News Articles
Ex-Chilean Army Officer Is Expelled From U.S. to Face Charges in Singer’s Killing
December 2, 2023
Pedro Barrientos, 74, was charged in the kidnapping, torture and killing of the popular folk singer Víctor Jara days after the 1973 military coup that deposed President Salvador Allende.
Ex-soldiers convicted of killing Chilean singer Victor Jara
Chicago Tribune
July 4, 2018
Eight retired soldiers have been sentenced to 18 years in prison for one of the most emblematic murders of Chile’s military dictatorship: the murder of folk singer Victor Jara and a government official.
Chilean Ex-Soldier Faces US Trial in Murder of Singer Victor Jara
Reuters Santiago
June 2, 2016
An army lieutenant under late Chilean strongman Augusto Pinochet will face a civil trial in Florida this month for his involvement in the 1973 murder of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara, the U.S. human rights group bringing the suit said on Thursday. Read the article in Spanish.
The Guardian: CJA Prepares for Jara Trial
by Jonathan Franklin & Jonathan Watts, The Guardian
July 23rd, 2015
CJA International Attorney Almudena Bernabeu is interviewed about CJA’s preparations for the Florida trial against the Pinochet officer who participated in the murder of Victor Jara. “We are gearing up for a trial. I am gathering evidence and interviewing [former] members of the Chilean military,” she said.
US to Prosecute Chilean Military Officer Involved in Victor Jara Death
by Rodrigo Ugarte, Latin Post
April 17th, 2015
A former Chilean military officer will be tried in a U.S. court for his role in the torture and murder of Chilean singer Victor Jara. A court in Florida will try Pedro Barrientos after the Jara family filed a lawsuit against him.
Justice in sight for family of Chilean folksinger slain in 1973
by Silvia Ayuso, El Pais
April 17th, 2015
Those who were with leftist folk singer Víctor Jara the day he died inside Chile’s national stadium – one of the most sinister symbols of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship – say he never stopped smiling.
Killer of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara to face US justice
by Alfonso Serrano, Al Jazeera
April 16th, 2015
Army lieutenant accused of killing popular singer in wake of 1973 military coup faces a civil suit in Florida court
Victor Jara killing: Chile ex-army officer faces US trial
by BBC, BBC
April 15th, 2015
Jara was a prominant leftist voice in the early 1970s in the period leading up to the military coup in Chile.
Piden desestimar demanda en Florida por muerte de Jara
by Gisela Salomon , El Nuevo Herald
March 5th, 2015
Un teniente retirado del ejército chileno, acusado de haber participado en el asesinato de su compatriota Víctor Jara, pidió a un juez federal de la Florida que desestime la demanda civil en su contra, presentada hace más de un año por la familia del fallecido cantautor y activista político.
Demanda civil contra acusado de matar a Víctor Jara
by CNN Chile, CNN Chile
Acusado de ser uno de los autores del asesinato de Víctor Jara, Pedro Pablo Barrientos Núñez, enfrentará a fines de febrero un juicio en Estados Unidos, país donde reside y que le otorgó la ciudadanía. Se trata de una demanda civil interpuesta en 2013, a nombre de su esposa, Joan Jara y sus dos hijas, por el Centro de Justicia y Responsabildiad de San Francisco.
Watch Video: CJA International Attorney Discusses the Jara Case
CNN Chile
January 15th, 2015
International Attorney Almudena Bernabeu is interviewed about CJA’s work with the case against one of the alleged perpetrators of Víctor Jara’s death (video in Spanish).
Reclaman Extradición de ex Militar Chileno Acusado de Asesinar a Cantante Víctor Jara
by Paula Bustamante, El Nuevo Herald
September 11th, 2013
Activistas de derechos humanos en Estados Unidos reclaman la extradición del ex oficial del Ejército chileno Pedro Pablo Barrientos, acusado como uno de los autores del asesinato del cantante Víctor Jara ocurrido en 1973, mientras abogados del artista ya lo ubicaron en Florida.
Ex-Pinochet Lieutenant Living Quietly in Florida Faces Civil Lawsuit from Family of Chilean Poet ‘Brutally Tortured and Killed in Country’s Military Coup 40 Years Ago’
by Louise Boyle, Daily Mail
September 10th, 2013
Victor Jara’s family have filed a civil lawsuit accusing former Chilean army Lt. Pedro Barrientos Nunez of ordering soldiers to torture Jara. The suit claims that Barrientos fired the fatal shot while playing a game of ‘Russian roulette’ inside a locker room in Santiago’s Estadio Chile, where some 5,000 supporters of socialist President Salvador Allende were being detained.
Chile 40 years after the September 11, 1973 coup
by Elena Klaver, Hemispheres
September 10th, 2013
Tonight Hemispheres commemorates the 40th anniversary of the US-backed coup in Chile that brought to power a ruthless dictator, Agusto Pinochet, whose regime killed and disappeared thousands of Chileans during his dictatorship. We wll hear from Almudena Bernabeu, International Attorney & Transitional Justice Program Director at the Center for Justice and Accountability.
Agony of Chile’s Dark Days Continues as Murdered Poet’s Wife Fights for Justice
by Jonathan Watts and Jonathan Franklin , The Guardian
September 10th, 2013
It is not the only quest for justice in Chile that dates back to the dark days, weeks and years following General Augusto Pinochet’s ousting of socialist president Salvador Allende. Thousands were executed or made to disappear, and thousands more tortured after the CIA-backed military takeover. But Jara – folk-singer, theatre director and cultural ambassador of the Allende government – remains arguably the best-known victim and a potent symbol of a nation still struggling to find peace with itself more than two decades since the return of democracy.
40 Years After Chile Coup, Family of Slain Singer Víctor Jara Sues Alleged Killer in U.S. Court
Democracy Now!
September 9th, 2013
This week marks the 40th anniversary of what’s known as the other 9/11: September 11, 1973, when a U.S.-backed military coup ousted Chile’s democratically elected president Salvador Allende and ushered in a 17-year repressive dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet. We’re joined by Joan Jara, the widow of Chilean singer Víctor Jara, who has just filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. court against the former military officer who allegedly killed Jara 40 years ago. Jara’s accused killer, Pedro Barrientos, has lived in the United States for roughly two decades and is now a U.S. citizen. Jara’s family is suing him under federal laws that allow U.S. courts to hear about human rights abuses committed abroad. Last year, Chilean prosecutors charged Barrientos and another officer with Jara’s murder, naming six others as accomplices.
Anniversary of Chilean Coup Brings Renewed Calls for Justice
by Mimi Whitefield , Miami Herald
September 9th, 2013
Four decades after Jara’s death, a civil lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Jacksonville, claiming that Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez — a man now living in Florida — is responsible for those events as well as the torture of Jara in the days after the democratically elected Marxist President Salvador Allende was toppled and a military dictatorship installed.
Florida Man Sued Over Pinochet-Era Murder of Chilean Folk Singer
by Javiera Quiroga , Bloomberg News
September 5th, 2013
Musician Victor Jara’s family has sued a retired Chilean army officer who lives in Florida for allegedly torturing and killing the folk singer and political activist after a military coup four decades ago. The Center for Justice and Accountability, or CJA, and Chadbourne & Parke, LLP filed the civil lawsuit on behalf of Jara’s family in a Florida district court.
Family Sues over Murder of Folk Singer by Pinochet Regime
by Benedict Mander, The Financial Times
September 5th, 2013
A lawsuit was filed in Florida on Thursday seeking damages against a former Chilean military officer accused of torturing and executing the folk singer Víctor Jara shortly after General Augusto Pinochet’s 1973 military coup.
Family of Chilean Singer Executed in 1973 Files Suit in Florida
by Kevin Gray, Reuters
September 5th, 2013
The wife and two daughters of a popular folk singer who was tortured and executed in Chile days after a 1973 coup has filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court against a former Chilean army officer – now an American citizen – they accuse of carrying out the killing.
Family of Slain Chilean Singer Victor Jara Seeks Justice in U.S.
by Mariano Castillo, CNN
September 5th, 2013
The family of Victor Jara, the famous Chilean folk singer who was among the first victims of the country’s military coup in 1973, has filed a lawsuit in Florida against the former army officer it alleges killed him. The killing happened 40 years ago, and it wasn’t until last year that a Chilean judge charged eight former army officers with the singer-songwriter’s death. One of those indicted, Pedro Barrientos, has lived in Florida since the early 1990s. That is where Jara’s family filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Jacksonville.
Víctor Jara: Familia Demandó en EEUU a Supuesto Asesino
Nation.cl
September 5th, 2013
Acción judicial fue presentada en un tribunal de Florida en contra el ex oficial de Ejército Pedro Barrientos Núñez (en la foto), procesado en Chile como autor material del homicidio del artista. Familia espera que demanda ayude en la extradición solicitada por la justicia chilena.
Family of Slain Chilean Folk Singer Files Suit in Florida
by Pascale Bonnefoy, The New York Times
September 5th, 2013
A former Chilean Army officer charged with murdering Víctor Jara, a popular folk singer, shortly after the 1973 military coup has been sued in a Florida court under federal laws allowing legal action against human rights violators living in the United States.
Press Releases
Family of Víctor Jara Seeks Truth for 1973 Killing Under Pinochet
CJA filed a brief yesterday in our historic case Jara v. Barrientos, accepting the defendant’s motion to set aside a default judgment and agreeing not to oppose the removal of the default judgment against former Pinochet Lieutenant Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez, accused of torturing and killing Chilean folksinger and activist Víctor Jara. The family of Mr. Jara welcomed Barrientos’s motion, which, if granted, would allow the case to proceed to a full trial and bring to light the events that transpired surrounding their loved one’s death. Click here to read more.
Former Pinochet Lieutenant Sued in Florida for Torture and Death of Víctor Jara
The Center for Justice and Accountability (“CJA”) and pro-bono counsel Chadbourne & Parke, LLP (“Chadbourne”) today announced that they have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members of Chilean folk singer and social icon Víctor Jara, who was imprisoned, tortured and executed in Chile during the early days of the brutal military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet on September 11, 1973. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez (“Barrientos”), a current resident of Deltona, Florida and a former officer in the Chilean Army under Pinochet.
