet holes.

Among those who escaped over the roofs of neighboring houses but were later captured were Cecilia Valdés, Santiago Montenegro, and Héctor Figueroa. Héctor Figueroa was particularly sought after for his involvement in the assassination attempt on Augusto Pinochet in 1986.

The death of Julio Guerra Olivares

Almost at the same time as the events on Varas Mena Street, approximately one hundred agents and police officers surrounded duplex 213 in Block 33 of Villa Olímpica in Ñuñoa. Julio Guerra Olivares, who was known as "Guido" within the FPMR, had been renting a room there from Sonia Hinojosa. He had been in hiding since his involvement as a gunman in the assassination attempt on Augusto Pinochet.

Around midnight, CNI agent Iván Cifuentes forcibly entered the apartment. While waiting for Guerra to come out, Cifuentes decided to throw a military tear gas bomb into the duplex. Another security team arrived, and CNI agent Fernando Burgos, wearing a gas mask, reached the second-floor bathroom where Guerra was hiding. The agent immediately shot Guerra four times. Subsequently, another agent finished off Guerra's life and left his body at the edge of a staircase.

The autopsy of Julio Guerra revealed that he had been shot at close range, always from above and from behind, with two shots in his eyes. Additionally, it was confirmed that Guerra was not armed.

Killings of detained frentistas

The final chapter of Operación Albania took place in an abandoned building on Pedro Donoso Street in the present-day Recoleta commune. That night, the fate of seven frentistas detained in the Borgoño barracks still needed to be decided. Álvaro Corbalán testified in the case that he asked CNI director General Hugo Salas Wenzel for instructions on what to do with the detainees.

And General Salas Wenzel told me that there were no options with respect to those who were important within the Front and therefore they had to be eliminated.

— Álvaro Corbalán

In the cells of Borgoño, important members of the FPMR were held, including José Joaquín Valenzuela Levi, known as "Commander Ernesto," and Esther Cabrera Hinojosa. However, there were also leaders like Ricardo Rivera Silva, Ricardo Silva Soto, Manuel Valencia Calderón, Elizabeth Escobar Mondaca, and Patricia Quiroz Nilo, who were not highly regarded by the agents. All of them had been arrested leading up to this point. According to the official record, Álvaro Corbalán instructed CNI agent Iván Quiroz to select five officers responsible for gathering their team to eliminate these seven detainees.

In the early hours of June 16, 1987, the detainees were taken in a convoy to a vacant house at 582 Pedro Donoso Street, a location previously identified by the CNI. Major Álvaro Corbalán had tasked Captain Francisco Zúñiga with choosing the place for the execution of the frentistas. After careful consideration, Zúñiga selected the vacant property suspected of serving as a frentista hideout.

According to neighbors of the Pedro Donoso house, the detainees arrived barefoot, with their arms tied behind their backs, bound, and blindfolded. Sergeant Iván Quiroz and Captain Francisco Zúñiga were responsible for selecting pairs of officers to execute each of the seven frentistas.

The CNI estimated that there were around a hundred agents, police officers, and detectives inside and outside the house that night. The signal for the designated personnel to open fire was given by throwing a brick onto the roof, while the other agents fired shots into the air and shouted, creating the impression of a confrontation. At approximately 5:30 a.m., the seven frentistas were shot. Subsequently, according to several agents, Captain Francisco Zúñiga took action and proceeded to ensure each victim was dead.

In the first bedroom, the bodies of Ricardo Rivera Silva, with five gunshot wounds at medium range, and José Joaquín Valenzuela Levi, with 16 close-range gunshot wounds, were discovered. In the first hallway, Manuel Valencia Calderón was killed with 14 shots fired from about three meters away in bursts. Ballistic and autopsy reports indicated that he was positioned at the end of this hallway, where there was an open door, and then shot.

Esther Cabrera Hinojosa's body, with five gunshot wounds, was found in the kitchen, where there were no signs of gunfire. Evidence analysis suggested that she was shot in a side hallway and then left in the kitchen.

Ricardo Silva Soto's body had ten gunshot wounds. According to forensic reports, he was initially shot inside the second bedroom and then finished off on the floor, as indicated by multiple bullet impacts on the room's floor. An important detail indicating there was no exchange of fire was the fact that Ricardo Silva had bullet wounds in the palms of both hands, suggesting an instinctive attempt to shield himself from the bullets while lying on the ground.

Elizabeth Escobar Mondaca's body was found very close to Ricardo Silva's, with thirteen gunshot wounds, ten of which were fired at very close range according to the autopsy. Like Ricardo Silva, she was first shot inside the second bedroom and then finished off less than a meter away with multiple bursts against a wall in an empty room. Patricia Quiroz Nilo's body was discovered at the far end of the extensive interior hallway of the Pedro Donoso house, with eleven gunshot wounds.

A police officer who was present at all the locations where people died during Operación Albania testified during the trial that all the crime scenes had been significantly altered, and when they arrived, the bullet impacts on the walls had been removed. He also stated that "all the weapons of the victims were placed in their left hand."

Judicial verdict

In 1995, the military justice system investigated and cleared the case. However, in 1998, it was reopened and assigned to Judge Hugo Dolmestch under the roll number 39.122-87.

On January 28, 2005, Judge Dolmestch handed down a life sentence to former CNI director Hugo Salas Wenzel for his involvement in simple and aggravated homicide. Álvaro Corbalán, the former CNI operational chief, received a sentence of fifteen years and one day in prison. Iván Quiroz, a former Carabineros officer who played a significant role in the operation, was sentenced to ten years and one day. Additionally, eleven other individuals were convicted, some for homicide and others as accomplices to homicide.

In 2007, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Salas Wenzel, increased Corbalán's sentence to 20 years in prison, and maintained Quiroz's 10-year sentence. Quiroz had been a fugitive from justice since the final verdict was issued in August 2007. He was eventually arrested by the police on January 23, 2008, in Concepción and subsequently incarcerated in Punta Peuco prison.

The visiting minister's ruling stated that Salas Wenzel was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement as a co-author in the simple homicide of the twelve frentistas who died in June 1987.

External links

• News about the judicial ruling on Operation Albania. (in Spanish)
• First Instance Conviction Verdict in case number 39,122-87. (in Spanish)
• "The Great Setup by the CNI", Contact program, Canal 13 (in Spanish)