According to the director of the Wilder Tayler Institution, this year they received “fresh information” but it is not “anyone in particular”.
The National Institution for Human Rights and the Ombudsman’s Office (Inddhh) began a new stage of excavations on Tuesday to search for missing detainees on a property owned by the National Army’s Material and Armament Service (SMA). It is an area that has never been explored, located in the depths of Warehouse 4 of the SMA, known as 300 Carlos.
Wilder Tayler, who runs the institution along with Mariana Mota, told The Observer that this year they received “fresh information” indicating that “there was ground work” at the center, but there is no mention of “anyone in particular.”
The SMA was a clandestine detention and torture center. According to the Inddhh, it is estimated that between 1975 and 1977 some 500 people passed through that place and it is known that eight disappeared persons were detained there: Carlos Arévalo, Juan Manuel Brieba, Julio Correa, Julio Escudero, Otermín Montes de Oca and Elena Quinteros.
Likewise, the remains of Fernando Miranda and Eduardo Bleier, who were also detained in that place, were recovered in 2005 and 2019.
“This is from the work of the researchers. The institution, as you know, since the beginning of this work has had a research team that works with the information already collected for years and goes to look for more information. This is the union of two things: the previous information plus new information that indicates, with some degree of probability”, said Mota at a press conference from the place.
He added that “unfortunately” they work with information “that is not the most precise, because those who know about this do not report and do not count, so you have to go find more lateral information.”
He added that the data comes from “people who were working” there and points to that point as “a place that could be linked to burials.” Likewise, he stressed that it is the “post zone” to 300 Carlos.
“Respect and unity to respond”
Within the framework of a commemorative act for the 114 years of the Military Hospital, the Minister of Defense, Javier García, was asked about the excavations on the SMA site and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the search for disappeared detainees.
“With respect and looking forward, working for the peace of Uruguayans. Respect and unity to respond, ”she indicated.
Montevideo Portal
