military dictatorship
Son found by abductees of dictatorship in Argentina
Estela de Carlotto (M), head of the human rights organization Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (“Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo”), and other activists meet at her office in the former ESMA torture center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. photo
© Victor R. Caivano/AP/dpa
Human rights organizations estimate that 500 babies and small children were kidnapped during the military dictatorship. But now, after decades, a family can hug again.
Decades after his separation from his mother, another man has been identified as the descendant of victims of Argentina’s military dictatorship. The human rights organization Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (“Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo”) announced yesterday that the son of Lucía Ángela Nadin and Aldo Hugo Quevedo was the 131st abducted child of opponents of the regime to be found.
Human rights organizations estimate that up to 30,000 government opponents, left-wing activists, trade unionists and students disappeared during the military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. In the fight against alleged communist activities, security forces killed numerous people in secret prisons. Human rights activists also assume that around 500 babies and small children were given to foster parents by the military under false identities.
After lengthy investigations, the man was identified a few months ago and ordered for a DNA test, the organization said in a statement. It turned out that the man, who was probably born in March or April 1978, was the son of the abducted couple.
Accordingly, Nadin and Quevedo belonged to the urban guerrillas PRT-ERP and were abducted by state security forces in Buenos Aires during the military dictatorship in 1977 and taken to secret prison camps. After Nadin gave birth to her son, her trail was lost.