Catalogue Number
NMLH.1992.409.12.86
Object Name
Poster
Title
New disappearance / save thelife of Oscar Rojas Cuellar
Events
Chilean Coup
Description
Poster, providing information into the disappearance of Oscar Rojas Cuelllar in Chile, under the Chilean Pinochet regime.
The poster is white, and features a black and white photograph of Cuellar under the title "new disappearance". Beneath reads "Save the life of Oscar Rojas Cuellar". Beneath this is a block of text giving a statement from Rojas Cuellar's wife about his disappearance. Rojas Cuellar and his wife, Mercedes Rojas, had left Chile in exile in 1977. He secretly returned to Chile though his legal entrance to the country was barred by the regime. Rojas received word that her husband had been arrested in December 1981 and had since 'disappeared'.
The 'disappeared' is a term that became used for political prisoners under the Pinochet regime who were officially lost in all records following their arrest. These prisoners were almost always tortured and murdered by the regime. Estimates for the number of disappeared vary wildly, and to date (2022) many bodies of the missing have never been found.
