Officers held for murdering father of Chile's former leader

Following a two-year investigation, a Chilean judge on Tuesday charged two retired colonels with torturing the father of ex-President Michelle Bachelet to death in 1974 while he was held under the orders of then-dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Former officers Edgar Ceballo Jones and Ramón Cáceres Jorquera were responsible for the death of Alberto Bachelet Martínez who was tortured inside the army's War Academy in Santiago and later died of an apparent heart attack in the city's public jail, where he had been held since the September 11, 1973 coup, Judge Mario Carroza ruled.

After learning about the results of the investigation, the former president, who is now executive director of UN Women, and her mother, Ángela Jeria, formally pressed charges against the retired colonels.

"I am at ease after receiving this news because now I believe that justice can be done in this country," said Jeria outside the Santiago courthouse. This was the first time in 38 years that a judge has cleared up the circumstances behind the murder of General Bachelet, who remained loyal to President Salvador Allende until the final day. He was arrested by Pinochet's troops and charged with conspiracy against the armed forces.

Ceballo Jones and Cáceres Jorquera, who have been charged in other human rights cases, are being held at a Chilean armed forces detention center.

Some 3,200 people died at the hands of the military in Chile between 1973 and 1990.