Fugitive in 1973 torture and murder of iconic singer Victor Jara is captured in Chile - CBS News

What the report says

CBS News, citing a Justice Department statement sent to AFP, reports that Chilean police have captured Nelson Haase Mazzei, a retired military officer convicted in the 1973 kidnapping and murder of singer-songwriter Victor Jara. Haase, 80, had been a fugitive since August 2023, when he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Local media cited in the report said he was located in the Los Lagos region, about 590 miles south of Santiago.

Jara, 40, was a leading voice in the Nueva Canción Chilena movement and was known for songs including “El derecho de vivir en paz.” He was killed on Sept. 16, 1973, five days after Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew President Salvador Allende. CBS News reports that court records from 2023 described severe torture, including injuries to Jara’s face and hands, before he was shot 44 times.

In August 2023, seven retired military officers received prison sentences of eight to 25 years in connection with Jara’s death, shortly before the 50th anniversary of the coup. CBS News reports that one of those convicted, Gen. Hernan Chacon, died by suicide when police arrived to arrest him, while five others are imprisoned, including Pedro Barrientos, who was arrested by ICE in Florida in 2023.

The case remains one of the best-known symbols of abuses committed under Chile’s 1973-1990 dictatorship. CBS News notes that Chile Stadium, where many detainees were held after the coup and where Jara was among the most prominent victims, was renamed in his honor in 2003.