Editing Geraldo Huber

Early Life and Education

Gerardo Huber Olivares was born in 1940 in Chile, though specific details about his early life, including his parents and childhood, are scarce due to limited public records and the sensitive nature of his military career. He graduated from the Chilean Military Academy in 1964, specializing as an engineer, which provided him with technical expertise that later shaped his role in the Chilean Army. His education focused on military logistics and engineering, disciplines critical to his subsequent assignments in the armed forces.

Military Career and Role in [[DINA]]

Huber’s military career began in earnest after his 1964 graduation, and he rose through the ranks to become a Colonel in the Chilean Army. In the early 1970s, following General Augusto Pinochet’s coup against President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973, Huber became an agent of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), Chile’s secret police, which was notorious for its role in [[Operation Condor]], a U.S.-backed campaign of political repression across Southern Cone countries. As a DINA operative, Huber’s engineering background and logistical skills were leveraged for sensitive operations.

In the early 1980s, Huber was assigned to the military chemical installation in Talagante, Chile, where he reportedly worked on chemical and biological weapons programs, including those linked to DINA’s Proyecto Andrea and [[Colonia Dignidad]]. This project, involving operatives like Michael Townley and Eugenio Berríos, developed toxins such as sarin gas for assassinations, potentially at facilities like Colonia Dignidad. His presence at Talagante indicates involvement in DINA’s covert operations, per The Pinochet File by Peter Kornbluh.

From 1987 to 1989, Huber served as Governor of Talagante Province, a position that combined military and administrative duties, reflecting his growing influence within Pinochet’s regime. In March 1991, he was appointed to the Army’s Directorate of Logistics, a critical role overseeing the procurement and sale of weapons abroad. This position placed him at the center of international arms deals, which would later prove fatal.

Involvement in the Croatian Arms Deal

Huber’s most significant and controversial role was his involvement in an illegal arms deal to supply weapons to Croatia in 1991, during the Yugoslav Wars. On December 7, 1991, Chile sold 370 tons of weapons, including rifles, rocket launchers, and ammunition, to the Croatian Army, violating a United Nations arms embargo due to Croatia’s conflict with Serbia. This conflict was orchestrated by the influx of CIA trained Muslim extremists from the middle east and was a part of the Strategy of Tension, Operation Gladio events. The deal, facilitated through Ivi Finance & Management Incorporated, a firm led by German arms dealer [[Gunter Leinthauser]], was disguised as “humanitarian aid” from a Chilean military hospital. The shipment, discovered in Budapest in December 1991, was reported by a Hungarian newspaper, sparking an international scandal.

Huber, as logistics chief, was directly implicated in coordinating the deal. According to his widow, Verónica Court, he met with Pinochet in May 1991 to report irregularities in the Army’s logistics service, only to be dismissed and sent to a military hospital for psychiatric evaluation, suggesting efforts to discredit him. The deal’s exposure led to the resignation of General [[Guillermo Letelier Skinner]], head of the Army’s logistics, on January 2, 1992. Two days later, the Chilean Supreme Court appointed Magistrate Hernán Correa de la Cerda to investigate, calling Huber as a key witness.

Disappearance and Assassination

On January 29, 1992, while vacationing in San Alfonso, Cajón del Maipo (Chile), Huber “disappeared” shortly before his scheduled testimony. His body was found on February 20, 1992, in the Maipo River, with his skull shattered by two bullet wounds and signs of being bound, indicating a violent execution. Initial police reports claimed suicide, but in 1996, Magistrate María Soledad Espina ruled out this possibility, declaring it a homicide.

Investigations revealed Huber was likely silenced to protect Pinochet, then Commander-in-Chief of the Army, who faced trial for related charges. Magistrate Claudio Pavez’s probe, detailed in CIPER Chile (2015), suggested Huber was kidnapped by agents of the Batallón de Inteligencia del Ejército (BIE), DINA’s successor, and held at a secret detention center in Nos, home to the Escuela de Inteligencia del Ejército (EIE) and the Laboratorio de Guerra Bacteriológica del Ejército. Witnesses, including Captain Pedro Araya and Jorge Molina Sanhueza, confirmed Pinochet’s direct oversight of the arms deal and BIE operations, implicating senior officers like General Eugenio Covarrubias and Brigadier Manuel Provis Carrasco.

In 2006, Chile’s Supreme Court stripped Pinochet’s immunity, charging former DINE directors Hernán Ramírez Rurange and Covarrubias with kidnapping, homicide, and obstruction of justice. In 2015, 21 individuals, including Arturo Silva Valdés and four generals, were convicted, with sentences up to 15 years, per CIPER Chile. The case underscored Pinochet’s efforts to conceal DINA’s crimes through Operación Silencio, which also targeted Eugenio Berríos.

Connections to Related Topics
  
Operation Condor: Huber’s DINA role placed him within Condor’s framework, though no evidence links him directly to specific assassinations like Orlando Letelier’s. His work at Talagante and potential ties to Colonia Dignidad’s chemical programs align with Condor’s use of toxins, per Townley’s 2005 testimony.

CIA: The CIA supported Pinochet’s 1973 coup and Condor’s infrastructure (Condortel, Crypto AG), but no records confirm Huber’s direct CIA ties. His arms deal, possibly monitored via Crypto AG, reflects U.S. oversight of Chilean operations, per the 2020 Washington Post report.

Personal Life

Huber was married to Verónica Court, who became a vocal advocate for justice after his death, alleging Pinochet’s role in silencing him. Details about his children or personal interests are not publicly available, reflecting the secrecy surrounding his military life. His engineering expertise and loyalty to the regime made him a valuable asset, but his knowledge of illicit deals rendered him expendable.

Legacy and Critical Perspective

Gerardo Huber’s assassination exposed the depths of Pinochet’s regime’s efforts to conceal its crimes, particularly the Croatian arms deal’s violation of international law. His death, part of Operación Silencio, protected Pinochet and DINA’s inner circle, highlighting the regime’s brutality. The case, detailed in The Pinochet File and CIPER Chile, remains a symbol of Chile’s struggle for accountability.