Odlanier Rafael Mena Salinas (2 April 1926 – 28 September 2013) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an general during the

military dictatorship of Chile A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. He was director of the

Central Nacional de Informaciones The National Information Center (Spanish: Central Nacional de Informaciones, CNI) was the political police and intelligence body which functioned as an organ of persecution, kidnapping, torture, murder and disappearance of political opponents durin ...

(CNI), a Chilean intelligence agency, between 1977 and 1980. He was convicted for three murders related to the Caravan of Death and was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2009. From June 2011 onwards he was allowed to stay weekends at his own home. In September 2013 Chilean President,

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, announced to closure of the Cordillera prison where Mena had been housed. The luxurious conditions at the jail had been criticized, amongst others by former Chilean presidents. According to his lawyer, Mena was worried about moving to a new jail due to a lack of medical attention possibilities. Mena shot himself at his home on 28 September 2013, at the age of 87. His lawyer blamed the suicide on the upcoming relocation of prisoners detained at Cordillera. Before late 1975 Mena had been head of the Army Intelligence Unit (SIM), when he fell out with

Manuel Contreras Juan Manuel "Mamo" Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda (4 May 1929 – 7 August 2015) was a Chilean Army officer and the former head of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Chile's secret police during the ...

. In 1975 he retired from the Army. Mena was subsequently made ambassador to Panama and eventually Uruguay. During his time in Uruguay he was recalled to Chile to become head of the CNI. From 1983 to 1985 Mena was ambassador to Paraguay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mena, Odlanier 1926 births 2013 deaths Ambassadors of Chile to Panama Ambassadors of Chile to Paraguay Ambassadors of Chile to Uruguay Chilean Army generals Chilean people convicted of murder Chilean people convicted of crimes against humanity Suicides by firearm in Chile People convicted of murder by Chile 1973 murders in Chile Military personnel who died by suicide