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Original article: Víctor Díaz: 50 años de la desaparición del dirigente de la CUT que la dictadura no logró borrar

Half a century after his detention, the story of Víctor Díaz —a labor leader and key figure of the Communist Party— remains marked by the violence of the dictatorship and the ongoing quest for truth and justice.

A worker, leader of the CUT (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores), and Deputy Secretary of the PC in hiding, Díaz was captured by the DINA in 1976. His case exemplifies not only the brutality of the repressive apparatus but also the state’s strategies of concealment.

From Worker to Key Leader 

Víctor Manuel Díaz López (also known by the alias «José Santos Garrido Retamal») was born in Tocopilla on November 10, 1919. Coming from humble beginnings, his father was a miner and his mother a laundress. Díaz began working at a young age, selling newspapers and distributing clothing before becoming a miner at just 18 years old.

He also worked as a graphic worker at the Horizonte printing house (where El Siglo was published). In 1940, he joined the Communist Party (PC), and later, in the 1960s, he was elected as a national leader of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), representing the party.

During Salvador Allende’s government, he served as the General Deputy Secretary of the PC (1971). From this role, he pushed for the fight and contributed to organizing the victory of the Unidad Popular, becoming a key figure and close collaborator with the government and President Allende.

Before the coup, he deemed it necessary to defend the government and its project against the violent onslaught promoted by the CIA, imperialism, and their allies in Chile. After the coup, he led the initial efforts to reassemble the PC in the country and reorganize its leadership in secrecy.

The Capture of ‘Chino Díaz’ 

Following the 1973 coup, Díaz went into hiding under the alias «José Santos Garrido Retamal.» However, on May 12, 1976, he was captured by DINA agents at a residence in the Las Condes commune. Eyewitness accounts from the time indicated that upon discovering him, the agents celebrated his capture by shouting: «¡Chino Díaz!, we finally caught you!»

At the time of his arrest, this historic leader was married and a father of three. Documents related to his capture revealed that the agents, after celebrating, even called the then-head of DINA, Manuel Contreras, to inform him of the operation’s success.

Furthermore, it was detailed in these documents that when he was taken from the house, he showed signs of having been brutally beaten (swollen lip, partially closed eye, difficulty breathing), and was handcuffed.

According to the report, Díaz was subjected to violent initial interrogations and later taken to Villa Grimaldi. Additionally, documents cited multiple testimonies from other detainees who saw him at that facility between May and August 1976, confirming that he endured severe interrogation and torture.

Moreover, in October 1976, DINA forced Díaz to write a letter and make a phone call to his family asking them to cease legal efforts for his release, falsely claiming he was well. His wife, Selenisa, cut off communication, demanding to see him at home. It was the last time they ever heard from him.

The report also details how agents attempted to formally document that the raid had not caused damage and that the detainee would be transferred to «Cuatro Álamos,» in an effort to conceal the nature of the arrest, despite the fact that he was actually taken to Villa Grimaldi.

Thus, Víctor Manuel Díaz López became one of the disappeared detainees amidst the systematic repression against the leadership of the Communist Party in Chile during the military dictatorship.

The Truth in Democracy 

Investigations conducted in democracy determined that Víctor Díaz was murdered by asphyxiation with a plastic bag, and his body was wrapped in sacks, tied to a piece of rail, and thrown into the sea from a helicopter off the coast of the V Region.

This case was part of the «Calle Conferencia Case» and led to charges against more than 120 DINA agents. Subsequently, in 2012, Manuel Contreras was prosecuted as the perpetrator of his qualified kidnapping.

Moreover, the Rettig report confirmed that the State attempted to cover up his detention using the false identity Díaz was carrying, claiming that the true owner of that identity had been released, which was denied by the victim’s family.

50 Years On: Memory and Unsettled Debt 

Fifty years after his disappearance, Víctor Díaz remains an open wound in Chile’s history. His journey reflects not only a generation’s commitment to workers’ organization and social transformation but also the brutal cost imposed by the dictatorship on those who dared to resist. His name remains among the thousands the State sought to erase, aiming not only to eliminate bodies but also political projects.

Yet memory has persevered where terror tried to prevail. The determination of his family, human rights organizations, and those who continue to demand truth has prevented his story from fading into oblivion.

Half a century later, his absence is not just a past event: it is a present challenge regarding justice, impunity, and the State’s obligation to fully account for the crimes that remain unresolved.

La entrada Víctor Díaz: 50 Years Since the Disappearance of the CUT Leader that the Dictatorship Couldn’t Erase se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.