1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Hello, Avenger listeners, It's Steve Fishman and I'm really glad 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,120 Speaker 1: you've tuned in. I hope you love this show as 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: much as we do. A quick word on an upcoming 4 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: bonus episode. We're doing a bonus with Miriam, the real Miriam. 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: We'll be asking her questions, your questions and getting answers. 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: She'll update us on what's going on in her world 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: and a lot has Please email your questions or thoughts 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: or comments too. Info at Orbitmedia dot fm. Oh And 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: Fisher Stevens can answer your questions too. He's our co 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,639 Speaker 1: founder and resident Oscar winner. He's an actor you saw 11 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: him in Succession and director of actors like al Pacino 12 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: and Justin Timberlake. For Avenger, he directed Alexis Bledel, who 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: voices Miriam. If we're lucky, Alexis who was the star 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: of Gilmore Girls and Handmaid's Tale and is the daughter 15 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:01,639 Speaker 1: of an Argentine. We'll chip in answers to so let 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: us know your thoughts and questions, hopes and prayers. Info 17 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: at Orbitmedia dot fm. Thanks. In today's episode, the disappeared 18 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: people who were literally unaccounted for. No one could find them, 19 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: no one had seen them, no one knew if they 20 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 1: were still alive. The dictator of Argentina denied knowing anything 21 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: about them, if they even existed, and then bodies bloated, 22 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: bodies washed up on shore. A quick word about subscriptions. 23 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: If you love ads, listen on. If you're not so 24 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: keen on ads, sign up for True Crime Clubhouse on 25 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts. That's our subscription channel. You'll get no ads, 26 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: and also you can binge the entire Avenger series. It's 27 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: just two ninety nine a month. 28 00:01:57,880 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 2: Thanks. 29 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 3: Before we begin, please note that for this story we 30 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 3: interviewed medium and everyone else for dozens of hours in Spanish. 31 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 3: We hired actors to voice their words in English. In 32 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 3: Buenos Aires, there's a particular weather phenomenon, a storm called aasulistada. 33 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 3: Cold southern winds mixed with ocean humidity to create powerful gusts, rain, 34 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 3: and rough seas. In December of nineteen seventy seven, Asulhstada 35 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 3: slams into the coast of Buenos Aires. Days after the storm, 36 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 3: six bodies wash up on shore. Witnesses who find the 37 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 3: bodies describe them as swollen, severed. They call the police. 38 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 4: The police. Magical examiner dem meant that the bodies that 39 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 4: surfaced had vertical bone fractures. This happens when someone falls 40 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 4: from a very high place. 41 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 3: That's Carlos Somiliana, who goes by Marco. He's a forensic 42 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 3: expert you heard from in the last episode. 43 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 4: Since they couldn't identify the bodies, they buried them as 44 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 4: an n that short for no menesco Latin for unknown name. 45 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 3: In nineteen seventy nine, two years after those bodies washed ashore, 46 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 3: General Jorge Rafael Videla gives a rare press conference at 47 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 3: the presidential Palace. Pope John Paul the Second had recently 48 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 3: called out the number of disappeared in Argentina, and a 49 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 3: brave reporter asks a sensitive question. What the reporter asked, 50 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 3: is the government doing anything about the disappeared. General Videla 51 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 3: is thrown. 52 00:03:59,520 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 2: He could not. 53 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 3: He tries to fill the awkward silence as he thinks 54 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 3: of a response. He starts saying he's going to speak 55 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 3: from a Christian pro human rights perspective, which didn't make 56 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 3: much sense, and then he says the disappeared are just 57 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 3: a mystery. They're neither dead nor alive. They're just disappeared. 58 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 5: Notty that no is that. 59 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 3: But it won't always stay that way. More will be 60 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 3: known about those six unidentified bodies that washed up on shore. 61 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 3: They'll become crucial evidence that will lead to the truth 62 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 3: about one of the most horrific operations carried out by 63 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 3: the Junta, the death flights. It's a gruesome discovery that 64 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 3: will finally confirm what Medium and Giancarlo say. They've uncovered 65 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 3: the names of those responsible from Orbit Media. I'm Andres 66 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 3: Caaba Scheedo. This is a Venger. The story of Medium 67 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 3: Lewin Episode seven, The Bodies. Months after Videla's press conference 68 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 3: where he talked about the mystery of the disappeared, Carlos 69 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 3: and Medium are getting to know each other better. Carlos 70 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 3: is a fellow prisoner Medium had started seeing around the 71 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 3: time she was released from captivity. She's slowly fallen in 72 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 3: love with Carlos, and now they have a baby on 73 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 3: the way. 74 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 2: I slowly warmed up to Carlos. It it took a 75 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 2: while because I was still mourning the death of one 76 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 2: the man I married before my kidnapping. 77 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 3: Before her release from prison, Medium had gotten confirmation that 78 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 3: Juan had been killed. He was the love of her life. 79 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,239 Speaker 3: A fellow activist. They had gone underground together, living every 80 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 3: moment like it was their last. For Medium, her relationship 81 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 3: with Cardlos developed slowly but steadily. They had been thrown 82 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 3: together by circumstance, two survivors who understood each other's trauma, 83 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 3: and she knew he would be a good dad to Juan, 84 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 3: which is the name she gave her baby. 85 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 2: Even with all the uncertainty about the future, I never 86 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 2: doubted about not having the baby. 87 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 3: With Medium out of captivity and about to give birth, 88 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 3: she and Godlos decide that the only way for them 89 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 3: to live a normal life is to leave Argentina become exiles. 90 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 3: Medium had family in New York City, so that was 91 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 3: their best option. 92 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 2: But I couldn't leave the kind without government officials knowing 93 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 2: about it. 94 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 3: Remember, she had been released but with certain conditions. So 95 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 3: Medium and Cardlos follow protocol and ask for permission to 96 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:12,239 Speaker 3: leave the country. 97 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 2: I told them I was going to be a mother 98 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 2: and that I wanted a new life far away from 99 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 2: all the trauma I had experienced. 100 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 3: At first, it seems Medium and Carlos will leave without 101 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:28,679 Speaker 3: any issues, but then three esthma survivors who had recently 102 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 3: been allowed to move to Europe had held a press conference. 103 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 3: They accused the Junta of its brutal crimes. Suddenly, the 104 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 3: processing of Mediums in Cardluss's passports is canceled. 105 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 2: We were frustrated. It was a reminder that we were 106 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 2: still hostages. 107 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 3: Medium will have to give birth in Argentina. 108 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 2: My mom was still getting over her anger and shame 109 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 2: because I wasn't married. I never thought I'd get pregnant 110 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 2: in the first place, especially in such a new relationship, 111 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 2: but still I was always sure I wanted to have 112 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 2: the baby. 113 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 3: Medium carried the painful memory of her two best friends 114 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 3: who were captured and killed by the Junta years earlier. 115 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 3: They were also pregnant. 116 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 2: Having that baby was a way to honor life itself 117 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 2: and my friends who were murdered before giving birth. 118 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 3: But many women did give birth well captive, they didn't 119 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 3: get to keep their children. During the six years in power, 120 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 3: the Junta stole roughly five hundred babies from their mothers, 121 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 3: selling them or giving them to families cozy with the military. 122 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 3: Medium knew that tragedy up close. One day, when Medium 123 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 3: was still captive at ESMA, a pregnant woman came into 124 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 3: the prison. Medium immediately recognized her. That was Patricia, her 125 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 3: friend from college. When she heard that Paticia was about 126 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 3: to give birth, she immediately ran to see her. 127 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 2: The doctor had this stern look on his face before 128 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 2: he cut the umbilical cord. I smiled at Patricia and 129 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:20,319 Speaker 2: asked about the name of the baby. She replied Rodolpho. 130 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,559 Speaker 2: Then the doctor congratulated her and took them away, mother 131 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 2: and newborn. I never saw Patricia or the baby again. 132 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 2: It never crossed my mind that they were stealing babies. 133 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 2: I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe people were capable 134 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 2: of doing such a thing. Pregnant women were told their 135 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 2: babies would be given to their grandparents. They were encouraged 136 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 2: to write letters to their family members them know the 137 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 2: baby's name, the instructions on how to raise them until 138 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 2: their release. Unfortunately, these mothers never got to see their 139 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 2: children again. Instead, they would be put on death flights 140 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 2: about Patricia and her baby. I actually helped her family 141 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 2: search for him, and we found him. He was twenty three. 142 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 2: He had been stolen by an agent from the Air Force. 143 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 2: They named him Guillermo. He had no clue who his 144 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,680 Speaker 2: real mother was. It was very hard for him to 145 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:38,199 Speaker 2: learn the. 146 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 6: Truth Abla el tal donjorhir Rafael Vivela. 147 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 3: By nineteen eighty one, an economic crisis is brewing and 148 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 3: among the junta members there's a growing conflict. Some want 149 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 3: to adopt a harder line, others want democracy. In the 150 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 3: middle of this, the junta follows through with a plan 151 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 3: for Videla to step down. During a televised speech, General 152 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 3: Vivela relinquishes power to another junta leader. While this is happening, 153 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 3: Medium and her family's passports are finally issued. They're free 154 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 3: to go into exile, away from the fear, the paranoia. 155 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 2: And we finally landed in New York City. We moved 156 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,679 Speaker 2: into the second floor of a two family house in Flushing, Queens. 157 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 2: It was close to a botanical garden in an immigrant neighborhood, 158 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 2: mostly Latinos, but also a lot of people from India China. 159 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,959 Speaker 2: Our place was big, a lot of light came in. 160 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 2: The walls were covered in beige wallpaper with a little 161 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 2: square powder, and downstairs from us lived a Filipino family. 162 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 3: Medium's aunt also lives in New York, so she has 163 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 3: family there and they spend most of their time working 164 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 3: a lot to pay the bills and support their new baby. 165 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 3: Life wasn't easy. Godless gets a van and delivers newspapers. 166 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 2: Carlos didn't really want to be there. He found it 167 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,560 Speaker 2: hard to adapt. He didn't want to learn English either. 168 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 2: He'd get up at four am and when he was done, 169 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 2: we would have breakfast. I'd drop my baby off with 170 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 2: a babysitter and head straight to work. 171 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 3: Medium works as a paralegal at an immigration law firm. 172 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 2: We still lived in fear. Every time someone asked me 173 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 2: about my past, I'd look around, paranoid I'd be kidnapped 174 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 2: again at any moment. 175 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 3: She's also careful who she shares her past with. 176 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 2: It was normal for many survivors to be accused of 177 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 2: being traitors by friends or family members of the disappeared. 178 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:12,680 Speaker 2: If you were a man like Carlos, you would be 179 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 2: accused of giving away information that led others to getting captured. 180 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 2: And if you are a woman, you likely survived because 181 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 2: you slept with your captors and because you gave away information. 182 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 3: With that stigma comes guilt, a. 183 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 2: Lot of guilt. Because we survived. Many times I burst 184 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 2: into tears and asked myself, why didn't I manage to 185 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 2: swallow that pill. Why why am I not dead right now? 186 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 2: It was unbearable. I mean, it's the early eighties. D 187 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 2: Arunta was still in power in Argentina. At that time, 188 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 2: no one dreamed of a trial against the arunta still 189 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 2: Carlos and I never doubted that sounding the alarm about 190 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 2: what was happening was the right thing to do. 191 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 3: Medium connects with the human rights lawyer. 192 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 2: The lawyer would call me from Washington, d C. To 193 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 2: ask questions, and I would write down my experiences and 194 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 2: mail the documents to their office. 195 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 3: Going public is a necessary step for Medium for her 196 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 3: own sanity, but it's not easy. 197 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 2: After all those years of being held captive, I became 198 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 2: hypervigilant that feeling that I was being surveilled, especially when 199 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 2: I started collaborating with the human rights groups, telling them 200 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 2: everything I knew. 201 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 3: Meanwhile, in Argentina, foreign debt and record inflation are pushing 202 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 3: the country closer to financial collapse. The Junta's desperate and 203 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 3: creates a distraction. It starts a war against England. They 204 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 3: call on patriotism, nationalistic pride, and many butt into this 205 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 3: cul to unity. 206 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 6: Siege and benitheveng and represent Vataza. 207 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 3: In nineteen eighty two, the dictatorship orders its troops to 208 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 3: invade the Malvinas, also known as the Falkland Islands, off 209 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 3: Argentina's southern coast. They had long been disputed and occupied 210 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 3: by the British. 211 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 2: It was a risky and ridiculous move by the junta, but. 212 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 3: It works in a way. The Calton nationalism is powerful. 213 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 3: People rally behind the junta. Medium even notices it. 214 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 4: In New York. 215 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 2: I saw how a lot of anti junta activists were 216 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 2: so invested in this war that they got into a 217 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 2: feastfight with an Englishman on Fifth Avenue. 218 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 5: Argentina has seized the British Falkland Islands, whose ownership she's 219 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 5: been disputing with Britain for two centuries. Britain has suffered 220 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 5: its first major losses in the Falklands inflict the Ministry 221 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 5: of Defense. 222 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 3: But the tide turns in Britain ramps up its assault. 223 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 3: The war lasts seventy four days. There's more than six 224 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 3: hundred dead Argentines and thousands of wounded soldiers. The military 225 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 3: junta surrenders. 226 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 4: As were of the Argentine defeat, leaked out in winners Iris. 227 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 4: Thousands of demonstrators began to gather outside the presidential palace. 228 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 4: Will the junta lasts and if so, for how long? 229 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:36,479 Speaker 3: The dictatorship falls? And after six years democracy returns to Argentina. 230 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 2: The war was just a desperate move by the junta 231 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 2: to stay in power. They once actually used the World Cup, 232 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 2: which helped them, but this war meant the end of 233 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 2: the dictatorship. 234 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 3: People are ecstatic, hopeful. The newly elected president, Raoul al 235 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 3: Fonsine promises freedom, peace. He waves from a balcony as 236 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 3: tens of thousands of people cheer below in the main square, 237 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:14,920 Speaker 3: Confetti flying everywhere outside of Argentina. More survivors in exile 238 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,160 Speaker 3: are denouncing the junta and its crimes. Medium and Carlos 239 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 3: are called to testify at the Argentine consulate in New York. 240 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 2: And really, that was the first time I even imagined 241 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,959 Speaker 2: the possibility that survivors like us would ever find justice 242 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 2: and that we would become such key players in the 243 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 2: trials against the junta. 244 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 3: It's been three years since Medium in Carlos left Argentina. 245 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,200 Speaker 3: Now they start talking about going back. 246 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 2: We wanted to raise our kids in our own country, 247 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:56,120 Speaker 2: a free country. Life in New York was complicated at 248 00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 2: one point. We were offered to be part of a 249 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 2: housing program and buy an apartment in the city, but 250 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 2: Carlos didn't want to get involved. He thought it was 251 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 2: too much of a commitment. I didn't mind it. My 252 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,919 Speaker 2: aunt wanted me to stay. I was still young and 253 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 2: I had a green card, so I could stay and 254 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 2: go to college. 255 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,360 Speaker 3: Gordless prevails. In nineteen eighty four, Medium and her family 256 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 3: board a flight to Buenos Aires. 257 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 2: Exile is like having a hole in your soul. I 258 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 2: was happy to go back, hopeful about the future, these 259 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:36,679 Speaker 2: trials that were in the making. I knew that I 260 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 2: could potentially be a part of something important, a new 261 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:48,360 Speaker 2: process that could transform the country. 262 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,159 Speaker 3: Medium's excitement about the future about this new free Argentina 263 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 3: doesn't last long. As she steps off the plane with 264 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 3: her kids, she sees two men in uniform at the egg. 265 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:02,400 Speaker 3: They're staring right at her. 266 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 2: As soon as I made eye contact with them saw 267 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 2: who they were, I started to panic. 268 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:13,919 Speaker 3: These men had been in the torture room with Medium 269 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 3: years earlier, the day she was kidnapped. 270 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 2: I tell Carlos who those men were. I thought they'd 271 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,359 Speaker 2: been sent to kidnap me again. So my instinct was 272 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 2: to turn around and walk back onto the plane. 273 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 3: But the men weren't there to kidnap her. They were 274 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,640 Speaker 3: working as security now employed by the airport. 275 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 2: When they recognized me, they also started panicking. I think 276 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 2: they thought I was going to accuse them of kidnapping 277 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 2: and torture, right there in front of everyone. 278 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 3: But as she walks past them, she keeps quiet, and 279 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 3: so do they. 280 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 2: Not only were they free, they were security guards, and 281 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,360 Speaker 2: they were carrying out their lives as if nothing had 282 00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:58,120 Speaker 2: ever happened. 283 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:03,679 Speaker 3: The dictatorship has foun democracy has returned, but these men 284 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:08,360 Speaker 3: are free, living with impunity, working as airport police. 285 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 6: Sea do wios antecedent and then moved. 286 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 3: Not long after Medium returns to Buenos Aires, President Alfonsine 287 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,679 Speaker 3: announces that a trial will begin to prosecute the military leaders, 288 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 3: the Trial of the Juntas. It's the first of its kind, 289 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 3: not just for Argentina but for all of Latin America. 290 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 3: The first time military leaders will be held responsible for 291 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 3: human rights abuses. Some see it as the most significant 292 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 3: since the Nuremberg trials. The commanders refuse to recognize the 293 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,920 Speaker 3: trial as legitimate. Some elected officials dismiss it as retaliation 294 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 3: by the subversives, and many Argentines are skeptical too. Is 295 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 3: it all a show? Could these junta leaders really be 296 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 3: sentenced for their crimes? The military is still powerful. 297 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 6: The cougom opinion termina racons in quendanio de froutracion democratica. 298 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 2: In the. 299 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 3: An estelevised speech, the president promises the trial will help 300 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 3: heal the country. 301 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 2: I started getting recruited to testify in all sorts of cases. 302 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,640 Speaker 2: My mother was horrified by the idea. It was scary 303 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 2: there could be retaliation. Many of my comrades didn't feel safe. 304 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 2: Some came back from exile to testify and then immediately 305 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:46,359 Speaker 2: left the country. 306 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 3: The prosecutors tell medium to avoid her home during the 307 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,440 Speaker 3: days before and after the trial. She could be a target, 308 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:54,680 Speaker 3: and so could they. 309 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 2: It was my duty to testify, also my chance to 310 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 2: address that guilt for having survived, to avenge the torture, 311 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 2: the murder of my friends, of all the victims of the. 312 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 5: Junta quioi alas members dilatares de jamalo pro. 313 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 3: It's nineteen eighty five and the trial begins. The court 314 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 3: has high ceilings, wood paneled walls, and it's packed with journalists, 315 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 3: relatives of the disappeared and activists fill the balcony. Medium 316 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,880 Speaker 3: sits in front of the judge ready to testify. She's 317 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 3: wearing a black blazer, her reddish brown hair at shoulder length, 318 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,199 Speaker 3: and sitting in the road. Just behind her are the 319 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 3: nine Junta commanders on trial, most of them still in uniform. 320 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:57,160 Speaker 3: There's Admiral Masceda, then the main Junta leader, General Videla, 321 00:22:57,520 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 3: in a gray blazer and thick glasses. 322 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 2: The whole scene was intimidating, nine of the commanders and 323 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,399 Speaker 2: their defense attorneys looking right at you. 324 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,720 Speaker 3: The trial is public, which means anyone can attend, but 325 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 3: it's not broadcast live on TV. Only minutes of each 326 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:23,239 Speaker 3: hearing were broadcast. Some say because of pressure intimidation by 327 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 3: the military in different sectors of society. Others going to 328 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 3: the media still being fearful of upsetting the military. And 329 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 3: then there's Medium, the Avenger, confident, fearless. That's the real Medium, 330 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 3: testifying in Spanish. She smokes and ashes a cigarette while 331 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 3: she testifies in detail about prisoners being sedated and thrown 332 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 3: out of planes into the sea. It was upsetting, but 333 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 3: this is a moment Medium was waiting for. She was 334 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 3: focused at peace. 335 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 2: At that moment, I was so calm and collected, I 336 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 2: could have eaten a slice of pizza and testified. 337 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 3: At the same time, she talks about the prisoners she 338 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 3: met in captivity and names her captors, among them Alfredo Astis, 339 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 3: the blond angel of Death. She also mentions Admiral Maceda, 340 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 3: who ran Esma now the ten Defender. The junta commanders 341 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:49,160 Speaker 3: refused to admit guilt. They called the trial unconstitutional. They 342 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 3: deny that clandestine torture centers existed and say they had 343 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 3: never met any of the survivors testifying against them. But 344 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,919 Speaker 3: Medium has proof. She tells the story of the Taimastis 345 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 3: knocked on her door when she was living outside of 346 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 3: Esma under surveillance. The Deasties took her to a cafe 347 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,920 Speaker 3: before he left the country and wrote his contact information 348 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 3: in ink on a napkin. 349 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 2: I told the judge, here's the napkin for the court 350 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:21,919 Speaker 2: to see. I found it inside one of my notebooks 351 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:23,400 Speaker 2: from nineteen seventy nine. 352 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 3: The judge tells Medium to hand over the napkin to 353 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 3: one of the clerks. That napkin becomes crucial evidence. It 354 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 3: proves that the junta leaders are lying about not knowing 355 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,640 Speaker 3: the prisoners, there's no way to deny it. 356 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 5: Emilio Elmira, Raa, Gualo Rossi and Delitos. 357 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 3: The trial lasts several months. Hundreds of witnesses testify. Finally, 358 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 3: Chief Prosecutor Julio Cesar Strasera delivers his closing argument. It 359 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 3: will go down in Argentine history. He says, quote, I 360 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 3: want to use a phrase that doesn't belong to me, 361 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 3: because it now belongs to the Argentine people. Never again 362 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 3: a Totalino, Senor quess. People are chanting and crying, shouting 363 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 3: things like murders at the commanders. General Videla stands up 364 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 3: scans the room, anxious to get out. Videla and Macera 365 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 3: are convicted for kidnapping, torture, murder to life in prison. 366 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 3: The trials for sexual abuse and stealing of babies would 367 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 3: follow years later. Yes, this trial was historic, the first 368 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 3: of its kind, but justice was still not at hand. 369 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 3: They were found guilty, but the former junta leaders and 370 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 3: their accomplices wouldn't be punished, not yet. 371 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 2: In the years that followed, the new president came under 372 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 2: a lot of pressure from the military. They were still 373 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 2: very powerful. The government felt pressure to pass new amnesty laws. 374 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 2: Those laws brought twenty more years of impunity. 375 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 3: Exactly one year after the trial, the so called full 376 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,480 Speaker 3: Stop law interrupts all new or ongoing trials related to 377 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 3: the junta's crimes. Impunity becomes the watchword. Soon after the 378 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 3: Due Obedience Law takes effect. It exempted lower military members 379 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,880 Speaker 3: from charges because they were quote just following orders. Those 380 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 3: who kidnapped medium, those who tortured her were free. 381 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:05,600 Speaker 2: The survivors we'd continue to come across our kidnappers torturers 382 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 2: on the street, at a stoplight, at the movie theater, 383 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:15,400 Speaker 2: wherever we felt helpless, because it showed that these trials 384 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 2: had brought no real punishment, no real justice. 385 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 3: Fast forward two decades. In December of two thousand and four, Mako, 386 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 3: the guy from the forensic team, gets a tip about 387 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,920 Speaker 3: a mass grave where the remains of people who had 388 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 3: disappeared may be buried. 389 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 4: This information led us to a cemetery where we found 390 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 4: six bodies buried in a mass grave. They were all unidentified. 391 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 3: They were the same bodies that had been discovered on 392 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,680 Speaker 3: the beach two decades earlier, in nineteen seventy seven. The 393 00:28:55,720 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 3: bodies described by witnesses as swollen severed, the medical examiners 394 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 3: could tell that the storm that powerful Sudhestalla had driven 395 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 3: the bodies to shore. But then they made a surprising discovery. 396 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 3: The victims didn't die from drowning. They died from impact 397 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 3: from falling from a high altitude. These were, without a doubt, 398 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 3: bodies of the disappeared who had been tossed from death 399 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 3: flights for years. Maco's job was to identify the remains 400 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 3: and return them to their families, but this case is different. 401 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 3: By the time Michaeo digs up the grave, new forensic 402 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 3: technology helps him identify some of the bodies and confirm 403 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 3: dates and causes of death. Maco's team is also tasked 404 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 3: with analyzing all the Skyline flight logs the courts had 405 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 3: in their possession, cross referencing the logs with the bodies. 406 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 2: Giancarlo had been documenting Maco's work, so he had direct 407 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 2: access to him and there was trust. As soon as 408 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 2: they finished analyzing more than two thousand logs, Maco tells 409 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 2: Giancarlo to come to his office. He has something to 410 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 2: share with him. At his office, Maco asks Giancarlo if 411 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 2: he's familiar with El Grupo de la Santa Cruz, the 412 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 2: Santa Cruz church group. 413 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,480 Speaker 3: Giancarlo knew all about them. I had just read a 414 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 3: book about them. There are a group of mothers who disappeared, 415 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 3: along with two nuns kidnapped by the Junta. The mothers 416 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,240 Speaker 3: who attended the church group were also part of the 417 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 3: relentless and legendary Madres de Plasa de Macho, which formed 418 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 3: a year after the coup and marched in silent protests 419 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 3: around the Plaza de Macho in Buenos Aires, near the 420 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 3: presidential Palace. They demanded information about the fate of their disappeared. 421 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 2: They had all been kidnapped, betrayed by Alfredo Astis, the 422 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 2: Blonde Angel. 423 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 3: The guy who wrote his phone number on medium snapkin. 424 00:30:56,080 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 2: That one day, Astis had infiltrated this group of mothers 425 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 2: and nuns while they were raising money to publicize the 426 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 2: names of their missing sons and daughters. They wanted to 427 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 2: pressure the government to do something. 428 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 3: Aste posed as a brother of a disappeared and gained 429 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,480 Speaker 3: their trust. The day of the fundraiser, he marked the 430 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 3: leaders of the group, tagging them by kissing them on 431 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 3: the cheek as his fellow undercover officers washed from a distance. 432 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 2: Then they kidnapped the mothers and the nuns. 433 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 3: The junta almost got away with it, but the nuns 434 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 3: were not Argentine. 435 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 2: So when the rest of the world found out there 436 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,959 Speaker 2: were two French nationals missing, things got heeded and the 437 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,200 Speaker 2: French government got directly involved. 438 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: Iused the Rigius francaise. 439 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 2: A misance was on this set ris Eltigre. Acosta came 440 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,800 Speaker 2: up with an idea to try and defuse the attention. 441 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 2: He had the nuns take a picture with the flag 442 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 2: used by the Monteneos, holding a newspaper with the current 443 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 2: date showing it. 444 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 3: Was a fake photo. Acosta sent it to the press. 445 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:14,000 Speaker 3: The photo made it seem like the nuns were kidnapped 446 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 3: by the Gorilla group, and this is key. The date 447 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,720 Speaker 3: on the newspaper visible in the photo read December fourteenth, 448 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 3: nineteen seventy seven. This date was the missing link. Maco 449 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 3: tracked to one of the flight lugs. 450 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 4: We found a very regular and suspicious flight. It flew 451 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 4: at night on December fourteenth, nineteen seventy seven, the same 452 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,080 Speaker 4: date they took the picture of the nuns, and all 453 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 4: the other information we had gathered through the years checked 454 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 4: with this. The storm pushed the bodies to shore two 455 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 4: days after the flight. The bodies they recovered were all women. 456 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 4: We had testimonies from the survivors at Esthma who painted 457 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,320 Speaker 4: the flag and took the picture of the nuns, and 458 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:02,600 Speaker 4: we have the remains remains we had identified as the 459 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 4: nun and the mothers of the Santa Cruz church group. 460 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 3: All of this is extremely rare. Only around two percent 461 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 3: of the bodies suspected to have been killed via death 462 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 3: flights had been found. It's a huge discovery. These bodies 463 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 3: had been passengers of the plane that Medium and Giancarlo 464 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,000 Speaker 3: tracked down in Florida, the sky Ven. It was Medium 465 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 3: in gih Caado's investigation that provided documented proof of the 466 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 3: death flights. 467 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:41,720 Speaker 2: What really surprised me was the fact that this plane, 468 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,720 Speaker 2: the one we had found, was the one that was 469 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:54,480 Speaker 2: actually used for these particular killings. 470 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 3: And now something else was clear. The lugs that Medium 471 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 3: and Gihcado had discovered, they contained the names of the 472 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 3: pilots who flew the flights that killed the mothers and 473 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 3: the nuns, and that would prove crucial to finally getting justice. 474 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,240 Speaker 2: In the next episode, two of these pilots were still 475 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:27,239 Speaker 2: flying for irolinas agentinas the other had retired. If they 476 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 2: don't act soon, these pilots will never be arrested. 477 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 3: From Orbit Media. This is Avenger, the story of Medium 478 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:57,319 Speaker 3: Lewin I'm Your Host and seior producer andres Caaachedo. The 479 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 3: series was produced by Seguielrodries and and edited by Monica Campbell. 480 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 3: Original score Nicolas Paschela, mixing and mastering Christopher Hoff and 481 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:14,040 Speaker 3: Austin Smith. Assistant producers Andres Feschtenholz and Eleanna Gillespie. FactCheck 482 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 3: Alejandro Marinelli and leonardos Canani. Legal review Neil Rossini. Casting 483 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:24,360 Speaker 3: director Paula Gammon Wilson. The executive producers from Orbit Media 484 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:29,360 Speaker 3: are Steve Fishman Fisher Stevens, Marcy Wiseman, and Katie Springer. 485 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:34,320 Speaker 3: The voice actors in Avenger include Alexis Ploddell as Media 486 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:39,120 Speaker 3: Lewin Fulvio de la Volta as Giancarlo Serraudo, Gonzalo Vargas 487 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 3: as Sandrique Pinedo, Edgardo Manono, Gasto as Bruno Vain, and 488 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:49,080 Speaker 3: Tom Schubert as Carlos, Macosmiliana and Gustavo. This podcast was 489 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,839 Speaker 3: produced in association with Sonodo. The Sonodo executive producers are 490 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:58,400 Speaker 3: Camilla Victoriano, Joshua Weinstein and Jasmine Romero. The rest of 491 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:03,040 Speaker 3: the Sonoda production team includes Senior producer Carmen Ratdol, Editor 492 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:09,120 Speaker 3: Rodrigo Crespo, Producer, Paloma Navarro, Nicoletti, Evelyn Uribo, Marianna Cornel, 493 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:15,240 Speaker 3: Sara Mota, Manuel Parra, Hanna Baram and Tasha Sandoval. Special 494 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,920 Speaker 3: thanks to Radio and CASA and POMERAEC Recording Studios in 495 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:23,120 Speaker 3: Buenos Aires, and to Medium Lewin and Giancarlo Serraaldo for 496 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:25,760 Speaker 3: letting us tell their story. Thank you for listening. 497 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,480 Speaker 1: A quick word about subscriptions. If you love ads, listen on. 498 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 1: If you're not so keen on ads, sign up for 499 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:02,400 Speaker 1: True Crime Clubhouse on Apple Podcasts no Ads and also Bingeability. 500 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:06,359 Speaker 1: You can hear the entire Avenger series all at once. 501 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,439 Speaker 1: It's just two ninety nine a month.