After 38 years, a Chilean judge has finally issued an extradition request for USN Cpt. Ray Davis, long believed to have been instrumental in the execution of US citizens Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi by the fascist Chilean junta that deposed elected President Salvador Allende in 1973:
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Chilean judge charges former U.S. military officer in 1973 deaths
November 29, 2011 | 5:39 pm
REPORTING FROM SANTIAGO, CHILE, AND BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- A Chilean judge is seeking the extradition of a former U.S. military officer to face murder charges in the 1973 slaying of freelance journalist and filmmaker Charles Horman, a case dramatized in the Oscar-winning film “Missing,” court sources confirmed Tuesday.
Judge Jorge Zepeda wants former U.S. Navy Capt. Ray E. Davis, whose whereabouts were not immediately clear Tuesday, to face trial in Chile for his alleged involvement in the deaths of Horman and U.S. student Frank Teruggi. The two Americans were arrested and executed by Chilean forces shortly after President Salvador Allende was overthrown in a military coup on Sept. 11, 1973.
Horman, 31, was working as a screenwriter for state-run Chile Films when military rebel forces led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet attacked the presidential palace La Moneda. Allende committed suicide that day rather than surrender.
Horman was arrested Sept. 17 and executed the next day, according to court documents. His body later was found on a Santiago street. Teruggi, 24, was killed on Sept. 22 and his body also dumped on a street in the capital. Davis then was head of the U.S. military group attached to the American Embassy in Santiago.
A recent truth commission found that 41,000 people were arrested, tortured or killed during Pinochet’s 16-year reign of terror. At least 3,200 are thought to have died.
Zepeda wrote in court documents that his investigation bore out suspicions from the outset that “there was participation [in the murders] by citizens of the same nationality.” Zepeda wrote that Davis did nothing to stop the execution of the two Americans “although he had the opportunity of doing so,” and that he is suspected of giving Pinochet officials a “list of subversive U.S. citizens in Chile.”
A former top official with Chile’s DINA intelligence agency, Gen. Pedro Espinoza, was also charged with homicide in the cases.
In documents seeking authorization of the Davis extradition, Zepeda said he received cooperation from the U.S. State Department in preparing the case.
The State Department does not comment on specific extradition matters, but the U.S. government supports a thorough investigation into the Horman and Teruggi deaths, said spokesman Will Ostick.
The 1982 film directed by Costa-Gavras and starring Jack Lemmon as Horman’s father and Sissy Spacek as his wife, won an academy award for best screenplay.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/chile-judge-us-military-officer-ray-davis-charles-horman-pinochet.html
The idea of an American military official giving a list of names of US citizens to a bunch of thugs who had just overthrown an elected President, knowing full well that this would cause their arrest and quite possibly their execution is appalling. Davis is probably the tip of the iceberg; hopefully he will soon be in Chilean custody and be willing to provide the full story of American involvement in the coup (perhaps I should add for the sake of prudence "IF ANY"😉 in return for the saving of his miserable skin.
Originally posted by no1marauderIt certainly is the most peculiar thing that even decades after the government of Chile carried out its campaigns of political assassinations there are people who still zealously seek to remediate the wrongs of the distant past, all to no obvious practical benefit for anybody.
After 38 years, a Chilean judge has finally issued an extradition request for USN Cpt. Ray Davis, long believed to have been instrumental in the execution of US citizens Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi by the fascist Chilean junta that deposed elected President Salvador Allende in 1973:
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Chilean judge c ...[text shortened]... should add for the sake of prudence "IF ANY"😉 in return for the saving of his miserable skin.
The victims of the regime are dead and will remain so, and the people responsible for those deaths are largely dead if not old and crippled; perhaps its time for this judge, and the entourage of lawyers who are no doubt capitalizing on these cases, to occupy themselves with contemporary crimes.
In any case, this thread seems destined to be forgotten anyway given the absence of any real potential for discussion, will there be justice in Chile for those who were caught in the ideological crossfire of the Cold War, those who didn't claim membership of subversive guerrilla organizations? That isn't a question that any regular poster here is in a position to answer.
Originally posted by generalissimoIf an American citizen is murdered anywhere, no matter how long time has elapsed then justice must prevail.
It certainly is the most peculiar thing that even decades after the government of Chile carried out its campaigns of political assassinations there are people who still zealously seek to remediate the wrongs of the distant past, all to no obvious practical benefit for anybody.
The victims of the regime are dead and will remain so, and the people res ...[text shortened]... organizations? That isn't a question that any regular poster here is in a position to answer.
Especially if there has been any official collusion, it starts with one person being killed and then if nothing is done the all U.S citizens become targets, no matter their political beliefs race or gender.
Originally posted by generalissimoNot surprising from someone who has supported Pinochet's coup in the past.
It certainly is the most peculiar thing that even decades after the government of Chile carried out its campaigns of political assassinations there are people who still zealously seek to remediate the wrongs of the distant past, all to no obvious practical benefit for anybody.
The victims of the regime are dead and will remain so, and the people res ...[text shortened]... organizations? That isn't a question that any regular poster here is in a position to answer.
Murderers should be brought to justice. The truth should come out. Anything less dishonors our humanity; WWII participants in the Holocaust are still being tried.