The Network of Illegal Adoptions from Chile to Sardinia

• Thousands of children were illegally removed from their biological families in Chile and transferred to Sardinia during the Pinochet dictatorship, a phenomenon that has left a lasting legacy of trauma.
• Experts estimate that over 20,000 such irregular adoptions occurred between the 1950s and 1990s as a tool of social control and profit.

Systemic Abuses and Institutional Involvement

• Vulnerable parents—often young, illiterate, or impoverished mothers—were told their babies died during childbirth or required medical isolation, only for the children to be sent to orphanages and then abroad.
• Legal loopholes allowed officials to declare children as 'abandoned' within 30 to 60 days if parents were prevented from visiting, a tactic facilitated by staff in state-sanctioned children's homes.
• Catholic organizations and specific priests, such as Alceste Piergiovanni, acted as central figures in coordinating these transfers, often accepting significant payments from adoptive families.

The Story of Claudio and 'Chilenos de Sardigna'

• Claudio, who arrived in Sardinia in 1980 with falsified birth documents, eventually returned to Chile as an adult to find his biological parents.
• He founded 'Chilenos de Sardigna' in 2016 to support the estimated 500+ victims of this trafficking network in Sardinia and foster connections to their Chilean heritage.

Advocacy and the Fight for Truth

• The organization 'Nos Buscamos', founded by Constanza del Río, provides critical support for victims of irregular adoptions to locate their biological families.
• Activists now categorize these adoptions as crimes against humanity, continuing to demand accountability and recognition for the thousands of mothers whose children were stolen from them.