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Original article: Krassnoff vuelve al debate: Testimonio de Gladys Díaz revela la crudeza detrás de las propuestas de Kast

The presidential candidate José Antonio Kast’s proposal to review the prison situation of those convicted for crimes against humanity has once again brought to the forefront one of the most infamous figures of dictatorship repression: Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko. He is a convicted criminal with over 80 charges for crimes against humanity, facing a cumulative prison sentence exceeding a thousand years.

Amid this discourse, the book «Aferrada a mi balsa» by journalist and political prisoner survivor Gladys Díaz Armijo starkly highlights what is truly at stake when discussing prison benefits for human rights violators. Her testimony portrays Krassnoff not merely as another functionary within the repressive apparatus, but as the embodiment of horror, cruelty, and bestiality that defined the darkest years of the dictatorship.

Díaz presents the officer as a narrative axis of terror, a recurring presence reminding us of the brutal and absurd nature of the dictatorship’s repressive machinery. In her early encounters, Krassnoff storms in, clashing his boots against the floor, bombarding his victims with theatrical and overwhelming insults. In one of the most chilling scenes, he aims a gun at the author’s temple while mocking her pallor, simulating an execution thwarted only by a phone call.

His violence extends beyond the physical; it’s a carefully orchestrated spectacle designed to break detainees.

The book also reveals his ideological fanaticism, expressed through monologues where he glorifies national socialism, justifies the elimination of opponents, and fantasizes about destroying businessmen who supported the coup, whom he labels «unpatriotic.» This delirious logic collides with the repressive bureaucracy of the party structures that the military obsessively filled out.

However, perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this portrayal is his double life. After orchestrating torture sessions, Krassnoff can sweetly answer the phone to speak to his wife, as if the atrocities he committed are entirely compatible with domestic life. The author depicts this duality not to humanize him but to reveal the banality of evil he embodied: the ability to coexist with horror as if it were part of a professional routine.

Even when he tries to exhibit courtesy—extending a hand to say goodbye or inquiring about his prisoner’s future—every gesture is laced with manipulation. No façade of kindness can conceal the structural violence he represents.

Decades later, now in democracy, judicial confrontations display a Krassnoff attempting to reinvent himself as a «simple intelligence analyst.» But survivors recognize him instantly, with no alternative narrative capable of erasing his history.

«Aferrada a mi balsa» serves as a powerful reminder that memory is not an abstract exercise: it is an act of justice. In a time when political voices call for reconsidering benefits for criminals against humanity, the book stands as a strong warning.

Reading it is crucial to understand why Chilean society cannot afford to forget.

Photo by Gladys Díaz: Mario Hans

La entrada Miguel Krassnoff Reemerges in Debate: Gladys Díaz’s Testimony Exposes the Brutality Behind Kast’s Proposals se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.