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In an extraordinary step backward a Chilean Court of Appeals granted release and sentence reductions to 17 State actors convicted of crimes against humanity perpetrated against thousands of Chilean citizens during the Pinochet dictatorship, provoking condemnation by survivors and the international human rights community. In the context of several months of relentless and brutal government repression of pro-democracy demonstrations and President Sebastián Piñera’s intransigent commitment to a failed economic model, this show of impunity sends the wrong message to the police forces who have already brutalized thousands of Chileans and undermined the rule of law. These measures violate international human rights law signed by Chile.

COHA republishes this open letter initiated by Chilean concerned citizens in Washington DC, supported by more than one hundred people from different countries, against impunity in Chile.

Chilean residents in the United States and persons of all nationalities express their concern for impunity in Chile for violators of human rights

We the undersigned Chilean residents in the US and persons of all nationalities profoundly condemn the judgement of acquittal and reduction of sentences by the Court of Appeals of Santiago, for 17 violators of human rights, adjudicated for crimes against humanity committed during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Minister Juan Cristóbal Mera Muñoz, Minister Mireya López Miranda and member attorney Cristián Lepin Molina, absolved the former agents of the National Directorate of Intelligence (Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia, DINA) Pedro Espinoza, Rolf Wenderoth, Hermon Alfaro, Pedro Betterlich, Claudio Pacheco, Orlando Torrejón, Orlando Altamirano and Eusebio López.  They also reduced the sentences of Ricardo Lawrence, Jorge Andrade, Juan Morales Salgado, Ciro Torré, Sergio Escalona, Juvenal Piña, Jorge Díaz, Gustavo Guerrero y Gladys Calderón to 3 years and 1 day. Pedro Espinoza was an accomplice of the notorious criminal who was the right hand man of Pinochet, Manuel Contreras. Espinoza was the chief of the Villa Grimaldi, a center of torture and forced disappearance. Espinoza was also involved in the operation called “Caravan of death” in which almost 100 persons around the country were assassinated, and he participated in the terrorist attack on Orlando Letelier in Washington DC. All of these criminals had been convicted on July 21, 2017 for 16 kidnappings and one homicide perpetrated in Villa Grimaldi.

The judges’ actions benefit state actors, functionaries of the armed forces and Carabineros police who committed crimes against humanity, including kidnappings, sexual assaults, indescribable tortures and assassinations of Chileans for their political beliefs. According to international law, such crimes constitute acts of state terrorism.

The campaign of impunity has even extended to perpetrators of human rights violations who are completing their sentences in the Punta Peuco prison. Pinochetista legislators are pressuring the Piñera government to grant those among these prisoners who are over 75 years old the benefit of house arrest, measures presently being studied with regard to the coronavirus. The characteristics of Punta Peuco prison, however, considered a place “of luxury” on account of its many benefits, comfortable rooms, and special services, does not justify the application of the same criterion used in the case of overcrowded conditions found in ordinary penitentiary centers.

These very grave deeds of the past few days imply an emotional drama, especially cruel for those family members and loved ones of the thousands of victims of violations of human rights committed by these State agents. Chile has demonstrated an enormous legal ambiguity and  ongoing policy of impunity since the end of the dictatorship. These recent actions, especially the decision of the Court of Appeals, demonstrates that the application of justice in the face of serious violations of human rights continues to be an unfinished task, politicized and debilitated by certain sectors of the society which even confuse the right to defend a political ideology with the necessity to defend, above all, the human life. Also, there ought to be a moral imperative to oppose state terrorism and  bring to justice those who infringe against the dignity of the human personality.

With the decision by the Court, Chile is also out of compliance with international treaties and the jurisprudence of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights (Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, CIDH). The cases of Almonacid, Arellano and others v. Chile, and La Cantuta v. Perú  have established unequivocally the obligation of member states to investigate and prosecute all crimes against humanity, treating them as the most serious violations of human rights. Once responsibility is established, the state, through its judicial branch, ought to apply sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the crimes. These principles of international law  obligate states to avoid any measure that permits amnesty or sets aside the responsibility of the guilty. Chile appears to regress in this regard, abandoning the doctrine that the CIDH has followed for years and forgetting the purpose of these norms of international law related to human rights, laws which are designed to provide a disincentive, under any circumstances, to commit such crimes.

We call upon the Supreme Court, the government authorities, and legislators to forcefully exercise their full legal and political authority to urge Chile to fulfill its international obligations with regard to human rights and vigorously oppose these acts of impunity for crimes so serious that they have affected and continue to affect generations of citizens of our country.

Signatures

1. Abril Viscaya, Venezuela
2. Ada Troncoso, US
3. Adam Kaluba, US
4. Adolfo Guidali, France
5. Adriana Bolívar, Argentina
6. Alejandra Barrueto, Chile
7. Alejandra Montecino, Chile
8. Alex Main, US
9. Alicia Bustillo, US
10. Alicia Soto, US
11. Alma Torres-Martinez, US
12. Ana Laura Pereira, US
13. Anahí Arizmendi, Venezuela
14. Andrea Rojas, US
15. Andrés Habella, US
16. Andrew Vavrunek, US
17. Angelica McInerney, US
18. Ayla Bailey, US
19. Blanca Flor Bonilla, El Salvador
20. Bonnie Fox, US
21. Bonnie McCrimmon, Canada
22. Brenda Choi, US
23. Camila Rojas, Chile
24. Camilo Soria, Chile
25. Carlos Alejandro Morales Mateluna, US
26. Carlos Morales Mateluna, Switzerland
27. Carmen Paz Nunez Hoffmann, US
28. Carolina Cucumides, US
29. Carter Carlson, US
30. Cecilia Morales, Chile
31. Cecilia Toledo Gonzalez, US
32. Celestino Barrera, US
33. Cheryl LaBash, US
34. Cindy BelloweBellowe, US
35. Clayton Lee, US
36. Cloe Soria, Chile
37. Cristian Foerster, Chile
38. Cristian Gamboa, US
39. Darlene Hebert, Canada
40. David Paul, US
41. Demetrus Jackson, US
42. Deyanira Garza, US
43. Dianne Budd, US
44. Edalis Mejia, US
45. Elena Hildreth, US
46. Evelyn González, US
47. Estefania Del Real, Chile
48. Fabiana Gallardo, Chile
49. Felipe Fredes , US
50. Francesca Emanuelle
51. Frederick Mills, US
52. Gema Casanova, US
53. Gonzalo Valerio Soto, Honduras
54. Héctor Sepúlveda, US
55. Ignacio Shinya, Chile
56. Isabel Pizarro, Chile
57. Isella Calderon, Chile
58. Jill Clark-Gollub, US
59. John Moriarty, US
60. Jorge Consuegra, US
61. Jorge Pizarro, US
62. Jorge Ramírez, Chile
63. Julia Stover, US
64. Juliana Barnet, US
65. Karen Morales, US
66. Karina Armenta, US
67. Katrina McBrian, US
68. Laura Franco, Venezuela
69. Laura Soria, Chile
70. Leonardo Flores, US
71. Leonardo Vera, US
72. Leslie Salgado, US
73. Lidia Soto, Chile
74. Liliana Cannobbio, Chile
75. Lilly Macier, US
76. Luis Soria González-Vera, Chile
77. Márcia Cury, Brasil
78. Marco E., US
79. Maria Cristina Urquieta Aranciabia, US
80. María Paz González, Chile
81. Marta Pizarro, Chile
82. Martha Allen, US
83. Merrill Cole, US
84. Michelle Ellner, US
85. Miriam Manresa, US
86. Monica Navarro, US
87. Morelia Reali, US
88. Natalie Deriu, US
89. Nora Pizarro, US
90. Pamela Alejandra Weitz, US
91. Pamela Cecilia Molina Toledo, US
92. Pamela Molina, US
93. Pamela Zúñiga Grandi, US
94. Patricia Cifuentes, Chile
95. Patricia Edith Pizarro Toro, Chile
96. Patricio Zamorano, US
97. Phoenix Oaks, US
98. Rebecca Ellner, US
99. Robinet Castillo-Zarate, US
100. Rodrigo López, Chile
101. Ronald Gallardo Duarhtt, Chile
102. Sergio Galikea, Chile
103. Taigan Wright, US
104. Teresa aybar Carbajal, US
105. Teri Matson, US
106. Timothy Brett, Canada
107. Vanessa Asenjo, Mexico
108. Walter Gustavo Weitz Marholz, US
109. Yela Andarcia, Mexico
110. Yu-Ting Chu, US
111. Yvonne Mcdonald, US
112. Zarko Retamal Yacsich, US

Photo credit: Museo de la Memoria, Santiago of Chile

By Erick J. Padilla Rosas
From Eugene, Oregon

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great challenge to countries with high levels of poverty, limited medical infrastructure, and a lack of universal access to health care.  So far, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Puerto Rico is 286 and 11 deaths. ^[1] Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, does not fare much better in terms of public access to health care services than most underdeveloped countries. To make things worse, in the three years prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic there had been a reduction in public access to the government health care system. Eligibility requirements for the federal health plan began to be more rigorous in 2017 due to irregularities found in the status of nearly 30,000 patients who had acquired help from the Medicaid system without being eligible for it. At this time eligibility for the program is directed at patients who receive a net income of no more than $800 per month.^[2] With such a low income threshold, only half of the citizens living below the poverty level in Puerto Rico are eligible for coverage. Since 60% of the population lives below the poverty level, the eligibility requirements exclude many Puerto Ricans who cannot afford private health insurance.^[3] In addition to these obstacles with regard to access to healthcare, the Puerto Rican archipelago’s health system now suffers from the lack of reliable leadership with the dismissal of Health Department Secretary Rafael Rodríguez Mercado on March 13, 2020. ^[4]

The socio-economic conditions

The unemployment is also taking a heavy toll on Puerto Ricans. By January 2020, nearly 94,000 Puerto Rican citizens were already unemployed. This figure represented an increase of 2,000 unemployed compared to January 2019.^[5] Between March 16 and March 30, some 76,928 Puerto Ricans applied for unemployment benefits; that’s not counting those who have not yet had access to the Internet or someone to help them with the application process. ^[6] To date, unemployment claims in the Puerto Rican archipelago have reached more than 100,000.^[7]

Fortunately, last week Puerto Rico approved an unprecedented financial package of $787 million to blunt the economic blow caused by the pandemic. Democracy Now reports:

“Measures include a three-month moratorium on mortgage payments, as well as other loans; bonuses for essential services providers such as medical staff and police; and improving remote education by buying tablets and educational tools. Governor Wanda Vázquez also said Puerto Rico’s public sector employees will keep getting paid, and small businesses and self-employed workers will receive cash to cope with the crisis.” ^[8]

Given the limited public access to health care services and high poverty and unemployment rates, this minimal relief is urgently needed. It is in the face of these economic challenges and deficits in the health care system in Puerto Rico that the Governor took swift action aimed at fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The historical-political context of the Governor’s response

After the events of the summer of 2019, when Puerto Rico’s citizens demanded the resignation of former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, the political atmosphere in Puerto Rico has fallen short of robust democratic participation.^[9] The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico provides that when there is a vacancy in the office of Governor, the Secretary of State becomes the Governor. However, this position was left vacant before Rosselló resigned. Therefore, the line of succession fell under the responsibility of the Secretary of the Department of Justice, Wanda Vázquez Garced, the current Governor of Puerto Rico. Although Vázquez was not elected democratically by the people of Puerto Rico, she is constitutionally the governor. As such, she has taken the lead in addressing the responsibility to take political action on the pandemic and has a measure of democratic legitimacy.

Governor Wanda Vázquez declared a curfew on March 15, 2020 to be effective that same day from 9:00 p.m. until March 30, and this order has now been extended until April 12. ^[10] Among the directives included in the governor’s executive order, cars with license plates ending in even numbers will only be allowed to travel on the streets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the other hand, the license plates of cars ending in odd numbers may be used on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On Sundays, grocery stores and supermarkets will be closed. Citizens may leave their homes only to buy food or go to the pharmacy, financial institutions, gas stations, and health centers such as hospitals, with the exception of dental offices. Citizens are allowed to be out of the home with justifiable reasons from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Those companies and public services whose tasks involve the health and safety of citizens may continue to operate. This category includes police officers, messengers, car mechanics, gas stations, telecommunications services, and other functions essential for the proper functioning of a quarantined society.

Although stopping the entry of the virus into Puerto Rico has not been possible, this unincorporated territory of the United States was among the first countries in the Americas to take rigorous measures to control the spread of the virus. ^[11] The implementation of such measures in some cases required cooperation of US government authorities. For example, because Puerto Rico’s airports operate under the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the governor had to draft a petition to the federal government to have flights restricted to the island. As a result of this intervention, only one of the island’s three main airports is currently providing domestic flights, though the petition proposed closing the airports for all domestic flights for at least 14 days.

Preparing for an increase in COVID-19 cases

A nurse from the Mayaguez region who prefers to remain anonymous told the author that at the moment, there are enough hospital beds to deal with the limited number of cases. However, this time “no hospital has the capacity to receive a massive influx of patients under the appropriate isolation protocols.” Regarding the safety equipment needed by health care professionals to care for coronavirus patients, he states that “protective equipment is scarce and the administration of each hospital keeps it restricted as needed. I have not been denied any equipment at this time, but I personally recognize my rights and the regulations that protect me as a nurse and those that protect patients.”

To date, there has been no reported lack of beds to treat patients in hospitals. According to Dr. Juan Salgado, member of the Interagency state medical group, “Puerto Rico has 6,000 hospital beds and an estimated 60%, that is to say 3,600 beds, are available to receive patients”  [as of March 28]. However, if  COVID-19 infections in Puerto Rico continue at the same rate of growth, in three weeks there will not be enough available in the archipelago’s  hospitals to treat patients.^[12] In any case, the Puerto Rico Medical Task Force, the health advisory institution on COVID-19 issues in Puerto Rico, is already planning to equip some sports centers and hotels to treat COVID-19 patients before it is too late and before the hospitals and health centers are at full capacity.^[13]

On a positive note, in response to a potential shortage of hand sanitizer, some of Puerto Rico’s distilleries have stepped up to the plate. Serrallés Distillery, Inc., has produced 70% ethyl alcohol to provide free of charge to help hospitals and health clinics in Puerto Rico to alleviate the current ethyl alcohol shortage.^[14] For its part, as the Miami Herald reports, “one of the world’s largest rum factories, the Bacardi plant in Puerto Rico, has tweaked its production lines to pump out ethanol needed to make hand sanitizers.”^[15] The bottles of hand sanitizers are to be distributed among those health and security personnel and volunteers who work day after day against the spread of the pandemic. Without a doubt, these are just two examples of how Puerto Rican companies have joined forces to fight the pandemic.

The Department of Health has published a preparedness and response plan against the COVID-19 entitled “Plan de Preparación y Respuesta ante el Coronavirus Novel 19 COVID-19.”^[16] In collaboration with the Puerto Rico Medical Task Force COVID-19, the government of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans are taking to the social networks to share information, help raise awareness, and educate citizenry about the importance of staying home for the duration of the pandemic and until the Center for Disease Control changes its recommended protocols.^[17]

Erick Javier Padilla Rosas is a Philosophy master student in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he works as a teaching assistant. His publications include: “From Colonized Thought to Decolonial Aesthetics: The Search for a ‘Philosophical Voice’ Amongst Puerto Rican Colonized Subjects,” published by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) on May 28, 2019; “Movilización popular en Puerto Rico: más allá de un chat…,” published also by COHA on July 25, 2020; and “El inicio de un nuevo orden boricua,” published by Revista Cronopio on December 20, 2019.

Fred Mills assisted as editor of this article

Main photo: Patients are screened in this tent in front of the emergency room of Hospital Perea in Mayagüez (Credit: Wilfredo Soto)

End Notes

[1] Departamento de Salud. Gobierno de Puerto Rico. April 1,, 2020. http://www.salud.gov.pr/Pages/coronavirus.aspx. See also BBC News Mundo, “Coronavirus: el mapa que muestra el número de infectados y muertos en el mundo por el covid-19,” 12 de marzo de 2020. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-51705060

[2] Laura M. Quintero, “Disminuyen personas elegibles para Mi Salud,” El Vocero. 14 de agosto de 2017. https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/disminuyen-personas-elegibles-para-mi-salud/article_b122501e-807c-11e7-971f-bba17276d2dc.html

[3] Elga Valle, “La pobreza en Puerto Rico,” Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico. https://enciclopediapr.org/encyclopedia/la-pobreza-en-puerto-rico/

[4] El Vocero PR, “Gobernadora acepta renuncia del secretario de Salud,” 13 de marzo de 2020. https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/gobernadora-acepta-renuncia-del-secretario-de-salud/article_e8a31cd8-6591-11ea-9d09-47aa98665ea2.html

[5] Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, “Empleo y desempleo en Puerto Rico,” Encuesta de Grupo Trabajador, enero 2020. https://estadisticas.pr/files/inventario/empleo_y_desempleo/2020-03-25/EMPLEO%20Y%20DESEMPLEO%20EN%20PUERTO%20RICO.pdf

[6] Metro PR, “Más de 76,000 personas han solicitado el desempleo,” 30 de marzo de 2020. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2020/03/30/mas-de-76000-personas-han-solicitado-el-desempleo.html

[7] Metro PR, “Más de 15,000 puertorriqueños solicitan desempleo en 24 horas,” 1 de abril de 2020. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2020/04/01/mas-de-15000-puertorriquenos-solicitan-desempleo-en-24-horas.html

[8] Democracy Now, “Puerto Rico Passes $787 Million Financial Package as Coronavirus Pandemic Further Cripples Economy,” Independent Global News, March 24, 2020. https://www.democracynow.org/2020/3/24/headlines/puerto_rico_passes_787_million_financial_package_as_coronavirus_pandemic_further_cripples_economy

[9] Iris Alejandra Soto Ruiz and Erick Javier Padilla Rosas, “Movilización popular en Puerto Rico: más allá de un chat…,” Council on Hemispheric Affairs, July 25, 2019. http://www.coha.org/movilizacion-popular-en-puerto-rico-mas-alla-de-un-chat/

[10] Yaritza Rivera Clemente, “Toque de queda por el coronavirus,” El Vocero PR, 15 de marzo de 2020. https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/gobernadora-decreta-toque-de-queda-por-el-coronavirus/article_e8c283a2-66c7-11ea-aea1-03a07fae93f0.html

Metro PR, “Estos son los cambios en el toque de queda emitido por la gobernadora,” 30 de marzo de 2020. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2020/03/30/estos-los-cambios-toque-queda-emitido-la-gobernadora.html

[11] Eldiario.es, “Las estrictas medidas en Puerto Rico contra el COVID-19 favorece un bajo contagio,” 23 de marzo de 2020. https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/estrictas-Puerto-Rico-COVID-19-favorecen_0_1008950115.html

[12] Yennifer Álvarez, “En tres semanas sistema hospitalario local pudiera agotar disponibilidad de camas,” Noticel, San Juan, Puerto Rico. https://www.noticel.com/ahora/top-stories/20200328/en-tres-semanas-sistema-hospitalario-local-pudiera-agotar-disponibilidad-de-camas/

[13] Juan Marrero, “Task Force recomienda usar hoteles y facilidades deportivas como centros de salud,” Metro PR, 31 de marzo de 2020. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2020/03/31/task-force-recomienda-usar-hoteles-y-facilidades-deportivas-como-centros-de-salud.html

[14] Sabrosía Puerto Rico, “Destilería boricua anuncia producción de alcohol etílico para donar a hospitales,” 15 de marzo de 2020. https://www.sabrosia.pr/actualidad/2020/03/15/destileria-boricua-anuncia-produccion-alcohol-etilico-distribuir-hospitales-sector-salud.html

[15] Jim Wyss, “Rum to the rescue? How Bacardi is tweaking production to fight the coronavirus,” Miami Herald, March 24, 2020. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article241460771.html

[16] Departamento de Salud, “Plan de Preparación y Respuesta ante el Coronavirus Novel 19 COVID-19,” Gobierno de Puerto Rico, marzo, 2020. http://www.salud.gov.pr/Dept-de-Salud/Pages/Unidades-Operacionales/Oficina-de-Preparacion-y-Coordinacion-de-Respuesta-en-Salud-Publica.aspx

[17] See “Puerto Rico Medical Task Force Covid-19” at facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puertoricomedicaltaskforcecovid19/