A couple of days ago I wrote about the disappearance of Luis Gerez, a former disappeared who had testified against a former torturer who had been elected to Congress in Argentina. Gerez was abducted by three men on his way to the butcher last Wednesday. They three him on the floor, they put a plastic bag around his head and suffocated him. They put him in a car, and they took him to a shed where they had shackles ready for him. There they tortured him with cigarettes, they threatened him and they subjected him to mock executions. "They killed me a thousand times," he said. He was in obvious shock when he was found by two girls in a neighborhood close to where he disappeared.
The Buenos Aires and national police worked tirelessly to find him. Over 50 buildings were searched, and the residents in all the nearby homes were questioned. They believed they were close to finding him. Patti's mignons were particular object of interest, and the government is convinced that they were involved in the disappearance of Gerez. If so, they may have been inspired, rather than in collusion, with those responsible for Julio Lopez' disappearance.
Gerez was freed,just as President Kirchner was finishing his televised speech in which he blamed para-police and para-military groups for the kidnapping of Gerez, promised he would not relent on the struggle against impunity and called for faster judicial proceedings against those accused of crimes during the past military dictatorship. He also called for witnesses, judges, lawyers and human rights defenders to accept the police protection the government has offered. However, corruption within the Buenos Aires police force is endemic, thousands of police men have been fired in recent years for committing crimes and there are still 900 policemen under investigation. Witnesses are justified in wondering if the police would actually protect them.
The government has attributed the quick liberation of Luis Gerez to its swift actions and to the President's speech. Such actions were not present when Julio López was disappeared over three months ago. I hope that the government's new attitude will intimidate would-be-kidnappers and stop the influx of threats against those participating in criminal procedures against those involved in the repression.