logo
Chile prosecutes individuals alleged to have stolen babies

Chile prosecutes individuals alleged to have stolen babies

Yahoo04-06-2025
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.
CNN contacted the judiciary to determine if those involved have legal representation and how they respond to the allegations, but there has been no response so far.
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.
There could be tens of thousands of cases. The theft of thousands of babies in Chile has been documented for over a decade by non-governmental organizations. Since 2014, CNN has reported about multiple cases where people stolen as babies have reunited with their biological mothers after DNA tests proved they were, in fact, related.
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.
Ten years ago, Marcela Labraña, the then-director of the country's child protection agency (SENAME, by its Spanish acronym), told CNN her agency was investigating hundreds of cases but suspected there could be thousands more.
'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.
CNN's Cristopher Ulloa contributed reporting.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Maurene Comey's Head 'Just Rolled' Amid Epstein Backlash, Van Jones Says
Maurene Comey's Head 'Just Rolled' Amid Epstein Backlash, Van Jones Says

Newsweek

timean hour ago

  • Newsweek

Maurene Comey's Head 'Just Rolled' Amid Epstein Backlash, Van Jones Says

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Maurene Comey, federal prosecutor in Manhattan who played a key role in the criminal cases against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, marks "the head that just rolled" after being fired Wednesday, former Barack Obama adviser Van Jones said. Newsweek previously reached out to the White House and Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment. Why It Matters The decision to dismiss Comey—former FBI Director James Comey's daughter—was delivered as the DOJ faces renewed scrutiny over its handling of evidence and records in the case against Epstein, the disgraced financier who in 2019 died by suicide in jail before his trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted of the same charges and is serving a 20-year prison term. Comey was informed of her firing in a letter that noted Article II of the U.S. Constitution in the decision, according to The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter. The Times first reported the firing, which was later picked up by ABC News and the Associated Press. Comey played an integral role in prosecuting high-profile sex trafficking cases involving Epstein and Maxwell, proceedings that have cast a long shadow over U.S. and international legal and political arenas. Her dismissal comes during a period of heightened public suspicion and political controversy, particularly among President Donald Trump's MAGA-aligned supporters who have voiced concerns about government transparency in the Epstein investigation, with pointed backlash at U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. What To Know While speaking on CNN, Jones, former George W. Bush adviser Scott Jennings and CNN political commentator Ana Navarro were discussing Comey's firing and comparing it to the Signal chat scandal that plagued the Trump administration and included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz, then-national security adviser. Waltz was removed from the position and nominated by Trump to be his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "It's extremely disruptive, this would be true no matter who the president is, to go through getting rid of a Cabinet secretary of any kind, especially the attorney general. It is not worth it, and it's probably not warranted here," Jennings said while highlighting Trump's first six months in office. "When Signalgate wouldn't go away, he [Trump] got rid of Waltz," Navarro said. Jones later replied, "the head that just rolled is Comey's head. I mean, Comey's daughter, that's the head that just rolled." "That's a distraction," Navarro replied. "Exactly, it's a distraction, but I'm saying that's more likely," Jones said. Former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin called Comey's dismissal "a disgrace to the Justice Department" while speaking on CNN Wednesday. Van Jones attends the 85th Annual Peabody Awards on June 1 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage) Van Jones attends the 85th Annual Peabody Awards on June 1 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage) What People Are Saying Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday: "The Radical Left Democrats have hit pay dirt, again! Just like with the FAKE and fully discredited Steele Dossier, the lying 51 'Intelligence' Agents, the Laptop from Hell, which the Dems swore had come from Russia (No, it came from Hunter Biden's bathroom!), and even the Russia, Russia, Russia Scam itself, a totally fake and made up story used in order to hide Crooked Hillary Clinton's big loss in the 2016 Presidential Election, these Scams and Hoaxes are all the Democrats are good at - It's all they have - They are no good at governing, no good at policy, and no good at picking winning candidates. "Also, unlike Republicans, they stick together like glue. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bull***,' hook, line, and sinker. They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore! Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" What Happens Next Members of Congress have said they will continue pressing for greater transparency regarding the DOJ's handling of the Epstein probe. Official comment from the Southern District of New York or the DOJ on Comey's replacement is still pending, and further inquiries into sealed case records remain likely as policymakers and the public seek additional answers.

Charlie Kirk says ‘I'm done talking about Epstein' after Trump called him over weekend
Charlie Kirk says ‘I'm done talking about Epstein' after Trump called him over weekend

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Charlie Kirk says ‘I'm done talking about Epstein' after Trump called him over weekend

The marching orders have been received, and some of Donald Trump's most loyal foot soldiers in the MAGA media ecosystem are already dutifully falling in line. After the right-wing uproar over the Justice Department's Jeffrey Epstein memo hit a crescendo this weekend after the president's Truth Social post calling for the MAGA base to let it go and leave Attorney General Pam Bondi alone, key Trump ally Charlie Kirk declared Monday that he was 'done talking about Epstein' for the time being. Kirk's announcement comes a day after he spoke to the president on the phone to express his support for Bondi, according to CNN. Bondi has come under extreme fire from MAGA critics, including Kirk, who have blasted the attorney general for releasing an unsigned memo last week concluding that Epstein had no 'client list,' died by suicide while awaiting trial and did not blackmail prominent figures who allegedly took part in his underage sex trafficking. 'Members of the president's inner circle have also reached out to some of Bondi's critics to essentially ask them to ramp it down, noting that Trump, at this moment, was not getting rid of his attorney general,' CNN added. 'Sources cautioned that while Trump was currently still supporting Bondi, things could always change.' Trump privately doubling down in his support for Bondi comes after he took to his social media site on Saturday afternoon to complain about his 'boys' and 'gals' continuing to obsess over the Epstein case, adding that files related to the disgraced financier were 'written by Obama' and 'Crooked Hillary' and were therefore not worth 'caring about.' He added that his supporters should cease calling for Bondi to be fired over the memo. MAGA podcaster Charlie Kirk says he's "done talking about Epstein" after Donald Trump called him this past weekend to gin up support for embattled Attorney General Pam Bondi. (Rumble) 'They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' Trump blared on Truth Social. 'We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.' Over the weekend, Kirk – the founder of MAGA youth organization Turning Point USA – hosted the group's Student Action Summit in Florida, which saw many of the attendees raging about the way the Trump administration has handled the Epstein case. While much of the anger was directed at Bondi, who once claimed she had the deceased sex offender's long-fabled 'client list' on her desk for review only to now claim it doesn't exist, the president himself also faced pointed accusations of hiding Epstein's supposed co-conspirators. 'In 2016, we trusted the plan with Trump, but now Trump has become the deep state. What is more deep state than covering up for pedophiles?!' one SAS attendee exclaimed before referencing Trump's lengthy past friendship with Epstein. Kirk, along with other MAGA luminaries, devoted much of their time at the conservative confab to criticizing the White House's handling of the situation while warning the president that he risked alienating many of his most devout supporters by dismissing their concerns of an administration 'cover-up' on Epstein. 'Do I think this is the end of MAGA? No. I've never said that,' Kirk told the Washington Post over the weekend. 'Do I think the extra 10 to 15 percent of [less inclined to vote] bros that are trading crypto and wake up at 2 p.m. every day … do I think they're going to be, like, 'Screw it?' Yeah. That's a huge risk.' However, by the time Monday's episode of his podcast came around, Kirk made it known that he was going to heed the president's orders to shut up about the fiasco. 'Plenty was said this last weekend at our event about Epstein,' he stated. 'Honestly, I'm done talking about Epstein for the time being. I'm gonna trust my friends in the administration, I'm gonna trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done [and] solve it. Ball's in their hands.' Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced MAGA fury after announcing the findings in the Epstein case. (REUTERS) Reiterating that he had spoken at length about the matter at the TPUSA event, the Trump loyalist asserted that he was going to concentrate his attention on other issues, such as the president's latest announcement regarding the war in Ukraine. Amid the infighting behind the scenes, which has seen the FBI's deputy director Dan Bongino – a former MAGA podcaster who, along with FBI Director Kash Patel, trafficked in Epstein conspiracies before joining the administration – threaten to quit after falling out with Bondi over the Epstein memo, Kirk also expressed his support for the DOJ and FBI leaders. 'Everyone knows my opinion about the Epstein thing, the messaging fumble. I would love to see the DOJ move to unseal the grand jury testimony. I think that would be a big win. I would love to see that,' he proclaimed. 'And I'm gonna trust my friends Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, my friend Pam Bondi. All these guys. I'm gonna — Todd Blanche — I'm gonna trust them to solve it. Ball's in their court,' Kirk concluded. 'I think that there was plenty of, let's say, speeches that were directed towards this topic this last weekend. So we don't need to spend our valuable time on this program relitigating it.' Blanche, the deputy attorney general, took to social media Friday to defend the department's handling of the memo, adding that he worked closely with Bongino and Patel on it and they all signed off on the final draft. 'The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false,' Blanche tweeted. Even though Trump has publicly said Bongino is in 'good shape,' CNN has reported that the ex-Fox News host 'largely excommunicated himself' from the administration and that the president is 'infuriated' over his threat to quit, making Bongino's relationship with the White House 'basically untenable.' Meanwhile, Kirk is hardly the only one in the pro-Trump media universe who has heeded the president's call to ignore the Epstein files despite the intense blowback from his conservative base. Fox & Friends, Trump's favorite morning show, didn't once bring up the issue during its three-hour Monday broadcast while MSNBC's Morning Joe mentioned Epstein over 100 times and Bondi an additional 80 times. In fact, through the early afternoon hours on Monday, Fox News had yet to mention Epstein.

Dan Bongino's relationship with the White House is ‘basically untenable' as rumors of his departure mount
Dan Bongino's relationship with the White House is ‘basically untenable' as rumors of his departure mount

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Dan Bongino's relationship with the White House is ‘basically untenable' as rumors of his departure mount

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino's relationship with the White House is reportedly in ruins as rumors of his departure from the agency mount. Last week, reports emerged that Bongino did not go to work on Friday after a blow-out argument with Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files. Now, CNN reports that Justice Department leaders haven't spoken to Bongino since Wednesday, and Vice President JD Vance is attempting to mediate the conflict. Bongino has told others he is considering resigning, and sources familiar with the situation say his relationship with the White House is basically untenable, according to CNN. 'The whole thing has been a complete mess and no one is happy,' one source told CNN on Friday. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino's relationship with the White House is 'untenable,' according to a recent report (Getty Images) However, Trump confirmed he spoke with Bongino over the weekend, and backed the FBI leader to remain in his role. 'I spoke to him today,' Trump told reporters Sunday after stepping off Air Force One. 'Dan Bongino. Very good guy. I've known him for a long time. I've done his show many, many times. He sounded terrific, actually. No, I think he's in good shape.' Elon Musk entered the fray on Saturday, responding to an X user who screenshotted a particularly oddly-worded Truth Social post from Trump, in which the president urged his followers to drop the matter. 'This is in the running for worst post ever made,' wrote the X user. 'Seriously,' Musk responded. 'He said 'Epstein' half a dozen times while telling everyone to stop talking about Epstein.' In the post, Trump defended his attorney general: 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' 'We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,' he added. Bongino clashed with Bondi at the White House on Wednesday over the recent memo from the FBI and Justice Department revealing that Jeffrey Epstein did not keep a 'client list,' Axios reported. The memo also confirmed that Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell on August 10, 2019, following years of conspiracy theories surrounding the disgraced financier's death. Bondi confronted Bongino over a NewsNation article that stated he and FBI Director Patel said they wanted more information about the Epstein files released earlier, but were held back from doing so, Axios reported. Bongino reportedly told Bondi he didn't leak that information. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino reportedly argued in the White House on Wednesday (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) The White House maintains that Bongino, Bondi and others are working 'in lockstep and with unprecedented success.' 'President Trump has assembled an incredible team of Law and Order patriots who are committed to Making America Safe Again and restoring the integrity of our criminal justice system,' spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to The Independent. 'Attorney General Bondi, Director Patel, Deputy Director Bongino, and the countless other heroes of our law enforcement community are dedicated to executing President Trump's agenda of protecting civil rights, safeguarding communities, holding criminals accountable, and defending victims.' The Justice Department's memo also included a ten-hour video from outside Epstein's cell, arguing that it shows no one entered the room before the financier died by suicide. But many conspiracy theorists online claim the video has a 'missing minute' and is part of a wider cover-up effort surrounding Epstein's death. Bongino and Patel were previously some of the most high-profile MAGA influencers who questioned how Epstein died. A senior administration official told Axios that Bongino was in favor of releasing this video until it stirred up controversy. The Independent has contacted the FBI for comment.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store