Leonardo Henrichsen
Encyclopedia
Leonardo Henrichsen was an Argentine and Swedish photojournalist.
. Given a film camera as a gift during childhood, he secured an apprenticeship
in Sucesos Argentinos, the premier producer of newsreel
s in Argentina since its establishment in 1938. Mentored by Polish photojournalist Tadeo Bortnowski, Henrichsen was influenced by his teacher's experience as a war correspondent
during World War II.
Following Sucesos Argentinos closure in 1955, Henrichsen was hired by Channel 13
Public Television, where he eventually became a leading international news cameraman. He married Patricia Mac Farlane in 1962, with whom he had three children. The violent 1964 coup against Dominican Republic
President Juan Bosch
became the first coup d'état Henrichsen covered in that capacity. His coverage of the 1969 Argentine student/labor uprising known as the Cordobazo
(whose first serious incidents erupted on his 29th birthday) brought Henrichsen to the attention of SVT
, Swedish
Public Television, and he was hired later in 1969.
SVT enlisted Henrichsen, who had covered 14 violent coups for their current events program, Rapport, to their bureau in Santiago, Chile
. Working with chief correspondent Jan Sandquist, his first assignment there was during a massive, October 1972 truckers' strike in protest over the program of expropriations
being advanced by Chile's Socialist President, Salvador Allende
. On the morning of June 29, 1973, as Henrichsen had breakfast at the café in the Hotel Crillón (across La Moneda Presidential Palace in downtown Santiago), the sound of gunfire erupted outside, leading him and Sandquist to rush to cover the event. As he began filming, a detachment in a mutineering army
regiment attempting to storm La Moneda Palace attacked protesters and bystanders nearby and, noticing him and his camera, the ranking officer, Corporal Héctor Bustamante Gómez shot his pistol at Henrichsen, prompting his men to fire, as well. Appealing to them that they cease firing at two journalists, Henrichsen was struck by the third shot (from an as yet unidentified conscript), causing him to collapse in Sandquist's arms while still filming. He was 33.
Corporal Bustamante visibly attempted to destroy the evidence, seizing Henrichsen's Éclair 16 II camera and pulling the film out. The Éclair, however, possessed a second, backup chamber, where the event remained recorded and from which Sandquist was able to distribute the footage on July 24.
Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Souper
and the other participants in the failed coup attempt against President Allende (an event known in Chile as the Tanquetazo
) were given refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador
(whose dictatorship was hostile to Allende). Promoted to a high-ranking post within Chile's intelligence services (DINA) following the September 11, 1973, coup
against Allende, Souper continues to enjoy impunity and Corporal Bustamante had no charges brought against him until his role in the murder was confirmed by Chilean documentarian Ernesto Carmona in January 2005, following his 7-year long investigation.
Josephine and Andrés Henrichsen (the journalist's daughter and son) filed a wrongful death suit against Corporal Bustamante on October 28, 2005. Chilean Criminal court Judge Rommy Rutherford ruled that the case had expired its statute of limitations
, though after reviewing the case, Chilean Appellate Court
Judge Jorge Zepeda Arancibia ordered a reopening of the investigation into the deaths of Leonardo Henrichsen and three other Argentines murdered there in 1973. Corporal Bustamante, awaiting trial in Arica, Chile
, died on December 18, 2007.
Life and times
Leonardo Henrichsen was born to a Swedish Argentine father and an English Argentine mother in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. Given a film camera as a gift during childhood, he secured an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in Sucesos Argentinos, the premier producer of newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
s in Argentina since its establishment in 1938. Mentored by Polish photojournalist Tadeo Bortnowski, Henrichsen was influenced by his teacher's experience as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
during World War II.
Following Sucesos Argentinos closure in 1955, Henrichsen was hired by Channel 13
Canal 7
Canal 7 may refer to::*Canal 7 of Buenos Aires, Argentina*Canal 7 of Lima, Peru*Canal 7 of Mendoza, Argentina*Canal 7 of Mexico City, Guadalajara y Jalisco, Mexico*Canal 7 of Mexico City, Mexico...
Public Television, where he eventually became a leading international news cameraman. He married Patricia Mac Farlane in 1962, with whom he had three children. The violent 1964 coup against Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
President Juan Bosch
Juan Bosch
Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was a politician, historian, short story writer, essayist, educator, and the first cleanly elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the dictatorial regime of Rafael...
became the first coup d'état Henrichsen covered in that capacity. His coverage of the 1969 Argentine student/labor uprising known as the Cordobazo
Cordobazo
The Cordobazo was a civil uprising in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, in the end of May 1969, during the military dictatorship of General Juan Carlos Onganía, which occurred a few days after the Rosariazo, and a year after the French May '68...
(whose first serious incidents erupted on his 29th birthday) brought Henrichsen to the attention of SVT
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Public Television, and he was hired later in 1969.
SVT enlisted Henrichsen, who had covered 14 violent coups for their current events program, Rapport, to their bureau in Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
. Working with chief correspondent Jan Sandquist, his first assignment there was during a massive, October 1972 truckers' strike in protest over the program of expropriations
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
being advanced by Chile's Socialist President, Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
. On the morning of June 29, 1973, as Henrichsen had breakfast at the café in the Hotel Crillón (across La Moneda Presidential Palace in downtown Santiago), the sound of gunfire erupted outside, leading him and Sandquist to rush to cover the event. As he began filming, a detachment in a mutineering army
Chilean Army
The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 45,000-person army is organized into seven divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade....
regiment attempting to storm La Moneda Palace attacked protesters and bystanders nearby and, noticing him and his camera, the ranking officer, Corporal Héctor Bustamante Gómez shot his pistol at Henrichsen, prompting his men to fire, as well. Appealing to them that they cease firing at two journalists, Henrichsen was struck by the third shot (from an as yet unidentified conscript), causing him to collapse in Sandquist's arms while still filming. He was 33.
Corporal Bustamante visibly attempted to destroy the evidence, seizing Henrichsen's Éclair 16 II camera and pulling the film out. The Éclair, however, possessed a second, backup chamber, where the event remained recorded and from which Sandquist was able to distribute the footage on July 24.
Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Souper
Roberto Souper
Lt. Colonel Roberto Federico Souper Onfray was a Chilean military officer who launched an unsuccessful coup d'état against the regime of Salvador Allende, surrounding the presidential palace with a tank regiment....
and the other participants in the failed coup attempt against President Allende (an event known in Chile as the Tanquetazo
Tanquetazo
El Tanquetazo or El Tancazo of 29 June 1973 are the names used to refer to the failed coup attempt in Chile led by Army Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Souper against the government of Socialist president Salvador Allende. It is called such because the rebelling officers primarily used tanks...
) were given refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
(whose dictatorship was hostile to Allende). Promoted to a high-ranking post within Chile's intelligence services (DINA) following the September 11, 1973, coup
Chilean coup of 1973
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile. Following an extended period of political unrest between the conservative-dominated Congress of Chile and the socialist-leaning President Salvador Allende, discontent culminated in the latter's downfall in...
against Allende, Souper continues to enjoy impunity and Corporal Bustamante had no charges brought against him until his role in the murder was confirmed by Chilean documentarian Ernesto Carmona in January 2005, following his 7-year long investigation.
Josephine and Andrés Henrichsen (the journalist's daughter and son) filed a wrongful death suit against Corporal Bustamante on October 28, 2005. Chilean Criminal court Judge Rommy Rutherford ruled that the case had expired its statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
, though after reviewing the case, Chilean Appellate Court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
Judge Jorge Zepeda Arancibia ordered a reopening of the investigation into the deaths of Leonardo Henrichsen and three other Argentines murdered there in 1973. Corporal Bustamante, awaiting trial in Arica, Chile
Arica, Chile
Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 185,269 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica and Parinacota Region, located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region...
, died on December 18, 2007.