Human remains were discovered Tuesday on military grounds in Uruguay as part of excavations to find people who disappeared during the dictatorship between 1973 and 1985, authorities said.
“We assume that it is a missing detainee, given the location of the discovery,” Ricardo Perciballe, head of the prosecutor’s office specializing in crimes against humanity, told AFP.
The remains were discovered about 100 meters from where, in 2011 and 2012, those of two men who disappeared during the military regime were found, he said.
This discovery took place at the base of the 14th Parachute Infantry Battalion in Toledo, 25 km north of Montevideo, which had been used during the dictatorship as a detention and torture center.
This base covers 410 hectares, of which 32 hectares are prohibited from any use by justice in order to facilitate the search for bodies.
“Work is being carried out in this area because clues exist on the possibility of other discoveries”, according to Mr. Perciballe.
“An interdisciplinary committee will be formed with anthropologists and forensic experts to establish the cause of death and extract DNA samples to establish the identity” of the person, he added.
According to Wilder Tyler, director of the National Institution for Human Rights and Ombudsman (INDDHH), the body which is legally responsible for the search for the remains of missing detainees, it will take several days to recover the remains and even more. time to identify them.
“There is a skull and other pieces of bone. It’s in a grave, obviously an underground grave, which has a lot of lime in it and apparently a slab on top,” he told reporters.
The INDDHH has been conducting research at this military base since 2020 “based on testimonies that we have had for some time”, he added.
So far, the remains of five detainees who disappeared during the dictatorship have been found on military grounds in the country.
The excavation of sites that served as detention centers during the dictatorship began in 2005 during the first term of leftist President Tabaré Vazquez (2005-2010, then 2015-2020).
“We hope today’s discovery will bring peace to a family,” Defense Minister Javier Garcia told reporters after touring the dig site.
Representatives of the Association Mothers and Parents of Uruguayan Detainees and Disappeared announced that they will visit the site on Wednesday.
“This discovery upsets everything we have experienced so far, because we have been looking for our loved ones for almost 50 years,” said Ignacio Errandonea, whose brother Juan Pablo disappeared in 1976.
A total of 197 people disappeared between 1968 and 1985, according to official data. This figure includes disappearances that occurred in the small South American country, but also those for which the Uruguayan state is responsible outside its borders.
In Argentina, a neighboring country, some 30,000 people died or disappeared during the dictatorship (1976-1983), according to estimates by human rights NGOs.
07/06/2023 03:22:13 – Montevideo (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
