Former Nanny Accused by Chilean Authorities of Working as Torturer and Kidnapper in the 1970s Continues to Fight Case: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

A photo of Chileans protesting outside Sydney Town Hall for the extradition of Adriana Rivas.Photo:Alamy

Alamy

A former nanny and cleaner in Bondi, Australia, continues to fight her case after facing accusations from Chile of being a torturer and kidnapper for Augusto Pinochet, a former president of the South American country, decades ago.

Rivas, now 70, was arrested following an extradition request from Chile’s prosecutor’s office, the outlet reported.

She’d first been arrested in 2006 on a visit to Chile, but was released on bail and was said to have headed back to Australia in 2010, per theSydney Morning Herald.

PerThe Guardian, Rivas has now “launched a last-ditch legal appeal to avoid extradition” after being imprisoned since her arrest over five years ago. According to theHerald, Rivas filed the latest application to the Federal Court in late September.

A photo of Chileans protesting outside Sydney Town Hall for the extradition of Adriana Rivas.Alamy

Rivas worked for Chile’s National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) between 1973 and 1977, according to SBS. Pinochet was president of the country from 1973 to 1990 before his death at age 91 on Dec. 10, 2006.

The outlet stated Rivas had been the secretary to Alejandro Burgos, who was the assistant to former DINA head, Manuel Contreras.

Citing documents from Chile’s appeal court,The Guardianreported Rivas had been accused of being involved with the “disappearance, and presumed murder, of seven members of Chile’s communist party” who went missing in the country’s capital, Santiago, in 1976.

According to theHerald, Australia’s federal attorney general has said for the past two years, “The extradition process involving Ms. Rivas is at the final stage, requiring the Australian government to make a determination whether to surrender Ms. Rivas to Chile.”

Lawyer Adriana Navarro, who is representing the families of the seven missing people, said of the latest update, perThe Guardian, “They’ve had enough; they find it disturbing that they have to learn through the media that this is happening," adding that they felt “mocked” due to being left uninformed.

A previouspress releaseon the Parliament of Australia website read, “For over 40 years, families of the victims have been seeking justice for their loved ones.”

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Rivas has pleaded not guilty and has not been convicted of a crime through the years, according toThe Guardian. The outlet also stated she insisted her role had been administrative.

In a 2014 interview with SBS Spanish, Rivas recalled escaping from Chile and admitted that the use of torture was “the only way to break people.”

The outlet stated Rivas has been accused of being a part of the Lautaro Brigade and had been suspected of being involved with the alleged torture of prisoners at the Simón Bolívar Centre.

“Everyone knew there was torture, it was an open secret, everywhere it was known,” Rivas previously told the publication. “Everybody knew they had to do that and break people somehow because communists are impenetrable.”

“It was necessary, just as the Nazis used it, and as in the United States, everyone does. It’s the only way to break people, because psychologically there is no method,” Rivas continued at the time.

Elsewhere in the interview, she said, “I do not regret having worked there because it was a chance to live, to survive.”

source: people.com