Global Policy Forum

A Florida jury awarded four million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages to a Bay Area Chilean family for the torture and murder of their brother, a Chilean economist, on October 17, 1973 - almost 30 years ago to the day. The civil jury found Armando Fernandez Larios, in his role as a member of the "Caravan of Death" - a military squad acting under orders from Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet - liable for torture, crimes against humanity, and extra judicial killing.

The trial marks the first time any Pinochet operative has been tried in the United States for their role in human rights abuses committed in Chile, as well as the first jury verdict for crimes against humanity in the United States. "The verdict also coincides with the fifth anniversary of the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London," stated Sandra Coliver, Executive Director of the Center for Justice & Accountability, which brought the lawsuit, "Pinochet was being sought for having ordered the deaths that took place during the Caravan of Death. While Pinochet was never brought to justice, today at least there was an acknowledgment by a court of law that what the Caravan did to Winston Cabello and others constituted a crime against humanity."

Plaintiffs in the case are Elsa Cabello and Zita Cabello-Barrueto of Foster City, Karin Moriarty of Santa Clara, and Aldo Cabello of Oakland. They are the mother, sisters, and brother of Winston Cabello - one of the 70 or more civilians executed by the Caravan.

The jury found Fernandez liable - as a member of the Caravan - for conspiring to commit, and aiding and abetting in, the torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, and extra-judicial killing of Mr. Cabello. The "Caravan of Death" traveled through Chile by helicopter to different towns within weeks after the 1973 Pinochet-led coup d'etat ordering the deaths of political prisoners detained by Pinochet's military junta. "This is a victory, not just for our family, but for all the families and victims of the Caravan of Death," said the Cabello family, "While we believe that Fernandez should be tried on criminal charges in Chile, we are happy that this case has disrupted his ability to live with impunity in the United States."

A Chilean amnesty law prevented Fernandez's prosecution in Chile, and U.S. criminal laws do not permit prosecution for summary killings committed abroad, or for torture committed abroad before 1994. However, two federal statutes, the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TPVA), permit human rights victims or surviving relatives to bring civil claims against perpetrators from other countries who are found in the U.S. The civil suit brought by Cabello family, therefore, was the only avenue available to them to pursue justice against Fernandez Larios.

Fernandez came to the United States in 1987 after reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to covering up the responsibility of the Chilean secret service for its responsibility for the 1976 car-bomb assassination of former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier and his American assistant Ronni Moffett. After serving a five-month federal prison term, Fernandez moved to Miami-Dade County. Argentina has also sought the extradition of Fernandez for his alleged role in the assassination of Chilean General Carlos Prats in Buenos Aires.

THE TRIAL TEAM

The suit was initiated by the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), a San Francisco-based human rights organization that works to end the impunity of perpetrators of human rights abuses by, among other means, bringing civil lawsuits against perpetrators who live in the United States. Co-lead counsel, providing their services pro bono, are: Robert Kerrigan, of Kerrigan, Estess, Rankin & McLeod based in Pensacola, Florida, & Leo Cunningham, a partner with the firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, in Silicon Valley, California.

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