Chilean police on Saturday arrested a retired military colonel who had been a fugitive for three years after being convicted of kidnapping and murdering popular Chilean singer-songwriter Víctor Jara during Chile's military dictatorship. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Nelson Haase Mazzei, 80, was convicted in 2018 and his sentence was increased to 25 years in prison in 2023. He fled before beginning his prison term. Judge Paola Plaza ordered his immediate imprisonment.
However, the musician's family is not completely satisfied. Jara's daughter, Amanda Jara, said: "We learned that retired Colonel Nelson Haase Mazzei, who had been a fugitive from justice since 2023, was found and imprisoned. We appreciate this news, but it is difficult to consider this justice."
Jara was murdered on Sept. 16, 1973, just five days after the coup that overthrew former President Salvador Allende. He was arrested on campus and taken to Chile Stadium, now renamed Víctor Jara Stadium, where he was separated from nearly 5,000 other prisoners, tortured, and executed with 44 bullet wounds.