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Original article: Golpe a la impunidad: Australia sella la extradición de Adriana Rivas, la mano derecha del “Mamo” Contreras

Australian authorities have made a significant move against impunity by finalizing the extradition of Adriana Rivas, a former DINA agent and right-hand woman of Manuel ‘Mamo’ Contreras. She is sought by the Chilean government due to her involvement in kidnappings, torture, and disappearances during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

After years of evasion, judicial delays, and her flight from Chile in 2010, the Australian Federal Court dismissed the appeal from Rivas, known by her alias «La Chani,» against the Australian government’s extradition decision on Tuesday.

The former dictatorship agent was arrested in Australia in February 2019 following a request for her extradition from Chile. At that time, she was working part-time as a nanny and cleaner in Sydney.

Judge Michael Lee ruled that the 73-year-old Rivas must be sent back to Chile, a decision that Adriana Navarro, attorney for the victim’s families, deemed «immensely important» and a significant step towards justice.

Rivas was the personal secretary to DINA Director Manuel Contreras and is accused of direct involvement in repressive activities.

She is specifically facing charges related to the “Conferencia I,” “Conferencia II,” and the “Reinalda Pereira” case, as a co-author of qualified kidnapping against communist activists including Reinalda Pereira—who was five months pregnant at the time of her detention—Fernando Navarro, Lincoyán Berríos, Horacio Cepeda, Juan Fernando Ortiz, Héctor Véliz, and Víctor Díaz. All were tortured and disappeared.

However, the former DINA agent continues to deny all charges against her. In a 2013 interview with SBS in Spanish, she suggested that the torture during Pinochet’s regime was «an open secret» and described it as a «necessary» technique to «break people.»

Rivas Loses Judicial Battle After 7 Years of Delays

Although her lawyers argued that the events should be considered crimes against humanity and not aggravated kidnappings, in a bid to invalidate the extradition as they were not classified as offenses in both countries at the time of their commission, Judge Lee rejected this argument. Consequently, «La Chani» lost her judicial battle after seven years of ongoing delays.

The judge made it clear that the arguments presented were poorly conceived and based on a highly selective interpretation of the hundreds of pages of documents that constitute the extradition request, as noted by Navarro in statements to SBS in Spanish.

She explained that the magistrate determined that «this material did not support any argument that the classification was incorrect and that it was a misinterpretation (…) and therefore, the two grounds presented were dismissed.»

International Justice Cornering a Former DINA Agent

In her statements, the attorney underscored the significance of this ruling, considering that international justice is finally cornering a former DINA agent who fled Chile to avoid accountability for her role in crimes committed during the dictatorship.

«The truth is Australia has shown a commitment over the years to uphold the bilateral treaty on extradition with Chile, but this is the first extradition for such historical cases,» she indicated.

Navarro reminded that the legal process against Rivas started in Chile in 2006, and when she fled the country in 2010, she illegally crossed the Andes to Argentina, where she boarded a flight to Australia, aided by friends who organized and funded her escape, which was done to «specifically avoid the progress of that judicial process.»

In her remarks to SBS, she noted that if Rivas is ultimately handed over to Chile, «as should happen,» the pending ruling would be resumed once she is in Chile.

Regarding the importance of the ruling, which finalizes the extradition of the former DINA agent, for the victim’s families, she recalled that in 2026 it marks 50 years «since their loved ones were abducted, tortured, and made to disappear, and the search for their remains continues.»

La entrada Australia Takes Action Against Impunity: Extradition of Adriana Rivas, Right-Hand Woman of ‘Mamo’ Contreras, Finalized se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.