Forensic anthropologists identify 17 dictatorship victims in Córdoba military field

The Argentine Team of Forensic Anthropology (EAAF, by its Spanish initials) identified 17 people who were killed and buried in a military field in Córdoba during the last dictatorship. The finding adds to 12 identifications announced in March, as part of an excavation and remains analysis work the EAAF has been carrying out since 2025 at the compound where Córdoba’s largest and deadliest clandestine center of detention, torture and extermination, La Perla, operated. The Córdoba judiciary announced the list of names of the identified victims in a press conference on Tuesday after notifying their relatives, who were also present at the briefing. Over 2,000 people were kidnapped and disappeared by Argentina’s last dictatorship at the infamous “La Perla” death camp but, until last year, no bodies had ever been found there. The EAAF, a world-renowned NGO, carried out a 20-year investigation at the site. Their findings confirm that the area of Loma del Torito inside the La Perla compound was used as a mass grave, like many witnesses described throughout the past decades. During the press conference, Córdoba Judge Miguel Hugo Vaca Narvaja said that “it is possible that there will be more identifications.” While there are no estimations of the total number of individuals who were buried at the site, the judiciary stated that “a great number of human bone remains” were found scattered there. The judge announced the names of only 16 of the victims, as one of the families asked for the name of their relative to remain anonymous. The list includes several couples who were buried together, including Ester Felipe and Luis Mónaco; Nélida Noemí Moreno de Goycochea and José Luis Goycochea Escudero; as well as Rosa Cristina Godoy de Cruspeire and Carlos Cayetano Cruspeire The rest of the list names Gilberto Néstor Lellin D’Francesco, Graciela María de los Milagros Doldan, Juan Carlos Navarro Moyano, Adrián José Ferreyra Rivero, Víctor Carlos Díaz Rinero, Marta Susana Vera Ledesma de Comba, Silvia del Valle Taborda, Gustavo Daniel Torres, Edelmiro Cruz Bustos, Oscar Segura Ranieri. A moving homage Relatives of several of the identified victims thanked the EAAF and all those involved in the process, deeply moved after finally learning what happened to their loved ones after almost five decades. “Today I’m not here to say ‘goodbye’ to my dad. Today, I can finally say ‘hello,’” said Ernesto Ferreyra, son of Adrián José Ferreyra, who was a psychology student and member of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party (PRT). Ernesto was born 11 days after his father was kidnapped in March 1976. “When I became a father, I understood what he must have felt when he was not able to meet me,” he said. Luis Navarro, brother of communist militant and industrial worker Juan Carlos Navarro, thanked all those who were involved in finding him and the rest of the identified victims. “When we asked about our relatives, we were told that if there was no body, there was no crime, and we couldn’t do anything,” he lamented in tears. “Today, I call for justice to be made, and for punishment for those who murdered my brother, like many others,” Luis pleaded. “It is my wish they find many more.” One of the daughters of Oscar Segura Ranieri highlighted the importance of the identifications, stating that “families are finding their loved ones after 50 years, and they can finally grieve and have a wake.” Another woman, daughter of Juventud Radical member Edelmiro Cruz Bustos, cited a passage of the Bible her mother used to read to her: “‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ And today, we feel free,” she said. Cover image credit: EAAF