Nelson Haase, a retired colonel convicted in the high-profile 1973 murder of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara, has been captured by police in the south of the country. Haase, 80, had been a fugitive since August 2023 when Chile's Supreme Court upheld his conviction and issued a 25-year prison sentence for his role in Jara's kidnapping and murder. His apprehension on Saturday, reportedly in Puyehue, Los Lagos region, some 950 km south of Santiago, brings a new chapter to one of the most enduring and tragic cases from the Pinochet dictatorship era.
Victor Jara, a celebrated folk singer known for his protest and pacifist songs, was a vocal supporter of the socialist President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet in September 1973. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, Jara was among approximately 5,000 people arrested and taken to a sports stadium in the capital, Santiago. Survivors later recounted the horrific ordeal, detailing how Jara was subjected to torture, including having his fingers crushed, before being shot 44 times.
Haase was part of a group of eight officers initially found guilty of Jara's murder in 2018. After five years of appeals, the Supreme Court delivered its final judgement in August 2023, sentencing Haase to 15 years for murder and an additional 10 years for kidnapping. However, he failed to present himself to authorities to begin his sentence, leading to a nearly three-year manhunt. Of the other seven men convicted, one, General Hernan Chacon, died by suicide when police arrived to arrest him, while the remaining five are currently serving their sentences.
The capture of Haase underscores Chile's ongoing efforts to confront the atrocities committed during the 17-year Pinochet regime, which saw thousands tortured, executed, or forcibly disappeared. Jara's case remains a powerful symbol of the dictatorship's brutal suppression of dissent and its enemies. In a related development in 2023, the United States extradited retired army lieutenant Pedro Barrientos to Chile after a Florida jury had found him liable for Jara's murder.
This arrest is a significant moment for justice in Chile, offering some measure of closure to the family of Victor Jara and to a nation still grappling with the legacy of its past. It reaffirms the commitment to holding those accountable for human rights violations, even decades after the events transpired, and highlights the persistent pursuit of justice for victims of political repression.