Mon Feb 24 03:17:31 UTC 2025: ## Chilean Women Reunited with Families After Illegal Adoptions Under Pinochet
**Santiago, Chile –** A deeply emotional reunion took place in Santiago, Chile on February 22nd, 2025, as five Chilean women, illegally adopted abroad during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, were reunited with their birth families. Adamary Garcia, 40, who was raised in Puerto Rico, embraced her birth mother, Edita Bizama, 64, for the first time in 41 years, marking a poignant moment in a long-running struggle for justice.
The women, all adopted in the United States, traveled to Chile after years of searching for their biological families. Their reunion is one of thousands of similar cases, with reports estimating as many as 20,000 children were taken from their mothers and put up for adoption abroad between 1950 and 1990, the majority during Pinochet’s regime.
Garcia, who learned of her adoption as a child, described the reunion as a culmination of a long journey of self-discovery and reconciliation. She expressed gratitude for both her adoptive parents in the U.S. and her newly discovered Chilean family, including her mother and three brothers. The reunions were facilitated by the Connecting Roots foundation, which has helped reconnect 36 Chilean women with their children. Bizama expressed relief that “the worst is over,” as she held her daughter. The event highlights the enduring impact of the Pinochet dictatorship and the ongoing efforts to address its human rights violations.
First Piper 