Sergio Apablaza
Encyclopedia
Galvarino Sergio Apablaza Guerra (born November 9, 1950 in Santiago
), nicknamed "Comandante Salvador", is a Chile
an Marxist guerilla and former member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR)
, which opposed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet
. He has participated in several highly publicized kidnappings and murders.
. Its mission was to carry out guerilla attacks against the Chilean military government of Augusto Pinochet
. It is named after Manuel Rodriguez, considered a hero in the war of the independence of Chile against Spain.
After the fall of Pinochet's government and the return to democracy in 1989, the organization broke up into two factions: the FPMR Party, which gave up the armed fight, and the FPMR-Dissidents, which continued terrorist activities. Some of the FPMR most recent attacks include the explosion of a building in which the American company Flour Daniel has offices (August 1994), an attempted bombing of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Santiago
(September 1993), an explosion near the Chinese Embassy in Santiago (May 1993), and a bombing of a meetinghouse of the LDS Church in Santiago (December 1992).
Apablaza participated in the kidnapping of the Brazilian advertising executive Washington Olivetto in 2001, according to Brazilian police authorities.
) and the assassination of Senator Jaime Guzmán
.
Galvarino Apablaza was arrested on November 29, 2004 in Argentina
. Chilean authorities requested his expulsion so he could be tried in Chile. He immediately asked for political asylum with the support of several human rights organizations, but his situation is still unclear. The Argentine supreme court originally approved his extradition to Chile during September 2010.1
On September 30, 2010 the government of Argentina granted Apablaza political asylum following a meeting of Conare, the National Commission for Refugees.
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
), nicknamed "Comandante Salvador", is a Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an Marxist guerilla and former member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR)
Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front
The Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front , also known as El Frente Patriótico, or simply El Frente, is a left-wing urban guerrilla movement in Chile, named for a figure in Chile's independence movement, Manuel Rodríguez. The group was founded on September 14, 1983 as an armed resistance against the...
, which opposed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
. He has participated in several highly publicized kidnappings and murders.
Background
Son of Galvarino Apablaza Orrego and Luisa Guerra Urrutia. He was the leader of the Marxist group FPMR, founded in 1983 as the armed wing of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh)Communist Party of Chile
The Communist Party of Chile is a Chilean political party inspired by the thoughts of Karl Marx and Lenin. It was founded in 1922, as the continuation of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1934 it established its youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile .In the last legislative elections in Chile...
. Its mission was to carry out guerilla attacks against the Chilean military government of Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
. It is named after Manuel Rodriguez, considered a hero in the war of the independence of Chile against Spain.
After the fall of Pinochet's government and the return to democracy in 1989, the organization broke up into two factions: the FPMR Party, which gave up the armed fight, and the FPMR-Dissidents, which continued terrorist activities. Some of the FPMR most recent attacks include the explosion of a building in which the American company Flour Daniel has offices (August 1994), an attempted bombing of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
(September 1993), an explosion near the Chinese Embassy in Santiago (May 1993), and a bombing of a meetinghouse of the LDS Church in Santiago (December 1992).
Apablaza participated in the kidnapping of the Brazilian advertising executive Washington Olivetto in 2001, according to Brazilian police authorities.
Charges
He has been charged by the Chilean judge Hugo Dolmestch for the following crimes: the kidnapping of Cristian Edwards (son of Agustín Edwards Eastman, owner of the newspaper El MercurioEl Mercurio
El Mercurio is a conservative Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. Its Santiago edition is considered the country's paper-of-record and its Valparaíso edition is the oldest daily in the Spanish language currently in circulation. El Mercurio is owned by El Mercurio S.A.P...
) and the assassination of Senator Jaime Guzmán
Jaime Guzmán
Jaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz was a Chilean lawyer and senator, member and doctrinal founder of the conservative Independent Democrat Union party. He opposed Marxist President Salvador Allende and later became a close advisor to dictator Augusto Pinochet. A professor of Constitutional Law, he...
.
Galvarino Apablaza was arrested on November 29, 2004 in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Chilean authorities requested his expulsion so he could be tried in Chile. He immediately asked for political asylum with the support of several human rights organizations, but his situation is still unclear. The Argentine supreme court originally approved his extradition to Chile during September 2010.1
On September 30, 2010 the government of Argentina granted Apablaza political asylum following a meeting of Conare, the National Commission for Refugees.