1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: Ohla, dear listener, Gomostas. Today we're going to go back 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: in time, actually to one of the darkest moments in 3 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: the history of Argentina, the military dictatorship that ruled the 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: country during the nineteen seventies and early eighties. Miriam Lewin 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: was kidnapped by soldiers when she was just nineteen years old. 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: She spent time in a concentration camp. A lot of 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: other people never made it back home. About thirty thousand 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: were disappeared in Argentina during this period, which is known 9 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: as the Dirty War. Miriam became an investigative journalist, and 10 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: decades later she looked into one of the most infamous 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: practices of the dictatorship, Los Buelos de la Moorte, the 12 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: death Flights. In this podcast, we're going to follow Miriam 13 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: as she finds one of the planes that was used 14 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: by the military to throw people into the ocean, which 15 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: unexp actively was in Florida, and she fights to bring 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: some of the pilots to justice. Here's the first episode 17 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: of Avenger, produced by Orbit Media in association with Sonoro. 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 2: Before we begin, please note that for this story, we 19 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,279 Speaker 2: interviewed medium and everyone else for dozens of hours in Spanish. 20 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 2: We hired actors to voice their words in English. 21 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 3: By then it was much more than a feeling. I 22 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 3: knew that I was being followed. I avoided going to 23 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 3: my family's house because I knew they would be there 24 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 3: waiting for me. 25 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 2: It's late afternoon, nineteen seventy seven. Medium is in a 26 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 2: neighborhood in Buenos Aires. She's nineteen. It's been a year 27 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 2: since Argentina's military power a coup to bring back peace 28 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 2: and stability, says the military dictator. People like Medium, a 29 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,839 Speaker 2: young political dissident, are now targets. 30 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 3: I was actually worried about my grandmother. It had been 31 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,679 Speaker 3: a while since i'd last seen her. She was ninety two, 32 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 3: and she was frail. I just wanted to call, you know, 33 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 3: check in. I get to the phone booth and I 34 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:33,119 Speaker 3: notice a man in line, his young, slim and he's 35 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 3: wearing a jean jacket. And I see that when his 36 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 3: turn comes up, he doesn't end up making a call. 37 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 3: So now I'm on alert. I start heading toward the 38 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 3: nearest bus stop, where at least there were more people around. 39 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 3: First he follows me to the bus stop. Then I 40 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 3: see him inside the bus. I immediately jump off at 41 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 3: a random stop, but he also met just to get out. 42 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 3: So I turn my head and I see a dark 43 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 3: red Ford Falcon and a long gun barrel hanging out 44 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 3: from one of the windows. Now I'm running out of ideas. 45 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 3: I run into a nearby store, and when I look back, 46 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 3: I see that three men were following. I try to 47 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 3: stay calm and make my way through the meat aisle, 48 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 3: pretending I'm shopping. There's no back exit, so I take 49 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 3: off again through the front door. I tried to catch 50 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 3: a bus that was slowing down, and the Ford Falcon 51 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 3: speeds up right toward me. The bus driver other people 52 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 3: try to help, but the men pull out their guns 53 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 3: and scare everybody away. The bus also takes off. They 54 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 3: tackle me and they tell me they're police. So I 55 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 3: start screaming, I'm Miriam Lewie, please help me. 56 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 2: From Orbit Media, I'm andres Caaba Schedo. This is Avenger. 57 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 2: The story of Medium Lewin, Episode one. The process. Fast 58 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 2: forward three decades to twenty ten. It's four in the afternoon, 59 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 2: the busiest time of day at Canal Trece, a national 60 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 2: TV channel in Buenos Aires. Medium sits in her office 61 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 2: chair looking through a big glass window that the car 62 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 2: is driving by. In Argentina. Medium is a well known 63 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 2: investigative journalist and she's relentless going after a purple traders 64 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 2: of sexual abuse. She's reported from Gaza, Russia, lots of places. 65 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 2: Now she's in the middle of the biggest investigation of 66 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 2: her career. Medium looks at her phone. It's a US. 67 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 3: Number, Ola Medium, Ola Bruno Olae. 68 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 2: An Argentine reporter calling from Florida. Medium had recently hired 69 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 2: him to help her follow up on a tip. She 70 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 2: had sent him to meet the owner of a small 71 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 2: plane that maybe had once been used by Argentina's dictatorship 72 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 2: to kill hundreds of people. They were tossed out of 73 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 2: planes alive into the sea. Somehow the plane ended up 74 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 2: in Fort Lauderdale. Medium hoped that it still held clues 75 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 2: evidence of the atrocities. 76 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 3: We had no money to make the trip ourselves, so 77 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 3: we hired a stringer, a freelance journalist and actually Bruno 78 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 3: was a sports commentator, no pud career. 79 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 2: See Ino on the phone. The reporter confirms it's the 80 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 2: right plane. 81 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 3: I mean, we never even dreamed of running into something 82 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 3: so valuable. And then the owner of the plane shows him. 83 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 3: The flight logs that were left inside untouched. The hose 84 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 3: logs date back to the late seventies and early eighties, 85 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 3: when the military junta was in power. It was all 86 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 3: there dates, roots, origin, destination, and the most important part, 87 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 3: the names of the pilots. 88 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 2: I spent a lot of my childhood in Argentina in 89 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 2: the early nineties at my grandfather's repair shop behind our house. 90 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 2: It was a middle class suburb of Buennos Aires, and 91 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 2: every morning I would wake up to Radio Colonna, my 92 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 2: grandfather's favorite station. Inside his repair shop, the floors and 93 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 2: shelves were stacked with old radios, tools, and countless broken televisions. 94 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 2: One day, he decided I was old enough to hear 95 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 2: about the death flights. He told me how only about 96 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 2: a decade earlier, thousands of people had been kidnapped, loaded 97 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 2: into airplanes and thrown into the ocean. I was barely 98 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 2: nine at the time. We lived several blocks from the shore. 99 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 2: I could picture the planes above the water, bodies free falling. 100 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 2: I had a lot of questions, but my grandfather didn't 101 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 2: have answers. This was in the nineties and many Argentines 102 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 2: were still searching for answers about loved ones who had 103 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 2: gone missing, mothers, fathers were still mourning, in fear and 104 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 2: in silence. It seemed at times that Argentina, the entire country, 105 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 2: was looking away, intent on bearing the ghosts of the past. 106 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 2: For a long time, journalist, Medium Lewin wanted to bury 107 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 2: them too. For good reason. She had been one of 108 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 2: the disappeared. Better to forget years of captivity of torture. 109 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 2: Then one day, an annoying, rude, incredibly persistent Italian photo 110 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 2: journalist entered her life, asking lots of uncomfortable questions. Theirs 111 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 2: would be an unlikely alliance, but together they set out 112 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 2: to bring justice to the victims of the Bueilos de 113 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 2: la Morte, the death flights. It would prove to be 114 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 2: the investigation of a lifetime. The investigation would also become 115 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 2: crucial in my strich for answers, How did an entire 116 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 2: country allow this to happen? Was there will there ever 117 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 2: be justice? Where were the pilots who flew the death flights? 118 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 2: In two thousand and seven. Giancarlo Siraulo is living in 119 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 2: Buenos Aires. He's the annoying Italian photojournalist who gets in 120 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 2: touch with Medium. He invites her to a cafe to 121 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 2: take some photos. 122 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 3: He says he's been assigned to take some portraits of me. 123 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 3: I don't know something about a story about survivors of 124 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 3: the dictatorship. 125 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 4: I had no idea whether she tell me to just 126 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 4: go to hell. The photos were just an excuse for 127 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 4: us to me. I mean, why would I take portraits 128 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 4: of a survivor inside a cafe. I knew I wasn't 129 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 4: going to use those photos. 130 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 2: In his thirties, Giancadlo is a bit of a nomad. 131 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 2: He's been all over the world telling stories, taking photos, 132 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 2: fulfilling his obsession to document the scars left by fascist governments. Recently, 133 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 2: he traveled from Italy to Argentina on a mission. He's 134 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 2: become obsessed with the death flights. He's heard about Medium 135 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 2: and decided he needs her, a survivor, and just as important, 136 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 2: a journalist on the ground who might help him find 137 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:15,559 Speaker 2: some answers and jian. Cadlo's request comes at a good time. 138 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 3: I was in a bad place emotionally at the time. 139 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 3: I was in my fifties. My two boys were in 140 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 3: their mid twenties, so they were never home. The man 141 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 3: I was with back then left me for a younger woman. 142 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 3: I was alone, heartbroken. I needed some sort of distraction, 143 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 3: something to occupy my time, even if it involved meeting 144 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 3: a stranger to talk about trauma. 145 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 2: She agrees to meet gian Cadlo at a cafe in 146 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 2: the center of what Asidis. It's a gray, windy day 147 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 2: in August, and Medium comes straight from her office wearing 148 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 2: her signature fluorescent orange jack, her red curly hair blowing 149 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 2: in the wind. The cafe is on Avenida and Withe Julia, 150 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 2: a majestic avenue lined up with purple Jagaranda trees. It's 151 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 2: not the first time that a foreign journalist contacts Medium 152 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 2: for an interview, but Giancarlo is different. 153 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 3: He says high with a kiss on the cheek. He's 154 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 3: clearly non American. He has this baby face that makes 155 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 3: him look in his mid twenties, and long wavy hair, 156 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 3: green eyes and an earring. 157 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 4: And I'm shocked by her face. She's beautiful in her 158 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 4: eyes have this light to them, and a lot of 159 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 4: the survivors of interview didn't have the light in their eyes. 160 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 2: They start talking. Gian Cadlo seems eager, too eager. He's 161 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 2: leaning toward Medium over the table. Medium is not impressed. 162 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 2: The whole setup seems off. 163 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 3: I'm thinking, who does this serious, prestigious Italian magazine send 164 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 3: this guy to do a story about the dictatorship. He 165 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 3: just doesn't seem very professional. And then he grabs his 166 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 3: camera and starts taking pictures of me without even looking 167 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 3: into the camera. I thought that was kind of weird, 168 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 3: so I asked if he got the shots that he needed. 169 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,080 Speaker 3: Instead of answering, his smiles and asks me a question. 170 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 4: Do you know where the planes use for the dead 171 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 4: flights are? 172 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,839 Speaker 3: He was kind of telling me, how come you never 173 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 3: thought of this? I was an experienced investigative reporter, so 174 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 3: that felt like a lack of respect. You know, how 175 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 3: dare he ask me that I'm a survivor of a 176 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 3: concentration camp. Also, I'm like twelve years older than him. 177 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 3: I have no idea where the planes could be and 178 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:59,599 Speaker 3: why why should I care? But then again, through those planes, 179 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 3: we could get to the pilots and maybe identify them, 180 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 3: and that would be amazing. 181 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 2: Gian Cardlo's convinced that if they could find the planes, 182 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 2: that could lead to the pilots of those death flights. 183 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,839 Speaker 4: I mean, these are the guys who were responsible for 184 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 4: the genocidal machine that killed so many people. I'm trying 185 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 4: to see how she would react, hoping it would make 186 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 4: her want to help me with the investigation. That's their 187 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 4: strategy at least. 188 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:34,319 Speaker 3: And then Giancarlo pulls this strange looking book from his backpack. 189 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 3: He puts it on the table. It's written by a 190 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 3: guy named Adolfo Silingo, a former Navy captain. He was 191 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 3: the first Navy officer to admit to being part of 192 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 3: a death flight crew. I knew about Silingo, I mean, 193 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 3: I had heard about him, but I hadn't seen this 194 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 3: book yet. 195 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 2: It was an obscure book. Only a few copies were 196 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 2: ever printed. Giancarlo gives it to her and she puts 197 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 2: it in her bag. Their meeting ends without a commitment, 198 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 2: but it sparks something within her. 199 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 3: Was there possibly something big to investigate, something that had 200 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 3: been overlooked for a while. I avoided investigating the dictatorship, 201 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 3: revisiting that trauma. I had friends who were put on 202 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 3: those death flights. I didn't feel I could stick to 203 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 3: journalistic boundaries, like my emotions might betray me at any 204 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 3: moment and send me into a breakdown. 205 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 2: Medium grew up in a nice middle class neighborhood in 206 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 2: Buenos Aires. She was an intellectual child. She loved books 207 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 2: and poetry. Her dad was a big influence. He was 208 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 2: a leftist. He gave her books about socialism workers' movements. 209 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 3: When my dad noticed me bringing flyers home bringing the 210 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 3: anarchist paper, he started feeding me more anarchist literature. 211 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 2: Soon she was an activist. 212 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 3: I was into political militancy, but I also loved the 213 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 3: idea of working for a newspaper. I was a good writer, 214 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 3: so I signed up for journalism school. The problem was 215 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 3: my parents wanted me to have a real career, so 216 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 3: I had to enroll in economics at the same time 217 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 3: to appease them. We were young, but we felt like 218 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 3: we'd live through a lot. Social change, access to education, 219 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 3: better salaries. It all seemed at our fingertips. I mean, 220 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 3: it didn't feel like a fantasy. It felt like we 221 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,240 Speaker 3: could actually change the world. I wanted to see a 222 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 3: country where there was equality. We were young and we 223 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 3: felt invincible. 224 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 2: When Medium's parents started to worry about her safety, they 225 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 2: offered to fly her to Brazil or somewhere outside Argentina. 226 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 3: Abandoning the cause wasn't even an option for us. We 227 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 3: thought if we abandoned the militancy and activism, we would 228 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 3: be betraying our friends who gave their lives for the movement. 229 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 2: The economy was in shambles. 230 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 5: For sixty days, six thousand metal workers struck unofficially against 231 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 5: wage restraint. In face of huge inflation. 232 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 2: And political violence. Intentions grew the government. 233 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 5: Federal police moved in. Five hundred workers were sacked and 234 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 5: one hundred and forty three flung in jail without trial. 235 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 5: One man handing out leaflets was machine gun from a 236 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 5: police car. Another shot dead while painting a slogan on 237 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 5: a wall. 238 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 2: It was ruthless Lasa las continua parsonal leftist group's retaliate 239 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 2: target and government officials police chiefs. 240 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 5: Six point thirty one morning in this down at hill, 241 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 5: Buenos Aires suburb, two cars pulled up, Five men got out. 242 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 5: One knocked on the door. The policeman who answered received 243 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 5: one bullet in the brain. The remaining men then drilled 244 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,360 Speaker 5: the front of the house with at least eighty bullets. 245 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 5: Before leaving, they blasted holes in the roof with three grenades, 246 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 5: injuring the man's widow and two children. 247 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 2: Violence divided the country. The best known group targeting police 248 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 2: and government forces was called the Montenados. Some supported them, 249 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 2: including Medium, as the best hope against forces of repression, 250 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 2: but others saw only chaos and violence. They craved stability. Meanwhile, 251 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 2: Medium was in the midst of a political awakening. She 252 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 2: got a job at a factory and helped organize union workers. 253 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 2: Her parents started to worry about her, but Medium was 254 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 2: on a different path. Now. The entire nation was on edge. 255 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 2: Inflation with skyrocketing, the violence was getting worse. The government 256 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 2: seemed powerless. 257 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 3: During the last months of nineteen seventy five, everyone already 258 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:24,360 Speaker 3: knew that a military coup was about to happen. It 259 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 3: was March twenty fourth, nineteen seventy six. My mom barges 260 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,360 Speaker 3: into my room with a portable radio broadcasting about soldiers marching, 261 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 3: and then she tells me that there was a coup. 262 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 3: I remember being in bed and just getting into a 263 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 3: fetal position and crying. I was crying because I felt 264 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 3: afraid of the changes that were coming, more control less freedoms. 265 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 3: And I remember what it felt like to step out 266 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 3: of my house for the first time just after the coup, 267 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 3: watching the tanks rolling down the streets in the middle 268 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 3: of the city. We had seen this before, the military 269 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 3: that targets activists, sending them to jail, trying them in court. 270 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,439 Speaker 3: We actually thought, we hoped, the military would help stop 271 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 3: the violence. I never imagined the underground extra judicial process. 272 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,720 Speaker 3: Never imagined they would kidnap me, put a hood on me, 273 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 3: torture me. 274 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 2: Argentina's armed forces took control a coup led by General 275 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 2: jrgue Rafelbidela. Up until then he had played a neutral 276 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 2: role when it came to politics, but he was the 277 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 2: country's most powerful military leader. He promised peace a stable economy. Officially, 278 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:59,159 Speaker 2: his plan was called the national reorganization process or just 279 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 2: the process. If the professor reorganization national. 280 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,439 Speaker 3: He would say things like the process would require time 281 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 3: and effort. They had their own vision for the country, 282 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 3: a right wing neoliberal nation with conservative Christian. 283 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:25,879 Speaker 2: Values, values that General Videla says were threatened by subversives, students, 284 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 2: union members, teachers, activists, people like medium, who he vowed 285 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 2: to quote annihilate. 286 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:39,920 Speaker 3: That rhetoric about preserving Western Christian values, about creating paranoia 287 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 3: that communism was taking over our country. To me, none 288 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 3: of that was surprising. I remember a friend telling me 289 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 3: he was leaving the country because he'd heard that the 290 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 3: military was planning a blood bath, that they were going 291 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 3: to kill us all we thought it was an exaggeration. 292 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 3: We didn't see Argentina as a banana republic, and we 293 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 3: had never witnessed the type of blood bath my friend 294 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 3: was predicting. We thought he was a coward. 295 00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 2: General Videla is swearing in takes place inside the presidential palace. 296 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 2: The room is filled with men in green and blue 297 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 2: military uniforms, Catholic bishops and families of Junta leaders watching 298 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 2: from a balcony in grays and John al Salon Blanco. 299 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 2: Everyone is standing. Suddenly, two giant doors open and General 300 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 2: Videla appears. His tall, slim with a thick mustache. He 301 00:21:40,840 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 2: has a stern look, and he takes the oath Joe. 302 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 3: Rumors about horrific torture started going around. 303 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 2: The rumors are true. The Junta takes its crack down 304 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 2: and left his groups to a new level. 305 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 3: People having their arms ripped off, their bodies, electric shocks rape. 306 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 3: The orders from our group leaders were clear, do not 307 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 3: be captured alive. 308 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 2: For medium. It means leaving her parents' house. She knows 309 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 2: she's a person of interest. She fears she will bring 310 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 2: danger to her family, so she goes into hiding. 311 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,679 Speaker 3: The thing is that immediately after the coup, the military 312 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 3: started arresting friends. People are knew, right, so we knew 313 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,360 Speaker 3: that the military were going to torture those friends, and 314 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:57,480 Speaker 3: they had information about where I lived. And the reality 315 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:02,240 Speaker 3: is not everyone can endure torture, So if they gave 316 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 3: your information, the military would be at my door. The 317 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 3: fear and terror was not only aimed at armed groups 318 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 3: or known activists. It was aimed at society. They were 319 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 3: going after school teachers, professors, union members, and then they 320 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 3: were targeting their families too. It was too dangerous for 321 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:31,919 Speaker 3: me to keep sleeping at home. At one point, my 322 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 3: dad didn't speak to me for at least six months. 323 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 3: He was against my activism. He knew how committed I was, 324 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 3: and he knew how dangerous it was. He was scared 325 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 3: because people he knew were disappearing left and right, and 326 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 3: he didn't want me to get killed. 327 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 2: By then, MEDIUM had fallen in love with a fellow 328 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 2: journalism student, juan Is Davis. They met in college. He 329 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 2: was an activist like her. 330 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:03,919 Speaker 3: He was sweet, adorable. Never again did I feel the 331 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 3: way I felt for Juan. His voice was so special. 332 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,400 Speaker 3: Just hearing him talk made me emotional. He loved his 333 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 3: family and he loved me. 334 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 2: After the coup, they drop out of journalism school and 335 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 2: go underground. 336 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 3: Juana and I got a place at first, but I 337 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 3: would only sleep there a few days a week. I 338 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:31,199 Speaker 3: would lie to my parents. I'd tell them I was 339 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 3: going to sleep at friends houses. But then more of 340 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 3: our friends started to get kidnapped, so we had to leave. 341 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 3: We were never in the life of a typical couple. 342 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 3: We were on the move almost every week, living one 343 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 3: day at a time. We never even thought about the future. 344 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 2: Before they go underground together, they buy two cheap wedding 345 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 2: bands and ask the leader of their activist group to marry. 346 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 3: Them, and at that very informal ceremony, the guy called 347 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 3: us a revolutionary couple. He said that our commitment to 348 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 3: each other, our vow was to fight to change Argentina, 349 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 3: to make it a more just place. And we moved 350 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 3: to the outskirts of Buenos Aires and we got this tiny, 351 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 3: tiny apartment with a tin roof. It was in the 352 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 3: back of a family's house, and we started buying some 353 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,200 Speaker 3: furniture a couple of chairs, a table, and some plates, 354 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 3: a cover for our bed, and we put a Beatles 355 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 3: poster in the bedroom. 356 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 2: Medium and Juan don't get to live there for very long. 357 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,399 Speaker 2: Crackdowns become more frequent. They have to go back to 358 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 2: hiding at friends houses or at cheap motels. They're preparing 359 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 2: for the worst. 360 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,080 Speaker 3: I looked out the window, and if we saw anyone 361 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 3: that looked like an officer or soldier, I would freak out, 362 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 3: and Juan calm me down. He always told me I 363 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 3: was paranoid. Everything was so intense, the loss of our friends, 364 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 3: attending nearly empty group meetings because most people disappeared. I mean, 365 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 3: for us, one day, it felt like ten years. We 366 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 3: made love a lot. We loved each other, but we 367 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 3: were living on the edge. So every time we could 368 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 3: touch each other, every time we could kiss each other, 369 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 3: it was like it could be the last time. 370 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 2: And there was one critical part of their group's training 371 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 2: that they would always carry a cyanide pill and pledge 372 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 2: to swallow it before they were captured. 373 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 3: We had decided to take our own lives before having 374 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 3: to endure torture, which could lead to us giving away information, 375 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 3: and that could lead to our friends getting captured. Also, 376 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 3: it was an order coming from the years of our organization, 377 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:08,159 Speaker 3: don't get captured alive. To me, it was simple. You 378 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 3: get captured and they own your body. They would pass 379 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 3: you over from one force to another, or if they 380 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 3: wanted to, they would just put a bullet in your head, 381 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 3: so they would dictate when and how you died. But 382 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 3: with the Sinai pill, we were in control of our death, 383 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 3: so it was kind of like a small victory over them, 384 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 3: you know. 385 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 2: Two nights before her kidnapping, Medium is walking through the 386 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 2: streets of Buenos Aires, heading back to where she and 387 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 2: Juan are staying. They're still in hiding. 388 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 3: It was raining that night. I noticed a car with 389 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 3: foggy windows. Inside I see the silhouettes of three or 390 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 3: so men. I start zigzagging my way through the streets 391 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,520 Speaker 3: and corners to evade it, but sooner or later it 392 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 3: would be there again. 393 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 2: Two days later, on May seventeenth, nineteen seventy seven, Medium 394 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 2: finds herself running for her life, being chased by three 395 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 2: men in a ford falcon. 396 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 3: And I keep screaming off the top of my lungs. 397 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 3: I'm Miriam Lewin, Please help me, She. 398 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 2: Yells out, her phone number, begging anyone who can hear 399 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,679 Speaker 2: to call her family. Then the moment Medium in her 400 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 2: fellow militants had prepared for. 401 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 3: I reach into the pocket of my leather jacket. I 402 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 3: take out the cyanide pill and I put it in 403 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 3: my mouth. I look up at the sky, and in 404 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 3: my head I think, God, thank you for letting me 405 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 3: die to help save my friends. 406 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 2: Usually cyanide pills are made out of glass. Once you 407 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 2: crush it with your teeth, the glass cuts your mouth 408 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 2: the poison enters the bloodstream quickly. But Medium cyanide capsule 409 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 2: is homemade. It's plastic. 410 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 3: I try to puncture the pill with my teeth as 411 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,840 Speaker 3: fast as I could, but the officers catch on and 412 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 3: force me to spit it out. Never imagined they would 413 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 3: catch me alive. I was young, healthy, but at that 414 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 3: moment I didn't hesitate. I just wanted to die. 415 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 2: In the next episode, Medium is taken alive to a 416 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 2: clandestine center to be interrogated, the exact scenario that she 417 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 2: and her fellow comrades had tried to avoid at all costs. 418 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 3: He says, Miriam, look at me. I am the man 419 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 3: responsible for your life and your death. As long as 420 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 3: you collaborate, as long as you're good, nothing will happen 421 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 3: to you. 422 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,640 Speaker 2: From Orbit Meati, this is Avenger, the Story of Medium Lewin. 423 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 2: I'm your host and Senior producer Andresca Vaccheedo. The series 424 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 2: was produced by es Seguiel, Rodrie Sandino and edited by 425 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 2: Monica Campbell. Original score Nicolas Paschella, mixing and mastering Christopher 426 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 2: Hoff and Austin Smith. Assistant producers andres Feschtenholz and Eleanna Gillespi. 427 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 2: FactCheck Alejandro Marinelli and leonardos Canone. Legal review Neil Rossini. 428 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 2: Casting director Paula Gammon Wilson. The executive producers from Orbit 429 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 2: Media are Steve Fishman Fisher Stevens, Marcy Wiseman, and Katie Springer. 430 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 2: The voice actors in Avenger include Alexis Boddell as Medium Lewin, 431 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,880 Speaker 2: Fulvio de la Volta as Giancarlo Serraudo, Gonzalo Vargas as 432 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 2: Enrique Pinedo, Edgardo Manono Castro as Bruno Vain, and Tom 433 00:30:54,640 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 2: Schubert as Carlos Macosmiliana and Gustavo. This podcast was produced 434 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 2: US in association with Sonado. The Sonado executive producers are 435 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 2: Camilla Victoriano, Joshua Weinstein and Jasmine Romero. The rest of 436 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 2: the Sonodo production team includes Senior producer Carmen Gratedol, editor 437 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 2: Rodrigo Cresco, Producer Paloma Navarro, Nicoletti, Evelyn Uribe, Mariana Cornell, 438 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 2: Sara Mota, Manuel Parra, Hanna Baram and Tasha Sandoval. Special 439 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 2: thanks to Radio and CASA and Pomeranec Recording Studios in 440 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:33,760 Speaker 2: Buenos Aires, and to medium Lewin and Giancarlo Serraudo for 441 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 2: letting us tell their story. Thank you for listening.