Carlos Parera
General Carlos Parera | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 January 1937 |
| Education | Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy School of the Americas |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Chile |
| Branch/service | Chilean Army |
| Rank | General |
Carlos Rafael Parera Silva (born 31 January 1937) is a Chilean retired Army general and former intelligence officer. He participated in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and later served on the staff of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), the secret police of the military dictatorship.
Military career
[edit]Parera graduated from the Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy in 1958 and attended the School of the Americas, where he received training in irregular warfare in 1969.[1]
He participated in the coup of 11 September 1973, which overthrew President Salvador Allende.[2] Army paratroopers and special forces subsequently participated in operations in the Liquiñe and Neltume areas, including Operación Leopardo, which later became the subject of judicial investigations into human rights violations.[3]
Parera later served on the general staff of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), headed by Manuel Contreras, and in 1976 became head of its Foreign Department. Following DINA's dissolution in 1977, he returned to regular Army service. He commanded the Dolores Regiment, directed the Army's Parachute and Special Forces School and served as military attaché in France. He later commanded the Second Division and served as military judge of Santiago.
While serving as military judge, Parera applied the military government's 1978 amnesty decree to more than 70 cases involving disappeared detainees shortly after the opposition victory in the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite. One of the cases reportedly involved allegations concerning Parera himself.[4]
1990 military parade
[edit]Parera attracted public attention during the military parade held on 19 September 1990, the first held after Chile's return to democracy. Instead of making the customary verbal request for President Patricio Aylwin's authorization to begin the parade, Parera saluted him and proceeded with the ceremony.[5][6]
The incident was interpreted as a slight toward Aylwin in the context of the democratic transition. Aylwin subsequently rejected Parera's promotion to major general, and he was assigned as military attaché to South Africa.[7] Parera retired from the Army the following year.
Legal proceedings
[edit]Parera has been investigated in connection with alleged human rights violations committed during the military dictatorship, including cases involving former paratroopers who were detained, killed or disappeared. He was detained in 2004 in connection with one such investigation.[8]
Parera was also investigated in connection with the 1981 Calama bank robbery and the subsequent death of CNI officer Juan Delmás, although his possible role remained the subject of investigation.[9]
In 2006, Parera was charged following allegations of sexual abuse made by a Peruvian domestic worker involving herself and her daughter.[10] In July 2008, the Oral Criminal Court of La Serena acquitted him of the charges.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ Notorious Chilean School of the Americas Graduates
- ↑ Los secretos de la Hoja de Vida del alcalde Labbé en el Ejército
- ↑ "Labbé y el asesinato de 15 campesinos en Liquiñe a manos de los boinas negras" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 October 2012.
- ↑ Jorge Magasich-Airola, Los que dijeron No, LOM Ediciones, 2008, p. 384.
- ↑ Gran Parada Militar 1990 (video completo) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "VIDEO. El feo desaire que vivió Aylwin durante su primera Parada Militar como presidente". The Clinic (in Spanish). 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ APSI, Santiago, no. 380, March 1991.
- ↑ "Preso general Parera". La Cuarta (in Spanish). 27 November 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ↑ Vuelco en Caso Calama: cómo la CNI intentó financiarse a sangre y dinamita
- ↑ "Formalizarán por abusos sexuales a ex general Carlos Parera". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 22 June 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- ↑ "Absuelto gral. (r) Carlos Parera en juicio por delitos sexuales". El Mercurio (in Spanish). 12 July 2008. p. C1.