Fugitive in 1973 torture and murder of iconic singer Victor Jara is captured in Chile

Key Points:

• Police have captured Nelson Haase, an 80-year-old former military officer convicted of kidnapping and murdering iconic Chilean singer-songwriter Victor Jara in 1973 during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.
• Victor Jara, a prominent figure in the New Chilean Song movement, was tortured and killed with 44 bullets five days after Pinochet's coup against President Salvador Allende.
• Haase fled after his 25-year prison sentence was announced in August 2023, alongside six other retired military officers sentenced for Jara's death, with prison terms ranging from eight to 25 years.
• The arrest occurred in the Los Lagos region, 590 miles south of Santiago, Chile, while one convicted officer died by suicide and others, including Pedro Barrientos, are already in custody.
• Jara's murder remains a symbol of the dictatorship's brutality, which caused over 3,200 deaths and disappearances; Chile Stadium, where Jara was detained and tortured, was renamed in his honor in 2003.