A former member of the Argentine military accused of crimes against humanity committed during the last military dictatorship was caught in Brazil after spending six years on the run. Former Infantry lieutenant Aníbal Miguel Sánchez is now waiting for the Brazilian judiciary to approve his extradition.
Sánchez is accused of murder, kidnapping, and torture, all crimes committed between June and July 1976. He became a fugitive in 2018 after judge Daniel Rafecas ordered his arrest to question him in connection to crimes committed by members of an infantry regiment in Mercedes, Buenos Aires province.
The former Infantry member was arrested by Interpol in Mariluz, Rio Grande do Sul, on September 19. Although Interpol knew he was in Brazil, they had been unable to find him until now.
According to a source from Rafecas’ court, the Argentine Security Ministry learned Sánchez was in Brazil in late April. They informed Interpol, who in turn relayed the information to Rafecas.
The judge issued an international arrest order and began the formal process to request his extradition from Brazil on May 6. This request process was completed last week, days after his arrest.
Sánchez appeared to live a normal life in Brazil despite being a fugitive. Evidence of this is that the day after Interpol learned of his whereabouts, his daughter was scheduled to fly there to visit him.
The Brazilian branch of Interpol did not provide details on Sánchez’s arrest or where he is currently located, said the source.
Now, Sánchez will have to await Brazil’s decision on his extradition, a process that could take six months to two years. It is uncertain whether he will be extradited or not.
“For Brazil, crimes like homicide or kidnapping have a statute of limitations, which in this case has already passed. The false imprisonment of people who legally remain disappeared is the exception,” the court source explained, referencing the crimes Sánchez is accused of.
“In that case, they consider it to be an ongoing crime,” the source added. In a previous crimes against humanity case, the Brazilian judiciary approved an extradition based on this interpretation of the charges against the defendant.
Sánchez had a senior role in the Mercedes Infantry Regiment N°6 of the Argentine Army. He was assistant to the group’s chief and was in charge of the regiment’s staff. The crimes he is being investigated for were committed “in the context of a repression plan carried out during the last military dictatorship,” in which the Infantry regiment he belonged to “was an essential link to the deployment of repression,” said a press summary released by Rafecas’ court.
Sánchez was the only remaining repressor that had a government-issued reward to his name. Up until the end of March, the Argentine state was offering a AR$5,000,000 (currently around US$5,000 at the official rate or US$4,000 at the MEP rate) reward for information on the whereabouts of 22 fugitive dictatorship criminals.
However, the person who provided information that led to his arrest refused the reward, said the source.
By April, only Sánchez appeared on the website listing the rewards. This happened after President Javier Milei called to start an era of “reconciliation with the Armed Forces” and published a denialist video on March 24, the day Argentina remembers the anniversary of the start of the dictatorship.
However, the rewards website currently shows no information. The Herald asked the Security Ministry to confirm if there was an active reward for tips on Sánchez’s whereabouts but did not reply immediately.
