Justice Finally Served for the Murder of a Musical Icon

More than half a century passed before some measure of justice was served for the murder of popular Chilean singer-songwriter Víctor Jara. Chilean police on Saturday arrested a retired military colonel who had been a fugitive for three years after being convicted of kidnapping and murdering Jara during Chile’s military dictatorship.

Víctor Jara was a prominent figure in the so-called New Chilean Song, a musical and social movement born in the 1960s. He was murdered on September 16, 1973, just five days after the coup that overthrew former President Salvador Allende. Jara, then a 40-year-old member of the Communist Party of Chile who also worked as a professor at the State Technical University, was arrested on campus and taken to Chile Stadium, now renamed Víctor Jara Stadium.

There, he was separated from the nearly 5,000 other prisoners and taken to a private area. Along with Quiroga, he was tortured, violently assaulted, and finally executed. The singer suffered multiple fractures and his body had 44 bullet wounds, according to the findings of an investigation into his death and other crimes of the period.

In 1991, months after Pinochet’s downfall and the restoration of democracy, an official report by the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation found that Jara was the victim of a political execution and classified his killing as a grave human rights violation. It also found that, in just three months, 890 people were killed as a direct consequence of the military coup.

The prominent military figure, retired Colonel Nelson Haase Mazzei, was sentenced to 25 years and two days in prison for the kidnapping and murder of Jara and then-Director General of Prisons Littré Quiroga Carvajal. Haase Mazzei, 80, was convicted in 2018 and his sentence was increased in 2023, along with those of six other military officers.

The crimes are considered to be among the most emblematic examples of the brutality that marked the 17-year dictatorship of late Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The former official fled before beginning his prison term. He was finally located and arrested this weekend — three years later — with Judge Paola Plaza of the Santiago Court of Appeals ordering his “immediate imprisonment,” the Judiciary said in a statement.

The institution added that Haase Mazzei was the last of those convicted to begin serving his sentence. The arrest is a significant step towards justice for the Jara family, who have been fighting for truth and accountability for decades.

Amanda Jara, Víctor’s daughter, expressed her gratitude for the arrest but also emphasized that it is difficult to consider this justice. “We learned that retired Colonel Nelson Haase Mazzei, who had been a fugitive from justice since 2023, was found and imprisoned. We appreciate this news,” said Jara in a letter published Sunday night. However, she added, “it is difficult to consider this justice.”

The family hopes that the police will manage to find all those who fled for crimes against humanity. Since 2024, the country has also promoted the so-called National Search Plan aimed at unifying the figures and outlining a road map for the search of disappeared detainees whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Official documents estimate that during its 17 years, the military dictatorship left some 40,000 victims, including more than 2,000 people who were executed, 1,469 victims of enforced disappearance, and thousands more tortured. The courts have convicted hundreds of state agents and civilians for the crimes committed during the darkest period of Chile’s modern history.

However, there are no single, consolidated institutional figures that include all those sentenced. The arrest of Haase Mazzei marks a significant step towards justice and accountability for the crimes committed during the dictatorship.