--- description: The civil trial in Florida also saw an award of $28 million in damages to the widow and daughters of Jara, an iconic folk singer. title: Former Pinochet Officer Liable for Murder of Victor Jara image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a344f852de05527/698899ad0a4a220b6a9ca403/rtxm6t1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Chile](/tag/chile/) ## Chile Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Former Chilean General Has Been Found Liable for the Murder of Singer Victor Jara by [Amanda Calvo](/author/amanda-calvo/) ## Amanda Calvo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 28, 2016 6:38 AM CUT  Chilean singer Victor Jara, who was tortured and died during the military dictatorship of Pinochet is seen in this undated file picture. Chilean singer Victor Jara, who was tortured and died during the military dictatorship of Pinochet is seen in this undated file picture.Reuters by [Amanda Calvo](/author/amanda-calvo/) ## Amanda Calvo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 28, 2016 6:38 AM CUT In what is being hailed as a significant civil rights victory, a former Chilean general was found liable Monday for the 1973 torture and murder of popular folk singer and political activist Victor Jara. The two-week civil trial in Florida also saw an [award of $28 million in damages to Jara’s widow and daughters.](http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Pinochet-Era-Officer-Found-Liable-for-Victor-Jaras-Murder--20160622-0031.html "undefined") Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez fled Chile for the U.S. in 1989 and could now see extradition to stand trial for murder 43 years after the fact, according to TeleSUR. Jara was arrested a day after the Sept. 11, 1973 coup in Santiago only to [never be seen again](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/victor-jara-former-pinochet-general-found-liable-for-torture-and-murder-of-celebrated-folk-singer-a7106811.html "undefined") after being taken to the National Stadium, which was transformed into a detention and torture center. The assassination of Latin America’s beloved poet and songwriter became synonymous with the human rights struggle under Pinochet’s ruthless regime. Intellectuals and suspected sympathizers of the previously overthrown Allende government were victims of the [CIA-backed crackdown](http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=82588 "undefined") which saw to it that thousands were [tortured, murdered and “forcibly disappeared.”](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/victor-jara-former-pinochet-general-found-liable-for-torture-and-murder-of-celebrated-folk-singer-a7106811.html "undefined") \[[TeleS](http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Pinochet-Era-Officer-Found-Liable-for-Victor-Jaras-Murder--20160622-0031.html "undefined")[UR](http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Pinochet-Era-Officer-Found-Liable-for-Victor-Jaras-Murder--20160622-0031.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4385018/chile-victor-jara-pinochet-nunez/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4385018/chile-victor-jara-pinochet-nunez/"},"headline":"A Former Chilean General Has Been Found Liable for the Murder of Singer Victor Jara","datePublished":"2016-06-28T06:38:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:53:44.538Z","description":"Jara was a poet and songwriter whose death became synonymous with the human rights struggle under the ruthless Pinochet regime","url":"https://time.com/4385018/chile-victor-jara-pinochet-nunez/","keywords":["Chile","Murder","Crime","History","Civil Rights","United States"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a344f852de05527/698899ad0a4a220b6a9ca403/rtxm6t1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amanda Calvo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/amanda-calvo/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a344f852de05527/698899ad0a4a220b6a9ca403/rtxm6t1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chilean singer Victor Jara, who was tortured and died during the military dictatorship of [General A..","caption":"Chilean singer Victor Jara, who was tortured and died during the military dictatorship of [General A..","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/chile/","name":"Chile"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4385018/chile-victor-jara-pinochet-nunez/","name":"A Former Chilean General Has Been Found Liable for the Murder of Singer Victor Jara"}}]}] ```