Brazil identifies two long-missing dictatorship victims through new DNA analysis

• Genetic testing has confirmed the identity of Dênis Casemiro and Grenaldo de Jesus Silva, two political activists killed during Brazil's military dictatorship.
• The remains of Casemiro, previously misidentified in 1991, were re-examined using modern DNA technology, revealing a 100 percent match with family samples.
• These findings are part of the Perus Project, which aims to identify at least 42 politically disappeared individuals from a mass grave discovered in 1990.

The Re-identification of Dênis Casemiro

• Casemiro was a member of the VPR group who died under torture by DOPS agents in 1971.
• His remains were misidentified in 1991 using skull-photo superimposition, a technique used before DNA testing was standard in Brazil.
• A new examination conducted by the Perus Project—led by CAAF/Unifesp—utilized genetic comparison to clarify the error.
• The remains originally buried as Casemiro have been removed from the memorial and placed in the project archive for further investigation.

Case of Grenaldo de Jesus Silva

• Silva was a sailor and activist involved in the AMFNB who was persecuted after the 1964 coup.
• In 1972, after a failed plane hijacking at Congonhas airport, official reports claimed he committed suicide.
• Evidence later surfaced, including testimonies from a flight controller and a mechanic, suggesting he was killed by a shot to the back of the head while under police control.

Institutional Context

• The identification work, which was nearly stalled during the Bolsonaro administration (2019–2022), was resumed following the current government's decision to restore the Special Commission on the Political Dead and Disappeared (CEMDP).
• Project organizers have collected genetic data from 34 families, with approximately 80 percent of the comparison work now completed.
• These identifications mark the first positive matches from the Perus mass grave since 2018, bringing the total number of recognized victims from the site to six.