Tres Alamos was a political prison camp that operated during the military dictatorship of
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
in
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 ...
. This enclosure was operational between 1974 and 1976. Being the last camp of political prisoners. Its main importance was that the prisoners were identified, unlike other detention centers and could even receive visitors. From this place many detainees were expelled from the country.
Details about the prison camp
Prisoners arrived there for other
Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional
The Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional ( en, National Intelligence Directorate) or DINA was the secret police of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The DINA has been referred to as "Pinochet's Gestapo". Established in November ...
(DINA), centers, an agency modeled after the
Nazi Gestapo. The enclosure was divided into four pavilions, one of which was a solitary confinement called Cuatro Alamos.
According to testimonies delivered to the Valech Commission on this site:
“They were humiliated and insulted and living in overcrowded conditions. Some indicated that they were taken from the premises to be interrogated in other places. They were frequently punished by arbitrarily suspending visits and entry of food and clothing."
Among the many people who were detained in this place are the lawyer José Zalaquett, who was head of the legal department of the Pro Paz Committee, Luis Corvalán, general secretary of the Communist Party, and Fernando Flores, former minister of
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...
, and
Jorge Müller and Carmen Bueno, a
Chilean cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
, and his girlfriend a Chilean actress
and filmmaker who were both left wing activists.
This enclosure is located in the commune of San Joaquin, on Canada Street, No. 5359, near Vicuña Mackenna and Departmental. It is currently an area under the dependency of the National Service of Minors housing minors who violate the law.
See also
*
Disappearance of Jorge Müller and Carmen Bueno
Jorge Hernán Müller Silva (born 10 January 1947) a Chilean cinematographer and his girlfriend, Carmen Cecilia Bueno Cifuentes (born 16 July 1950) a Chilean actress and filmmaker were left activists from the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) ...
*
Prison camp
External links
*Report on Tres Alamos in La Nación
*Three Poplars in Living Memory
Bibliography
*Ministry of Interior (2005). Report of the National Commission of Political Prison and Torture Commission. Santiago. .
*National Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1999).
*Report of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
*Santiago: Reissue of the National Corporation for Reparation and Reconciliation.
References
{{reflist
Prisons in Chile