Villa Grimaldi

The Villa Grimaldi is a great property located on the hills précordilléranes of the commune of Peñalolén at Santiago de Chile. This dwelling is sadly famous to have been during the military dictatorship of most important Augusto Pinochet one of the centers of detention and torture.

History

This place belonged to the family of large lawyer and humanistic Chilean Juan Egaña. In this place developed an intense cultural life, supported by Egaña itself.

At the beginning of the century, the property belonged has Mr. Jose Arrieta, who continued the activities established by Egaña.

After the coup d'etat of September 11th 1973, the DINED (Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional or National Intelligence service) started to seek a place or could be installed a great operational center. Within sight of qualities of the place, DINED it made pressure on its owner, Emilio Vasallo, so that it yields the ground to him. Once in its possession, it was renamed Quartier Terreneuve and was prepared to become a detention center as of the end of 1973]

In 1974, the camp started to receive its first occupants, and was operational with full as of the end with the same year. It was the general headquarter of the Brigade of Metropolitan Information whose first chief was major César Manríquez Moyano. At that time, hardest in term of forced disappearances and torture, the centers known as London 38 (of the name of the building or it was), and Venda Sexy were active also in Santiago

One estimates has 4500 the number of people who were held with the Grimaldi Villa. Among them, 226 disappeared. The principal function of this center was the detention and torture, directed against the militants of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) and starting from 1975 of the Chilean Communist party.

With the dissolution of DINED in 1976 the property was transferred under the authority from the National center from Information (CNI) to administrative ends.

With an aim of eliminating all the traces from it with what the place was used, in 1988, the property was transferred has Hugo Wenzel, director of the CNI. Later on, the property was divided into batch and all the buildings were destroyed, except for the wall surrounding the villa.

Current location

With the return of the democracy in 1990, the government of Patricio Aylwin denounced the irregularities in the transfer of the property of the Grimaldi Villa.

Recovering the possession of the place, the government, in 1995 décidá to create there the Park for Peace - Villa Grimaldi , inaugurated the March 22nd 1997, thus paying homages to all those which died there and there were tortured.

External bonds

Sitio of Corporación Parque por La Paz Villa Grimaldi
Archivo documental of mow violaciones has lasting los DD.HH will dictadura it militar
Vue interior…

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