Gerardo Huber Olivares ( disappeared 29 January 1992; body found 20 February 1992) was a Chilean Army Colonel and agent of the DINA, Chile's intelligence agency. He was in charge of purchasing weapons abroad for the army.Larry Rohter
Colonel's Death Gives Clues to Pinochet Arms Deals
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 19 June 2006 Huber was assassinated shortly before he was due to testify before Magistrate Hernán Correa de la Cerda in a case concerning the illegal export of weapons to the Croatian army. That enterprise involved 370 tons of weapons sold to the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n government by Chile on 7 December 1991, when Croatia was under a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

embargo arising from the war in Yugoslavia.Biographical notice
on ''Memoria viva'' NGO website In January 1992,

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

Correa sought testimony from Huber on the deal. However, Huber may well have been silenced to avoid implicating the Dictator, then- Commander-in-Chief of the Army

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

, who was himself awaiting trial on related charges.Andrea Chaparro
CDE insiste en unir caso Huber con tráfico de armas a Croacia
, ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

'', 15 August 2005

Life

Gerardo Huber graduated from military school in 1964, specializing as an engineer.Manuel Salazar Salvo
Roto el pacto de silencio en la inteligencia militar
, '' Punto Final'', No. 611, 24 March – 6 April 2006 Ten years later, after Augusto Pinochet's coup in 1973, he began working for the DINA intelligence agency and was sent to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

to infiltrate groups supporting the Chilean

MIR ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

faction in its struggle against Pinochet's dictatorship. When he returned to Chile, he worked with American-born DINA agent Michael Townley in producing

chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

, which were used against political dissidents; Townley served as DINA's lead international assassin between 1974 and 1978, but would eventually leave Chile and be reprimanded into U.S. custody in April 1978 for his role in the Orlando Letelier-Ronnie Monfitt assassination. At the beginning of the 1980s, Huber was sent to the military chemical installation in

Talagante Talagante () is a commune and the capital city of the province of the same name in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The word ''Talagante'' in Quechua comes from ''talacanta'', meaning "Lazo de Hechicero", which was the prope ...

. He served as governor of Talagante Province from 1987 to 1989. Colonel Huber was nominated in March 1991 to the Army's Directorate of

Logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

, where he was tasked with the buying and selling of weapons abroad. According to his widow, he met with Pinochet in May 1991 to inform him of various irregularities occurring in the logistics service of the Army. Huber's widow alleges that Pinochet's reaction was to send him to a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

so he could see a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

The arms deal and Huber's death

Ives Marziale, representative of Ivi Finance & Management Incorporated, a firm directed by German

Gunter Leinthauser Gunter or Günter may refer to: * Gunter rig, a type of sailing rig, especially in small boats * Gunter Annex, Alabama, a United States Air Force installation * Gunter, Texas, city in the United States * the former German name of the village of ...

, arrived in Chile in October 1991 in hopes of buying second-hand weapons from the Chilean Army to sell to the Croatian Army. At that time, Croatia was preparing for the defense of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

ahead of a Serbian offensive to capture

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, the Bosnian capital. However, the UN had imposed an arms embargo on the region to try to quell the fighting, and Croatia was thus hampered in its efforts to secure weapons and ordnance. On 19 November 1991, Marziale closed the deal with General

Guillermo Letelier Skinner Guillermo () is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amador (born 1974), American musician *Guillermo Amor (b ...

, a close associate of Pinochet'sEl verdadero objetivo del "boinazo" de Pinochet
, '' Diario Siete'', 25 September 2005 and head of the Chilean Famae (''Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército'', Factories and Arsenals of the Army of Chile), the quasi-military firm in charge of producing the weapons. The agreement was worth more than US$6 million; the weaponry purchased included 370 tons of weaponry, including SG 542 firearms, Blowpipe surface-to-air missiles, Mamba anti-tank missiles, rockets, grenades,

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

, and loads of 7.62mm ammunition. The illegal arms deal was revealed in December 1991, when the weapons, disguised as "

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

" from a Chilean military hospital, were discovered in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. On 7 December 1991, a Hungarian newspaper published the scoop, and on 2 January 1992, General Letelier was forced to resign. Two days later, at the request of

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Patricio Rojas, the Chilean Supreme Court nominated Magistrate de la Cerda to investigate the arms deal. The magistrate called Gerardo Huber as a witness; Huber declared that he had been following orders from General Krumm, the logistics chief. On 29 January 1992, Huber, who was vacationing in San Alfonso, Cajón del Maipo, " disappeared". His body was found on 20 February 1992, with the skull shattered.Caso Huber: Suprema rechazó recurso en favor de general (r) Provis
'' Radio Cooperativa'', 28 March 2006

Investigations

Chilean police at first declared Huber's death to be a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. In 1996, Magistrate

María Soledad Espina Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, in charge of investigations concerning Huber's case, categorically excluded the possibility of suicide. Despite this, the case remained dormant until Magistrate

Claudio Pavez Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese, it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan, it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most import ...

took over the case in September 2005; he subsequently found the death of Huber to be a

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

. Pavez has since accused the civilian police of

obstruction of justice In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...

in relation to the investigation. On 7 March 2006, Magistrate Pavez indicted five retired high-ranking military officers on charges of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to cover up Huber's assassination. They included General Eugenio Covarrubias, head of the Dirección de Inteligencia del Ejército (DINE, or the Military Intelligence Directorate, DINA's successor) in 1992; General Víctor Lizárraga, then Deputy-Director of DINE; General Krumm;

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Manuel Provis Carrasco, then head of the '' Batallón de Inteligencia del Ejército'' (BIE, or the Military Intelligence Agency); and Captain Julio Muñoz, a friend of Huber and former member of the BIE. General Krumm testified to Magistrate Pavez that the arms deal had been directly approved by President Pinochet. Following statements made by Captain Pedro Araya, Krumm confirmed a meeting was held prior to the deal. According to Araya, Richard Quass, director of Operations of the Army; General Florienco Tejos, chief of War

Materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

; General Jaime Concha, Commandant of Military Institutions; General

Guido Riquelme Guido is a given name. It has been a male first name in Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal and Latin America, as well as other places with migration from those. Regarding origins, there ...

, Chief Commandant of the 2nd Army Division; General Guillermo Skinner; and General Krumm all attended the meeting. Captain Araya, who had been sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the arms deal, turned state's evidence in 2005 and declared that he had acted under orders from the military hierarchy. He also stated that Pinochet "had full knowledge of this sale, since he was in close communication with the director of Famae and made available on the army's part the arms that were sold by Famae." Further, official documents state that money from the arms deal was funneled into Pinochet's personal bank accounts abroad. Evidence presented suggested that Famae head General Letelier may have been complicit in laundering the funds. Another witness and defendant in the case, Jorge Molina Sanhueza, testified in March 2006 that on 22 January 1992, shortly before Huber's assassination, he had a private meeting with Pinochet upon returning from a trip to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

.News cables
Caso Huber: investigan presunta falsificación de parte policial
, ''

'', 13 March 2006 Gerardo Huber sabía demasiado, pero no alcanzó a contarlo. El coronel que le pena al ejército
, ''

'', 25 September 2005 General Lizárraga, the number two man at DINE, had previously denied this meeting took place. Eventually, both General Lizárraga and General Covarrubias admitted to the magistrate that Pinochet personally headed the BIE, which the former dictator declared his nescience of. According to Pavez' investigations, between his "disappearance" and the discovery of his corpse, Colonel Huber had been detained in a secret military installation operated by Chilean intelligence. Pavez has suggested that Huber had been kidnapped by BIE agents and transferred to a secret detention center of the Escuela de Inteligencia del Ejército (EIE, School of Army Intelligence) in Nos, which was also the location of the Laboratorio de Guerra Bacteriológica del Ejército (Bacteriological Warfare Army Laboratory). The laboratory was headed in 1992 by General Covarrubias. Along with Manuel Provis, one of the main suspects in the Huber assassination, Covarrubias also allegedly detained DINA biochemist Eugenio Berríos in September 1991 before sending him to

and then

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Covarrubias was also indicted for the kidnapping and murder of Berríos, who was killed in Uruguay in 1995.Caso Berríos - La guerra secreta entre un espía y un abogado
, '' El Periodista'', N°59, 8 April 2004

Convictions

Investigations into the murder officially ended in July 2007.Justicia cerró la investigación por el homicidio del coronel Gerardo Huber
'' Radio Cooperativa'', 31 July 2007 Following their trial, on 5 October 2009 a civilian court convicted Generals Lizárraga and Krum and Colonels Provis and Munoz of the murder of Huber. Lizárraga and Provis were also convicted of conspiracy, receiving ten and eight years' imprisonment respectively. Krum was convicted of conspiracy and received 541 days imprisonment. Munoz was sentenced to 600 days in prison for murder. General Covarrubias was found not guilty of all charges. This brought to a close the proceedings against the officers, as well as others; eleven men had already been convicted and sentenced by a military court in June 2009 for their part in the arrangement of the arms deal. The identity of the actual gunman was not disclosed by the court.

Berríos and ''Les Assassins''

The Berríos murder case, involving the DINA biochemist found dead in Uruguay, has been linked by investigating magistrates to the Huber case. In both cases, the DINE was involved. Like Huber, Berríos probably was seen as knowing too much, as he had been implicated both in the Letelier case and in production of black cocaine and sarin for Pinochet. Berríos escaped from Chile in 1992, assisted by a Special Unit of the DINE known as Operación Silencio (Operation Silence). Furthermore, Main Cargo, the firm which worked with Famae to export the weapons, was owned by Marianne Cheyre Stevenson, the sister of Juan Carlos Cheyre. Stevenson also owned the restaurant Les Assassins, where Berríos met with drug-dealers and former DINA agents in the early 1990s. The Cheyres are distant relatives of Juan Emilio Cheyre, Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army from 2002 to 2006.

References

External links

Chile: Illicit Croatia Arms Sales Case in Final State
'' The Santiago Times'', 4 September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Gerardo 1992 deaths Chilean anti-communists Chilean Army officers Chilean colonels Assassinated Chilean military personnel People of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional People murdered in Chile Year of birth missing Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy alumni