ARTICLE - CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS - CHILE

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF DEATH OF CHILEAN SERGEANT IN HAITI
(Ilovechile) - By Mariana Zepeda

SANTIAGO – Conflicting stories have emerged about the recent death of Sergeant Guillermo Arévalo in Haiti last Sunday. This has prompted further investigation of the circumstances surrounding his death, which will be led by Rodrigo Pérez, the Chilean Ambassador to Honduras.

When information first emerged concerning the Sergeant’s murder, members of the Sergeant’s family held that the crime had occurred while Arévalo served as bodyguard and chauffeur for the Ministry of Defense Attaché Miguel Pennaroli and Chilean Ambassador to Haiti, Diego Rivera. The Ambassador denied this version of events, declaring that he had found the wounded Sergeant in a diplomatic car outside the bar where Arévalo was enjoying a night out with a friend.

Yesterday, Ambassador Rivera went back on his original allegations, revealing that he was indeed in the presence of Sergeant Arévalo on the night of his death. Rivera explained that he had invited the Sergeant, along with another friend, to the bar “Jet Set” in Port-au-Prince, where they all remained until around 2:40 a.m.

Jet Set is rated by the United Nations Mission in Haiti to be an “inadvisable” location, as the bar is in an area known for prostitution. According to Rivera’s version of events, he and his friend decided to relocate to another bar named “Barak” on the same street. However, Rivera claimed that Sergeant Arévalo chose to remain at Jet Set on his own.

While at Jet Set, Arévalo ran into Sergeant Jorge Oyarzo, a member of the security team for the Chilean embassy in Haiti. At the bar, the two sergeants allegedly got into a fight with a brothel-keeper. The fight ended when Sergeant Oyarzo took several bullets to the legs, and Sergeant Arévalo received four fatal gunshots.

Ambassador Rivera claimed that he left Barak around 4 a.m. and headed home. A few minutes later, he explained, he went out to buy two hot dogs, noticing a car parked in front of Barak.

In the car, Rivera found a blood-covered Sergeant Arévalo, and immediately took him to the Lambert Santè Hospital, where he died an hour later.

However, Rivera’s version contradicts other information that indicates that Rivera remained at Jet Set the entire night, finding Arévalo only when he left the bar in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Yesterday, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, Minister of the Interior, expressed his frustration at the conflicting versions of events.

“There cannot be this many different versions of the circumstances surrounding Arévalo’s death,” he said, highlighting the importance of clearing up contradictory information. “We need to establish a definitive version.”

Hinzpeter explained that the government’s information of the Arévalo case comes entirely from intelligence gained by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He admitted that he has not been in contact with the authorities that are handling the case.

On that note, Ambassador Pérez announced this morning that he would begin investigations to clear up the conflicting versions of the events in the next twenty-four hours. Pérez will begin by collecting statements from individuals involved in the case.

The Haitian National Police will continue a parallel investigation, aiming to reveal the identities of those responsible for General Arévalo’s death.