Disappeared detainees in Chile

Disappeared detainees in Chile (Desaparecidos), refers to the victims of the political repression followed the 1973 Coup d'état led by General Augusto Pinochet. It is about the victims of kidnappings or detentions enforced by the military, and whose whereabouts have been kept hidden to the public –including the detainees' families. The denomination is also used in other Latin American countries. These enforced disappearances are not only devised to eliminate oppositional individuals, but, according to Amnesty International, it is "frequently used as a strategy to spread terror within society".[1] According to the intergovernmental organization International Criminal Court (ICC), “enforced disappearance of persons constitutes a crime against humanity".[2]

In 1990, when democracy returned in Chile, the authorities established the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which documented over 3,200 victims –including dead and missing, left behind by the dictatorship.[3]

The crimes of forced disappearance in Chile, were committed by various military formations of the Chilean Armed Forces and the Carabineers during the 1970s and 1980s –particularly the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA). The problem was officially recognized first in 1990.

In conjunction with the return of democracy, (1990) the Chilean government established the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which a year thereafter delivered the Rettig Report (1991). The report acknowledged "more than 3,200 victims, including dead and missing, left behind by the dictatorship".[4]

Later, in 2023, the government of Gabriel Boric recognized the disappearance of 1469 persons, of whom only the fate of 307 has been so far established. Ensuing, the government issued a plan to investigate the whereabouts of the rest of the disappeared victims (N= 1162).[5]

Together with reports from Amnesty International,[6] the London-based human rights investigating group Memoria Viva maintains a regularly updating with lists of disappeared detainees in Chile.[7]

List of Disappeared detainees (desaparecidos) in Chile

(From Memoria Viva)

References
  1. "What would you do if state authorities made your loved one disappear?". Amnesty International. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  2. "Practice relating to Rule 98. Enforced Disappearance". ICRC’s International Humanitarian Law Databases. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  3. "Patricio Aylwin Azócar (1918-2016) | Informe Rettig". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  4. Martinez, Santiago Martin (2023-08-31). "Chile se compromete en la búsqueda de desaparecidos de la dictadura". euronews (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  5. The New York Times ( August 2023): "Medio siglo después del golpe, Chile lanza una búsqueda de sus desaparecidos". https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/08/30/espanol/chile-golpe-estado-desaparecidos.htm
  6. "50 years on from the 11 September coup in Chile". Amnesty International. 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  7. "Detenidos Desaparecidos". Memoria Viva (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
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