Former DINA agents to be interrogated about the murder of Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria

Minister Lamberto Cisternas from the Supreme Court has authorised the interrogation of two former DINA agents. Former torture instructor; also former mayor of Providencia Cristian Labbe,as well as Rosauro Martinez are being investigated by the Brigada Investigadora de Delitos contra los Derechos Humanos for their role in the murder of Spanish diplomat Camelo Soria.

Labbe has so far benefited from impunity, despite a multitude of testimonies placing him at the helm of torture instruction and administration at Rocas de Santo Domingo, Tejas Verdes, Venda Sexy, Villa Grimaldi and Londres 38. Labbe was also involved in the murder and disappearance of 15 peasants in Valdivia, as well as the targeting of MIR and Communist Party militants during Operacion Colombo.

Martinez has been accused of participating in the execution of MIR militants in 1981. Despite vehement denials of his involvement with DINA, official documents signed by Manuel Contreras indicate Martinez's admission to DINA on January 31, 1977.

Soria, a former Unidad Popular advisor was abducted by DINA agents in 1976. His corpse was discovered in Canal del Carmen in Santiago. Official statements had declared the cause of death a car accident, however it was established that Soria had been detained by DINA in Villa Naranja, also utilised by Michael Townley and Eugenio Berrios for the production of sarin gas.

The Tejas Verdes contingent have been thought to possess information regarding the murder of Soria. According to Chilean investigative author Javier Rebolledo, torture survivor Anatolio Zarate recognised Soria during a torture session in Tejas Verdes.  Apart from Labbe's role of torture instructor and torturer at Tejas Verdes, the former DINA agent was also at the helm of Brigada Mulchen together with General Eduardo Aldunate Hernan. The brigade was relatively unknown compared to other branches within the structure of DINA, and operated under direct orders from Augusto Pinochet, carrying out intelligence operations and participating in the extermination of leftist militants at Cuartel Simon Bolivar. Its role in the murder of Carmelo Soria was confirmed by the Chilean Court of Appeals in 1992.