LA PAZ — 1980 · Missing Person
The Disappearance of Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz
Bolivian writer, journalist and socialist leader Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz had led a congressional effort to put former dictator Hugo Banzer on trial. On 17 July 1980, during General Luis García Meza's coup, paramilitary forces raided the headquarters of the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB), where leaders had gathered to discuss resisting the coup. Quiroga was wounded and taken away in front of witnesses, and was killed. In a trial of responsibilities that began in 1986, García Meza and his interior minister, among others, were convicted of crimes including this killing. Quiroga's remains, however, were never found; in 2010 his widow petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights over the state's failure to search for them.
- Date
- 1980
- Place
- La Paz, Bolivia, La Paz, BO
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- -16.4980, -68.1330 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 17 July 1980During García Meza's coup the COB building was raided; Quiroga was taken away wounded.
- 1982Military rule came to an end.
- 1986A trial of responsibilities against the coup leaders began.
- 1993García Meza and associates were convicted by the Supreme Court.
- 2010Quiroga's widow petitioned the IACHR over the failure to search for his remains.
Sources
- DW Español — Dictador García Meza niega póstumamente haber cometido crímenes dw.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Deutsche Welle
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.