News and reports from North, Central and South America.
"The UN official only left the plane at Santiago airport moments before the door closed. We never felt safe. Even when our plane landed in Rio we were very scared as people had been abducted there in the past and disappeared." These are the words of Rodrigo Sanchez, who fled Chile with his mother for […]
Continue ReadingA summit of Chile’s security forces chiefs have met in Santiago to discuss their former commander’s continuing detainment in London. The leaders of the army, navy, air force and police constitute the National Security Council, a body that has met only five times since Chile’s return to Parliamentary rule in 1990. It is widely believed […]
Continue ReadingBritain’s record on responding to other countries’ requests to hand over human rights abusers is blemished by the case of Alfredo Astiz of the Argentinean army. Lieutenant Astiz, who led the invasion of South Georgia – thus precipitating the Falklands conflict in 1982 – has been identified as playing an active role in the repression […]
Continue ReadingThe foreign office has advised Britons on holiday or residing in Chile to keep a low profile and avoid areas of political activity and prominent public places, whilst General Pinochet remains under arrest in London. Though, as with all warnings of this type, ‘caution’ is the watchword with the recommendation to avoid all ‘non-essential travel’; […]
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