Film revives story of cameraman killed in Chile while covering 1973 coup attempt

[struggle4progress]

Argentine video journalist Leonardo Henrichsen filmed his own death by Chilean soldiers during a failed coup attempt in June 1973, two months before Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrow President Salvador Allende. The failed first attempt is now the subject of a documentary that reveals the identity of his alleged shooter, EFE reports.

The documentary, Though it might cost me my life (Aunque me cueste la vida), contains unedited footage from Henrichsen’s most important reports on Latin America's political violence during the 1960s and 1970s, El Ciudadano explains.

Henrichsen was shot while covering the failed “Tanquetazo” military coup of 1973 in Santiago for a Swedish TV station. He accidentally videotaped his own death, and research by the directors revealed the identity of his alleged killer. The soldier has not been charged, but the documentary prompted a protest in front of his house to publicize his role to the public and to his neighbors, EFE says ...

http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/?q=en/node/5890

[ChangoLoa]

1. Thanks for the post

I'll look for "aunque me cueste la vida".

[Judi Lynn]

2. Never have heard of this man until now. Here are 4 small images:

Murió el asesino de periodista argentino - sueco Leonardo Henrichsen
categorias: Nacional - Sociedad
Una neumonía basal izquierda terminó con la vida del ex cabo de ejército Héctor Hernán Bustamante Gómez, quien dio muerte al camarógrafo argentino Leonardo Henrichsen, durante la sublevación militar del 29 de junio de 1973
Por: Ernesto Carmona
Periodista

Una neumonía basal izquierda terminó con la vida del ex cabo de ejército Héctor Hernán Bustamante Gómez, quien dio muerte al camarógrafo argentino Leonardo Henrichsen, durante la sublevación militar del 29 de junio de 1973, recordada como el “Tanquetazo”.

El crimen quedó impune. La magistrada Rommy Rutheford, del segundo juzgado del crimen de Santiago falló la prescripción en 2006. Pero el 25 de septiembre de 2007 la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago encomendó al ministro Jorge Zepeda Arancibia investigar los asesinatos de Henrichsen y de otros tres argentinos, Oscar Héctor Bugallo Celuzi, Miguel Angel Lacorte y Héctor Garzán Morillo. Esta diligencia judicial sigue su curso.

Bustamante disparó contra Henrichsen mientras cubría para la televisión de Suecia el alzamiento de un regimiento de tanques, en las cercanías del palacio de gobierno. La imagen de Bustamante disparándole a matar fue captada por el propio camarógrafo antes de morir y tuvo difusión mundial en fotografías y videos, pero nadie supo su nombre hasta que fue identificado por este redactor más de 30 años después del asesinato.

La noticia del deceso de Bustamante surgió esta mañana en la Fiscalía de Ñuñoa, cuando concurrí a declarar en una causa de amenazas de muerte provenientes de su entorno, o quizás del propio ex cabo, por una denuncia ante Carabineros del 26 de agosto, introducida luego de recibir tres amenazas telefónicas posteriores a una "funa" o "schratch" al domicilio del ex uniformado, el 18 de agosto.

Después de 5 meses de investigación, la Fiscalía me informó que apenas comprobó que las llamadas provinieron de un teléfono corporativo y de otro público que ya no existe y que Carabineros omitió en su informe al principal sospechoso indicado por mi en la denuncia del 26 de agosto en la Comisaría Los Guindos de Ñuñoa, o sea ocultaron al occiso Bustamante, según el Parte Nº 4257 cuyo comprobante todavía conservo en mi poder.

La abogada de la Fiscalía María Gloria Vásquez acogió mi nuevo reclamo Bustamante, pero antes consultó diligentemente la base de datos del Registro Civil, desde el computador de su propia oficina.

–Hay un Héctor Hernán Bustamante Gómez, pero está muerto, exclamó.

–“No puede ser”, fue mi primera reacción. Recordé que en agosto del año pasado permaneció escondido en su casa mientras afuera se realizaba la funa. Pero como al fin de cuentas la gente se muere, añadí “…a menos que sea un deceso reciente”.

El ex cabo murió en una cama del Hospital Militar de Santiago el martes 18 de diciembre, a las 16:30 horas, o sea, una semana antes de Navidad. “Neumonía basal izquierda y cáncer pulmonar”, fueron las causas del deceso, según el documento del Registro Civil.

La abogada de la Fiscalía dejó constancia de que “lamentablemente los funcionarios de Carabineros no consignaron el nombre” del sospechoso que señalé desde el comienzo y registró “que mientras se toma esta declaración, se le informa a la víctima que la persona que señaló como sospechosa, se encuentra fallecida desde el 18 de diciembre de 2007”. Eso sería todo.

Para información adicional sobre la situación procesal del caso Henrichsen pueden consultarse estas fuentes:

http://www.argenpress.info/notaold.asp?num=037445

http://www.cctt.cl/nuevo/?q=node/280

http://www.elobservatodo.cl/admin/render/noticia/9488

http://iberarte.com.nyud.net:8090/images/stories/cine/CHILE-INT.jpg http://hablasonialuz.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/08/leonardo_henrichsen.jpg
I have a real need to find out more about this. Thanks so much for introducing this material, struggle4progress.

[Peace Patriot]

3. This reminds me of footage of Brad Will's death in Oaxaca--he videotaped his own killers

as rightwing paramilitaries shot him, amidst the teacher's strike and the uprising in Oaxaca in 2006.

This is the footage of them shooting Brad. It is horrible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7QXmf0tCDk&feature=related
This is the footage of the last interviews he did
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxlwcfldxIw

This is the wiki entry for Brad. It's very odd that they don't mention Brad's video footage of his own death. (I couldn't find it there.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Will

Here's a better account of Brad's death and life
http://www.narconews.com/Issue43/article2223.html

[flamingdem]

4. The original film was mindblowing when I saw it in the 70s

.. I had no warning about how the film would end and it was shocking .. way before "reality shows".

[rabs]

5. Video of Henrichsen filming his own death

Can be seen at the bottom of the article at link below (I too saw it years ago.)
http://www.elobservatodo.cl/admin/render/noticia/9488

The soldier who order his troops to shoot at him died in Chile on 18 Dec. 2007 of pneumonia and lung cancer before he could be tried. The shot that killed Henrichsen actually came from a soldier on the truck you can see in the video. The shots are clearly audible.

The video shows the instant he was hit and the camera tumbles to the ground. He was hit in the neck.

Background on the Tanquetazo: Many Chileans considered the coup attempt to be a dress rehearsal for the Sept. 11 golpe that toppled the Allende government. The attempt by the rebellious Buin tank regiment was quashed by Gen. Carlos Prats, commander of the Chilean army at the time. Prats was loyal to the constitution and Allende and he paid the price.

After the golpe, Prats was immediately flown into exile in Buenos Aires. A year or so later, Prats and his wife Sofia were blown up (bomb attached to bottom of his car) by Pinochet's DINA (including Michael Vernon Townley, accused in the assassination of Orlando Letelier in Washington.)

Couple of anecdotes that made the rounds in Santiago after the Tanquetazo:

One of the regiment's tanks was short of gasoline, so it pulled into a station. The tank commander in his turret ordered a humble station attendant to refuel the tank. The attendant refused, saying, "Who is going to pay for it?" The tank commander said "this," and pulled out his .45 caliber pistol. The tank got the gasoline.

On the way to attack La Moneda, the tanks got caught up in the Santiago morning rush hour. So the tanks would obey the traffic signals, stopping at red lights, going to war on green. Motorists were astounded to see a heavy tank roaring next to their car at the intersections.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Doesn't seem possible this could happen against a country's own citizens.

What kind of people could sit or stand in a truck and mow down unarmed people that way... Right-wingers really know how to handle power, don't they? They kill everyone they can who might remotely get in their road and keep killing until they have silenced the population altogether.

Nothing dirtier.

It would have seemed impossible to ordinary people to see those damned tanks rumpling around in their streets. I saw what a fine job they did crushing those cars, shooting big holes in the stone buildings.

Yup, Nixon and Kissinger were right in there all the way. Americans were late finding out about this but those of us who know will never forget ever again. Latin American patriots will never forget, either. They are the only ones who matter, not the ones who are straining to bring open the bowels of hell upon their countrymen/women all over again in order to grab the power once more.

I watched that video over and over. It's beyond understanding.

[flamingdem]

7. Thanks, I didn't know what happened afterwards

and the Prats death connection to Orlando Letelier.