In a significant turn in the handling of the controversy raised by the death of the young conscript Franco Vargas, General Javier Iturriaga, Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army, admitted this afternoon “lack of diligence” in the initial disclosure of the events that occurred during an instructive march in Putre on April 27.
In a press release, General Iturriaga expressed that the initial investigation suffered from significant omissions that did not allow the circumstances surrounding the incident to be “investigated adequately and in a prudent time,” pointing to “falsehoods and misrepresentations” in the preliminary reports that imply directly to the command authorities in the area.
This point did not have the presence of government authorities, as had been the trend until last Saturday. Furthermore, at a public level, in his second visit to the region to supervise the crisis since this Monday, the Undersecretary for the Armed Forces, Galo Eidelstein, chose not to participate in joint actions with General Iturriaga and neither did the Regional Presidential Delegate, Ricardo Sanzana, which revealed a design change in the government strategy by separating waters from the Army given the questions that arose from the ruling parties over the institution’s handling of the crisis.
As a result of these investigations, the Commander in Chief announced the relief of the Commander of the Huamachuco S BrigadeSebastian Silva and the Commander in Chief of the Sixth Division of the Army, Ruben Castillo. Due to the above, Iturriaga announced that he will “propose his retirement from the institution, due to his command responsibility, to the President of the Republic.”
General Iturriaga explained that the preliminary information was based on the background information provided by the personnel in charge of the instruction period, but acknowledged that “the initial information suffered from a lack of precision,” which generated multiple contradictions that were made public.
This was revealed when the head of the Family Health Center (Cesfam) of Putre, Aldo Rivera, offered testimony that contrasts with previous statements by other military officials. According to Rivera, the conscript Vargas was admitted to the medical center “without vital signs and without response to verbal or physical stimuli,” unlike what was previously stated by General Rodrigo Pino, Chief of the Army Staff, who maintained that Vargas still showed vital signs at the time of being treated.
This incident has reignited debates about the conditions and supervision during training marches in the Army, and has highlighted the importance of transparency and accuracy in communication within the armed forces. The Army continues to investigate the details of the case to clarify possible concealments of information or inaccuracies in the initial reports.
