Juan José Latorre Benavente (Santiago; March 24, 1846 – July 9, 1912) Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of the War of the Pacific, and hero of the Battle of Angamos.

During his patrols of the extreme southern region of Chile, he was involved in a diplomatic incident with Argentina and Britain, when he captured several foreign ships that were operating in the Chilean area with an Argentinian licence, chief among them the Jeanne Amelie and the Devonshire.

This led the Peruvian captain to think his ship had been seriously hit, and gave up the pursuit, allowing the weaker Magallanes to escape unharmed.

After the disastrous reduction of the Peruvian navy at the First Naval Battle of Iquique, presidente Prado of Peru ordered Admiral Grau to harass the Chilean shipping lines and to try to disrupt their commerce.

Latorre, who was commanding the Magallanes decided to fend off the attack, in spite of the difference in strength of both ships (260 tons versus 1130).

Admiral Grau tried to sink the smaller ship thrice, using his ram, but in spite of his ability the Magallanes was able to keep him at bay long enough for the ironclad Cochrane to show up, after which the Huascar decided to retreat back to Arica.

The first division was in charge of Commander Galvarino Riveros and made up of the Blanco Encalada, Covadonga and the collier Matías Cousiño.

The second shot destroyed the command tower of the Huascar, killing Admiral Grau and leaving the monitor without a rudder.

The fight continued for another hour, but the arrival of the Blanco Encalada with the rest of the Chilean fleet made any resistance totally hopeless.

Presidente José Manuel Balmaceda sent him on an official mission to Europe to supervise the construction of new ships for the Chilean navy.