Authorities captured 80-year-old former military officer Nelson Haase Mazzei, who fled after receiving a 25-year sentence for his role in the 1973 kidnapping, torture and murder of folk singer Victor Jara. Jara was detained and shot 44 times on Sept. 16, 1973, days after Augusto Pinochet's coup; his death became emblematic of the dictatorship's brutality. Haase was located in the Los Lagos region, about 590 miles south of Santiago, after seven retired officers were convicted earlier in 2023.
Former Officer Convicted in Victor Jara's 1973 Murder Arrested in Southern Chile
Undated photo of Victor Jara. / Credit: Photo by Gems/Redferns via Getty Images
Police have arrested 80-year-old former military officer Nelson Haase Mazzei, who fled after being sentenced in 2023 for his role in the 1973 kidnapping, torture and killing of Chilean singer-songwriter Victor Jara, the Justice Department said in a statement distributed to AFP.
Jara — author of the protest anthem 'El derecho de vivir en paz' (The Right to Live in Peace) and a central figure in the New Chilean Song movement of the 1960s — was detained, tortured and shot 44 times on Sept. 16, 1973, five days after General Augusto Pinochet's coup that ousted President Salvador Allende. He was 40 years old.
Court documents from 2023 state that Jara "was subjected to physical torture, the most severe blows being those he received to his face and hands."
A demonstrator flutters a flag depicting Chilean musician Victor Jara during a protest against the government in Santiago on November 15, 2019. / Credit: JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images
On Aug. 28, 2023, seven retired military officers were convicted in Jara's murder and sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to 25 years. Haase received a 25-year sentence and escaped shortly after the verdict; local media report he was located in Chile's Los Lagos region, about 590 miles south of the capital.
Among the seven convicted, 85-year-old General Hernan Chacon died by suicide when police arrived to arrest him in 2023. The other five defendants are serving prison terms, including Pedro Barrientos, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a traffic stop in Florida in 2023.
Human rights groups and prosecutors say Jara's killing became emblematic of the repression under Chile's 1973–1990 military regime, which is blamed for roughly 3,200 people who were killed or disappeared. The sports venue used as a detention center at the time was renamed in his honor in 2003.
Next steps: Authorities said an arrest order was executed and that Haase will be transferred to serve his sentence. Prosecutors continue to investigate remaining questions connected to the case.
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