Caso Arellano

"A gripping account of the infamous flying death squad whose Oct. 1973 tour of Chilean provinces left a toll of 72 tortured and mangled bodies. Verdugo's analysis rests on interviews of the victims' families and the local military officials to whom most of the victims had surrendered voluntarily. The squad was led by Pinochet's 'personal delegate,' army Gen. Sergio Arellano Stark. He and others allegedly involved were spared exposure and trial by the 1978 Law of Amnesty, and were later rewarded with promotions. The local officials who complained discreetly about violations of human rights and judicial procedures were punished and/or forced into early retirement. Arellano later sued Verdugo for libel, but when he objected to the court's hearing testimony from others in his squad the case was dismissed"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.