Villa Grimaldi
| Villa Grimaldi | |
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| Prison camp used during the Military dictatorship of Chile | |
Old gate entrance to Villa Grimaldi
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 Location of Villa Grimaldi in contemporary Chile
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| Coordinates | 33°27′49.5″S 70°32′33.5″W / 33.463750°S 70.542639°WCoordinates: 33°27′49.5″S 70°32′33.5″W / 33.463750°S 70.542639°W |
| Known for | Internment of Pinochet's dissidents during his military dictatorship |
| Location | Santiago |
| Operated by | DINA (when the estate acted as a prison) |
| First built | XIX century |
| Operational | 1973-1978 |
| Inmates | Pinochet's dissidents |
| Number of inmates | 4500 people |
| Killed | almost 226 people |
| Notable inmates |
Michelle Bachelet Sheila Cassidy |
| Website | http://villagrimaldi.cl/ |
Villa Grimaldi is considered the most important of DINA’s (Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, the Chilean secret police) many complexes that were used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners during the governance of Augusto Pinochet. It is located at Avenida José Arrieta 8200 (now 8401) in Peñalolén, on the outskirts of Santiago, and was in operation from mid-1974 to mid-1978. About 4,500 detainees were brought to Villa Grimaldi during this time, at least 240 of whom were "disappeared" or killed by DINA. It was also the location of the headquarters of the Metropolitan Intelligence Brigade (BIM). The head of Villa Grimaldi during the Pinochet dictatorship, Marcelo Moren Brito, was later convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to more than 300 years in prison.
For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, the three-acre estate was a gathering place for many of Chile's artists and intellectuals. Over the years Villa Grimaldi's various owners hosted parties and cultural events. The structures included meeting rooms, entertainment halls, and a theater, as well as a school that was open to the entire community. It was a gathering place for many left wing and progressive cultural and political figures during the Popular Unity years, the period associated with the election of Salvador Allende, a Socialist, to Chile’s presidency in 1970.
This liberal atmosphere changed suddenly when General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a military coup d’etat on September 11, 1973. Chile's wealthy oligarchy, the Nixon administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency, were among the supporters of Allende's overthrow. The owner of Villa Grimaldi at the time of the coup, Emile Vassallo, was pressured to sell the estate to the new government in order to protect his family. This is one of the first examples of the state of siege that was enforced under Pinochet for the next 17 years. His regime began to detain thousands of political activists, students, workers, trade unionists, and any other subversive individuals who spoke out against his fascist military government.
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Wikipedia