Worker who survived armed attack in Victoria speaks: "I thought they were going to finish me off"
The night of August 23rd forever marked the life of César Antonio Osorio Inostroza (50), who was attacked by an armed group while leaving a forestry property in the locality of Selva Oscura in Victoria, La Araucanía region.
Despite receiving three bullet wounds, he managed to survive the violent attack by clinging to the back of the pickup truck driven by his work colleague, Manuel León Urra, who was murdered in cold blood on an infernal night.
César Osorio managed to "cheat" death after a surgical intervention performed at the Hospital of Victoria that lasted several hours, where 19 centimeters of his intestine were removed. After remaining hospitalized for several weeks at the Clínica Alemana in Temuco, under intensive care, he was discharged.
But this resident of Victoria was not always a Forestry Patrolman. He said he spent eight years in the Carabineros in Talca, in rural areas, in the presidential guard during the term of President Eduardo Frei and that he left the institution because he began to be persecuted by an officer whose shoes he refused to clean.
In April 2016, he was arrested by personnel from the OS-7 of the Carabineros after being caught transporting 51 kilos of marijuana in a vehicle in the Las Raíces tunnel in Lonquimay. For this fact, in September of the same year, the Guarantee Court of Curacautín sentenced him to a penalty of 3 years and 1 day in prison for drug trafficking with the benefit of supervised release.
In April 2024, he began working for the company Green América, which provides services to Forestal Mininco. In that company, this former carabinero was working as a forestry patrolman when he was attacked by an armed group.
In this exclusive interview given to Radio Bío Bío, César Osorio Inostroza spoke about the helplessness he experiences today after the attack, and the lack of protection and support that the authorities have provided him following the events.
From his refuge, a place where he remains hidden today because he fears the armed group is looking for him to kill him, he recalled the nightmare he lived through in the locality of Selva Oscura.
-What do you remember from that infernal night?
We were guarding a work site for Forestal Mininco. That was around 10:00 p.m. Under circumstances where we were leaving the property to go visit another sector, and as I got out of the pickup truck to open a steel cable (the gate of the forestry property), as I was lowering it, I heard on my left side the sound of a branch that someone stepped on. And I turn around and see exactly a person with their face covered and everything, and they let out a shout and immediately they shot at me without saying stop, nothing, right away.
-And how many people could you see?
It was dark at 10 at night, one person was who I saw, but later watching the videos there were more people there.
-What did you feel when the bullet hit you?
I felt like a blow to my hip and it was the shot that hit me in the stomach. And because of that, I started running, fleeing. I looked at my colleague who was in the pickup truck so he would follow me, because I had always told him that that's how they could hunt us down, as they say.
-And why did you say that's how they could hunt you down?
Because there had been many attacks lately in the Collipulli sector and in other municipalities.
-And why did you think they could attack you in that place?
Because they are vulnerable points. They are entrances or exits, so it's logical that one has to get out of the vehicle to open or close.
-How many minutes did it take to do that task of opening or closing?
Relative, two or three minutes. But in this case, that cable was without a lock and I got out quickly. The moment I was lowering the cable I heard a shout, as I told you, and they shot me immediately. Instantly they shot me, they didn't say stop, no, nothing, right away, point-blank practically.
-What happens subsequently after that shot?
I look at my colleague who is in the pickup truck, because I had always told him that in case of any attack, he should not get out for any reason, that I would somehow try to get into the pickup truck no matter what. And it was like that, I look at my colleague and my colleague arrives and takes off and I run. At the moment when I'm running, they shoot me in the arm again, which lifted me up. I continue, I run and try to get into the pickup truck and since I was already injured I couldn't. And I practically hung onto the pickup truck.
And upon seeing that my colleague lost control of the pickup truck, it was heading towards a tree, there I let go of the pickup truck, I fall to the ground and I get up and keep running. I ran in the darkness and thank God my colleague practically gave his life for me, because another would have fled. Instead, he didn't, he waited for me, he gave me time so I could try to get into the pickup truck.
And as I tell you, I ran, that's what gave me the advantage to run and be able to get into the middle of a forest by sheer effort, trying to push through undergrowth and everything in the dark, and since I was carrying the portable radio, I pressed the emergency button and communicated saying that I was injured, that we had been ambushed.
And at that moment I was losing blood and shouts could be heard saying "look for him, look for him, he must be around there". So with all the fear, the adrenaline, I didn't feel pain, nothing, the only thing I felt was my clothes wet, wet with blood and after that flashlights could be seen as if these guys were looking for me. And two vehicles started to pass by and then they were not seen anymore.
-Did you think they were going to finish you off?
I thought they were going to finish me off, of course, if they were saying "look for him, look for him, he must be around there".
-Why do you believe this attack was so violent?
I really don't know why, but the only thing I know is that they didn't rob us, we were carrying valuable equipment.
-What did you have in that pickup truck?
We carry equipment, a drone, night vision goggles, portable radios, a camera, cell phones, our backpacks, they didn't steal anything from us. They went specifically for what they intended, that's all.
-What were they after?
To kill us, I think. What else? And as I tell you, at no point did they say stop, nothing, nothing, they immediately started shooting.
-Did you think they were going to kill you?
I thought many times that I was going to die, yes, I was even losing my sense of space and time, I was slapping myself, I was squeezing my face so as not to faint, because I was losing a lot of blood.
-How did the murder of your companion affect you?
It affects me to this day, I wake up at midnight and I still have the memory very vivid. He was a darn good person, straight, nothing bad to say about my colleague, from the short time I knew him. Since I started working in the company I was with him, we even said that if they gave vacation to one, we wanted to take it together so they wouldn't separate us. Yes, we had a good bond with him and that's what hurts me the most, that he lost his life, under circumstances where he loved life, the countryside and everything. A very good person, Mr. Manuel.
-What would you say to the children of Mr. Manuel León?
Difficult question, friend. That they had a good father. An excellent person, I told them that when I met them. A healthy person, a humble person. And just like all my colleagues, they miss him too, always a smile. Nothing bad to say.
-A month has passed since the attack. What is the feeling you have after what happened?
I feel abandoned. At first any support, no, this, that other thing, but then afterwards I feel like they have abandoned me, even from the Achs they were supposed to come pick me up on September 17th so the surgeon and another doctor could see me and they didn't come to get me. And the only thing they send me to is kinesiology therapy, but thank God I wasn't left with any sequelae.
What I did ask them for was to give me psychological support, a psychiatrist because at every moment, even when I'm alone, I remember what happened.
-Do you wake up at night?
I wake up at night. I have nightmares.
-Did you have the equipment to work in a conflict zone like this one?
We had bulletproof vests and helmets.
-Was the pickup truck armored?
No, no, no, just a normal pickup truck.
-Were these equipment sufficient?
No, they were not sufficient for what the zone is like.
-Have you thought about suing the State for the lack of security that exists in the area for forestry workers?
I have thought about that if I had someone's support, but until today I don't have it.
-Have you received support from the authorities?
They were there and after the fact they disappeared, even, they told us it wasn't a terrorist act and what was it then?, if it wasn't a robbery, they went to kill.
-There was an event that marked you in 2016, which was even reported in the press. That year you were arrested and convicted for drug trafficking. Do you think this situation has to do with that?
No, nothing to do with it, it has no relation to that. No connection, if I was giving a ride and as a taxi driver I can't ask people to open their bags to see what they are carrying.
-And that ride was from where?
From Victoria to Malalcahuello, I don't even remember anymore, but it has no relation to the matter.
-Do you absolutely rule out that it has any relation to this event?
Of course, I totally rule it out, that was nine years ago.
-Would you go back to work as a forestry patrolman?
I don't think so, given the conditions that exist. There's a lot of risk.
-Had you been shot at on another occasion?
That was about two years ago in Capitán Pastene. I was in another company that also provided services to Mininco. That's common here where there are always attacks against forestry companies.
-Are you in a place different from your home? Why?
I am afraid that something might happen to me and to anyone around me.
-Are you afraid that they might come to finish you off?
Of course, that they are looking for me, I don't know. These guys maybe thought when they shot me that this one went off to die inside, I don't know, and knowing that I'm alive, I don't know, maybe I've run into them on the street.
Source:BiobioChile
