Thousands of people marched in Montevideo and other cities across Uruguay on Wednesday, demanding the full declassification of military archives related to 205 people who disappeared during the civic-military dictatorship from 1973 to 1985. The demonstrations were organized by the Association of Mothers and Relatives of Disappeared Detained Uruguayans, which has long led efforts to uncover the fate of victims of state terrorism and to obtain answers from the armed forces.
The mobilization coincided with a May 20th commemoration marking the 1976 assassinations of Uruguayan political figures Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, Zelmar Michelini, Rosario Barredo, and William Whitelaw, as well as the forced disappearance of Manuel Liberoff. These crimes were carried out in Argentina under the regional Operation Condor, a cross-border system of repression among Southern Cone dictatorships during that era.
Protesters marched from Rivera and Jackson streets toward Plaza Cagancha in the capital, filling central avenues with banners and chants demanding accountability. Under the slogan “30 years marching. Against the impunity of yesterday and today. We demand answers. Where are they?”, participants reiterated their demand that the Executive Branch use its authority over the Armed Forces to release all remaining classified information held in military facilities.
Organizers argue that the continued secrecy surrounding these files obstructs justice and prolongs the suffering of families searching for truth. They emphasize that 81 cases remain under active investigation, reinforcing claims that state terrorism affected every layer of society both within Uruguay and abroad. The protest also received support from the Interparty Youth, representing the Broad Front, National Party, Colorado Party, and Independent Party, while the Broad Front highlighted that decades after the first March of Silence, the demand for memory, truth, and justice remains unresolved for the families of the 205 disappeared citizens.
