Usa Stocks Insider
  • Business
  • World
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Usa Stocks Insider

  • Business
  • World
  • Investing
  • Stocks
World

Chile prosecutes individuals alleged to have stolen babies

by admin June 4, 2025
June 4, 2025
Chile prosecutes individuals alleged to have stolen babies

It’s a dark chapter in Chile’s history.

During the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990, thousands of babies were stolen from their biological mothers and sold into adoption, mainly to foreign couples from the United States and Europe. In Chile, they’re known as “The Children of Silence.”

And now, for the first time in the country’s history, a Chilean judge announced he was prosecuting individuals alleged to have stolen babies in the country.

Alejandro Aguilar Brevis, a Santiago Court of Appeals judge in charge of the investigation “determined that in the 1980s” there was a network of health officials, Catholic priests, attorneys, social workers and even a judge who detected and delivered stole babies from mainly impoverished mothers and sold them into adoption to foreign couples for as much as $50,000, according to a Monday press release by Chile’s judiciary.

The investigation, which focuses on the city of San Fernando in central Chile, involves two babies who were stolen and handed over to foreign couples, according to the judiciary statement.

According to the statement by Chile’s judiciary, the ring allegedly focused on “abducting or stealing infants for monetary gain” with the purpose of “taking them out of the country to different destinations in Europe and the US.”

The judge charged and issued arrest warrants for five people, who he said should remain in pre-trial detention for “criminal association, child abduction, and willful misconduct,” the release said.

The Chilean government has made an extradition request to Israel for a former Chilean family court judge who now lives there and was allegedly involved, the release added.

Systemic theft of babies

The judge ruled that the statute of limitations does not apply in this case because as “these are crimes against humanity committed under a military regime and must be punished in accordance with the American Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”

The investigation was announced Monday, one day after Chilean President Gabriel Boric said that a task force he created last year to investigate cases of stolen babies has issued its final report.

Following its recommendations, Boric said the Chilean government will “create a genetic fingerprint bank that will provide additional means of searching for origins and enable family reunification for the many babies who were stolen for so long and given to foreign families.”

Constanza del Río, founder and director of Nos Buscamos (We Are Looking for Each Other), a Santiago NGO dedicated to reuniting families of stolen babies said that she feels cautiously optimistic because actions by countries like Chile to find the truth about the stolen babies have been “very slow and something that revictimizes the victims.”

Del Río, herself a victim of an illegal adoption, filed a lawsuit in 2017 demanding an investigation by the Chilean government. Authorities named a special prosecutor, but the investigation went nowhere, she said. Another prosecutor took the case for five years only to declare last year that he hadn’t been able “to establish that any crimes have been committed,” according to Del Rio.

President Boric has said creating a task force proves his government is serious about the issue and has spoken publicly about it, recognizing the systematic theft of babies back then as a fact.

Constanza del Río says Nos Buscamos alone has built a database that includes about 9,000 cases and has helped reunite more than 600 parents with their stolen children.

“This is no longer a myth. We know nowadays that this happened, and it was real. It’s not a tale that a couple of people were telling,” Labraña said at the time.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
He survived an assassination attempt. Now South Korea’s new president must heal divisions and tread cautiously with Trump
next post
OpenAI tops 3 million paying business users, launches new features for workplace

You may also like

A US strike on Iran could open a...

June 19, 2025

Bodies of two Israeli-American hostages recovered from Gaza...

June 5, 2025

‘It haunts me daily:’ Freed Israeli hostages fear...

May 28, 2025

Here’s how Iran could respond to US strikes...

June 23, 2025

Russia launches aerial assault on Kyiv days after...

June 6, 2025

‘We are living in a war’: Mexicans brace...

May 29, 2025

Erick strengthens into a Category 3 major hurricane...

June 19, 2025

How protests over designer handbags threw Mongolia into...

June 2, 2025

Israel vows to stop aid boat with Greta...

June 9, 2025

Russia strikes Kyiv and Odesa with aerial attacks,...

June 10, 2025

    Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Latest

    • Zelensky and European rights body establish tribunal to allow prosecution of Russian leaders

      June 27, 2025
    • They call it ‘Merzcron’: The EU’s Franco-German engine is powering up once again

      June 27, 2025
    • Germany scraps funding for sea rescues of migrants

      June 27, 2025
    • Israeli forces kill 15-year-old Palestinian boy after settlers attack West Bank towns, officials say

      June 27, 2025
    • Inside the NATO charm offensive that shocked as much as it delivered

      June 27, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (61)
    • Investing (237)
    • Stocks (110)
    • World (253)
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: usastocksinsider.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 usastocksinsider.com | All Rights Reserved