By Guillermo Alvarado

Close enough to the 51st anniversary of the bloody military coup in Chile against the Popular Unity government lead by Salvador Allende, it is timely to point out some of the hidden faces of the regime, of which very little has been investigated until now.

It is a rather dirty business that was often not linked to repression, but to the excessive desire for wealth of characters who were part of the regime, whether they were military or civilian, and whose common denominator was the lack of humanity and ethical principles. 

We are referring to the case of those babies who were taken from their parents to be given up for adoption in Europe or the United States in exchange for handsome payments.  An investigation carried out by a special commission in 2019 estimated that 20,000 children suffered this fate, although organizations of families affected by this crime consider that the sum could reach up to 50,000 during the 17 years of dictatorship.

The issue came to light a few days ago when Chilean-American Jimmy Thyden González sued the Chilean State for child abduction, which affected thousands of families.

González learned his true origin last year and adopted the surname of his maternal mother, to whom he was taken a few minutes after his birth by hospital staff.  She was made to believe that he had died and the hospital had taken care of the body.

Thyden had already filed other actions before the Court of Appeals of Santiago de Chile, but they were specific issues related to his case. This, however, can turn the situation around since the complaint is against continued behavior, a situation that lasted decades.

This is not, of course, an isolated case, since other Latin American dictatorships had similar behavior, and even during the Franco regime in Spain many children disappeared, especially in rural areas, and were given up for adoption.

It must be taken into account that a crime of this nature could never have been committed if there had not been the complicity of various powers and organizations, including the Civil Registry, Immigration officials, religious and a legion of notaries, lawyers and judges.

The majority of Chilean children ended up in Sweden, Italy, the United States, Holland, France and Germany, and although many knew that they were adopted, they never found out that they were stolen by force or deception from their natural parents, an infamy that owes them a thorough investigation.