Chile finally detains Victor Jara’s murder suspect after decades

Police announced that they have captured Nelson Haase, a retired colonel convicted in 2018 of the kidnapping and murder of Chilean folk icon Victor Jara.

Haase was sentenced to 25 years in prison following a 2023 decision; he fled the country after the sentence was announced, but authorities located him on Saturday in Puyehue, in the Los Lagos region, approximately 950 km (590 mi) south of Santiago.

Jara, whose protest and pacifist songs earned him popularity in the 1960s and 70s, was seized along with roughly 5,000 others immediately after the 1973 coup. He was taken to a sports stadium in Santiago, tortured, and executed by 44 gunshots.

The case highlights the brutality of Augusto Pinochet’s regime, which saw thousands tortured, executed, or disappeared over its 17‑year rule.

Haase’s sentencing involved a final Supreme Court verdict, giving him 15 years for murder and 10 years for kidnapping. The former 80‑year‑old failed to appear voluntarily to serve his sentence and was missing for almost three years.

Another convicted officer, Gen. Hernán Chacón, died by suicide when police tried to arrest him. Five of the remaining seven men remain incarcerated.

In 2023 U.S. authorities extradited retired army lieutenant Pedro Barrientos, who a Florida jury had found liable for Jara’s murder.

Haase’s capture brings renewed international scrutiny to Chile’s pursuit of justice for victims of the Pinochet era.