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Retired Chilean General Eduardo Ludovico Aldunate Herman, who once served as deputy commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a Chilean court. Aldunate was convicted of involvement in the 1974 killing of Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo, a worker with the Agrarian Reform Corporation (CORA), during Chile’s dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet.
Aldunate, who held the rank of lieutenant at the time, faced charges related to Catalán’s death, which the court determined involved rifle shots that killed the political detainee. Catalán, reportedly affiliated with the Communist Party of Chile and the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), was detained by the Chilean military due to his political sympathies. Judge Álvaro Mesa Latorre presided over the case, issuing the verdict that implicated Aldunate in the homicide and highlighted his role in the unlawful detention of political dissidents during the period.
This case has resurfaced public scrutiny on Aldunate’s later roles, especially in Haiti, where he held a prominent position in the multinational UN mission. MINUSTAH, the peacekeeping mission that deployed personnel from various countries, including Chile, was active in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 to help stabilize the country following a period of political unrest. Aldunate’s involvement in MINUSTAH has sparked reactions, as his background in the Chilean military during Pinochet’s dictatorship has led to renewed debates on accountability within international peacekeeping missions.
Alongside Aldunate, two former soldiers, Jorge Eusebio Barriga Soto and Sergio Fernando Alcayaga Barraza, were sentenced to three years in prison. The court also ruled that these individuals would be barred from holding public office during their sentences. The two were found guilty of participating in the illegal detention of Catalán and other political prisoners.
In a related civil ruling, the court ordered the Chilean state to pay approximately 690 million pesos (over 660,000 euros) in compensation to the families of the victims for moral damages.
