The military dictatorship in Uruguay, which lasted from 1973 to 1985, was marked by numerous acts of repression and state violence against those considered opponents of the regime. Among these acts, the Eastern Arm massacre stands out for its brutality and the impact it had on society at the time. On April 21, 1974, the army carried out a raid on an apartment in the Brazo Oriental neighborhood of Montevideo, with the aim of capturing a Tupamaro militant.
The operation took place in the middle of a shooting that lasted for several hours and culminated in the death of three young women: Laura Raggio, Silvia Reyes and Diana Maidanik, all of them members of the Tupamaros. They are the three Girls of April. Reyes was 3 months pregnant.
In an unprecedented ruling, the country was declared responsible for the murders of the three young women, as well as for the forced disappearances during the military dictatorship of Luis Eduardo González González and Oscar Tassino.
The resolution of the Inter-American Court established that Uruguay must continue the investigations of these cases, thus assuming its responsibility in the search for truth and justice. In addition, it was ordered to provide psychological treatment to the affected relatives, thus acknowledging the deep emotional and psychological impact they have endured for decades. These reparation measures seek to offer necessary relief and support to those who have suffered the consequences of these tragedies.
Finally, the State recognized its responsibility, but the President of the Republic did not arrive at the act
Karina Tassino, as spokesperson for the relatives of the Muchachas de Abril, expressed her regret this Thursday for the absence of the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pouin the event of reparation ordered by the IACHR.
“We regret the absence of the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,” said Tassino to later be interrupted in the reading of an official proclamation, with applause, whistles and slogans against the president, for not showing up.
Lacalle did not directly allude to the criticism of his absence, and transferred the speech to the fact that the State complied, through a mandatory sentence, these crimes. Consulted by the press on Friday, Lacalle Pou assured that “the Uruguayan State complied with the sentence. That, from the institutional point of view, is what is important”.
“About the criticism or the claim, our government has been a government that has collaborated strongly with the information, with transparency and with search. The latest facts confirm what I am saying, ”he indicated, in possible reference to the discovery of skeletal remains in the 14th Battalion that took place a few days ago.
