Patricia del Cármen Verdugo Aguirre (October 20, 1947 – January 13, 2008) was a Chilean journalist, writer and human rights

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. She focused much of her investigative reporting on the

human rights abuses Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

committed by the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

of Augusto Pinochet. She was a recipient of the National Prize for Journalism and the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes.

Early life

Verdugo was born in 1947. She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

Career

She began working for a number of well known Chilean media outlets beginning in 1969. Her magazine employers included ''Hoy'' and ''Apsi''. Though she continued to work in magazines, Verdugo ultimately became well known for her books, many of which focused on human rights abuses during the military regime of Gen. Pinochet, which lasted from 1973 until 1990. Verdugo's own father was killed by the Chilean secret police in 1976. Through her work and investigative reporting, Verdugo became one of Pinochet's harshest critics. Her most well known book, ''Los Zarpazos del Puma'' (''Clawings of the

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

'', was published in 1985, while Pinochet was still in power. The book recounts the extrajudicial murders of more than 70 members of the Chilean opposition between the months of October to November in 1973, shortly after Pinochet took power. The killings were carried out by a Chilean

military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...

called the "

caravan of death The Caravan of Death ( es, Caravana de la Muerte) was a Chilean Army death squad that, following the Chilean coup of 1973, flew by helicopters from south to north of Chile between September 30 and October 22, 1973. During this foray, members of t ...

," which was tasked with killing political prisoners and other "enemies" of Pinochet. ''Los Zarpazos del Puma'' was banned by the Pinochet government when it was first released. However,

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

copies were widely sold on the streets of major cities, such as Santiago, despite the ban. The book became, perhaps, the most widely read in Chile's history. Nearly all of the claims that Verdugo put forth in ''Los Zarpazos del Puma'' was later verified as factual and correct as the result of an investigation by Chilean Judge Juan Guzman, who prosecuted Augusto Pinochet for the murder of opponents.

Death

Patricia Verdugo died of gallbladder cancer on January 13, 2008, at Catholic University Hospital in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

References

External links

The Guardian: Patricia Verdugo obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdugo, Patricia 1947 births 2008 deaths Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990) Chilean activists Chilean women activists Chilean political writers Chilean women journalists Deaths from cancer in Chile Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners People from Santiago Deaths from gallbladder cancer 20th-century Chilean women writers 20th-century Chilean non-fiction writers 21st-century Chilean women writers 21st-century Chilean non-fiction writers