During the military dictatorship in Uruguay (1973-1985), about 5,000 people were detained for political reasons, many of whom were tortured and disappeared. The repression during Uruguay’s dictatorship was orchestrated within the framework of the infamous Operation Condor – which coordinated the imprisonment, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of leftist militants in Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, and Bolivia. According to several reports, about 200 Uruguayans were murdered between 1973 and 1985.
A nation united by memory
This historical wound has not healed in a country that, despite political differences, seems to remain united when defending democracy. During the last presidential campaign, the two candidates who made it to the ballot both emphasized that the defense of democracy is above all differences. Behind these statements lies the deep trauma of a military dictatorship that still weighs on the memory of the Rioplatense country.
A few days ago, President Yamandú Orsi’s government announced that there is “credible data” related to the investigation of the unsolved crimes of the past military dictatorship in an institution of the Uruguayan Navy. That is, the government thinks that there may be “remains of missing persons related to the recent past” in the basement of a military building located in the port of Montevideo, the country’s capital.
A new government, a renewed commitment
The center-left government of Orsi, who is a history professor, promised during the presidential campaign that his administration would tirelessly search for the remains of those detained and disappeared from the past military dictatorship. Memory, justice, and truth thus became civic values that Orsi promised to defend. Therefore, the Secretary of Defense, Sandra Lazo, personally attended the site where it is speculated that there could be remains of people murdered between 1973 and 1985. “It is an obligation of the State [to find the disappeared] and this government is willing to comply to the last consequences,” Lazo told the press.
The media FM Cordillera reported that one of the people in charge of finding the remains is the prosecutor specializing in crimes against humanity, Ricardo Perciballe. Apparently, there may be several unburied bodies in the subsoil of the Uruguayan Navy building. Some presume that human remains would have to be searched for in hidden places.
Regarding the possibility of finding missing persons, Secretary Lazo told FM Cordillera that “[It is necessary] to be cautious… We wish success in the work, but we know that this success implies confirming harrowing things. We have to let [those in charge] work calmly, [with] total confidence.”
Never forgotten
Thus, through these and other ongoing investigations – cases that thousands of Uruguayans refuse to let close – many mothers, fathers, and children still hope to find the remains of their loved ones. These were people taken from their homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods, to be tortured and murdered by a military dictatorship that still lurks in the shadows of the nation’s memory – and, despite everything, still lives on. As it should be: never to be forgotten.
