Pro-Government Militias
DICOMCAR (Chile)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 255 |
| Country: | Chile |
| Date formed: | April 1, 1985 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | DICOMCAR was created by the director general of the police force, César Mendoza, without the knowledge of the Junta del Gobierno. The group was first mentioned in April 1985. |
| Date dissolved: | Aug. 2, 1985 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | After DICOMCAR committed killings, investigations were conducted, followed by widespread anti-government protests. The crimes were prosecuted and the responsible perpetrators arrested. There are no reports of DICOMCAR actions after the court case. We code this as the end of the DICOMCAR PGM. Other death squads continued to operate. In 1993, a news source says that DICOMCAR had been disbanded, but without specifying the date of the termination. |
| Termination Type(s): | government defects |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution); military (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | security forces; workers |
| Primary Membership: | noncivilian |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Santiago (calle dieciocho) |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | unarmed political opposition, government critics; religious group; students |
| Purpose(s): | intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | DICOMCAR was the abbreviation for Police Communications Directorate. It functioned as death squad. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | DICOMCAR’s purpose was to intimidate political opposition with violence. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | DICOMCAR killed, kidnapped, mutilated, beat, tortured and raped unarmed political opposition. The confirmed killings attributed to DICOMCAR include the head of the teachers union, an official of the Catholic Human Rights Office, and a Communist leader. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | kidnapping/abductions; killing; beating; torture; sexual violence |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | Investigations on DICOMCAR killings revealed that 14 policemen had been linked with the DICOMCAR death squad. But given their activities, the group was likely much larger. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | Death squads in Chile, probably including the DICOMCAR, had vehicles, weapons and communications equipment. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | DICOMCAR was a political intelligence unit of Chile’s paramilitary police, the carabineros. It was created by the director general of the police force, César Mendoza, but there is no information on whether Mendoza also was the leader of the group. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.