VOA News | Monday, February 19, 2024 
Illegally Adopted During Chile’s Dictatorship, They’re Now Reuniting With Biological Families

SANTIAGO, Chile — Romina Cortés couldn’t pronounce her sister’s last name. She didn’t know what she smells like, what her favorite food is, or what she likes to do in her free time. Cortés, 43, waited impatiently Sunday at the airport in Santiago, Chile, where she would soon meet her sister, Maria, whose existence Cortés learned of just a month ago. That’s because Cortés’ sister, María Hastings, was one of thousands of Chilean children trafficked or illegally put up for adoption over the last 60 years or so, most during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet from 1973-1990. “I am overwhelmed, so happy to meet my biological family,” Hastings said as soon as she stepped off the plane from Tampa, Florida. “I’m going to reconnect with them, learn who they really are and let them know who I am.” The illegal adoptions — 20,000 of which are being investigated by Chilean justice officials and other social groups — extend back to the 1960s. Largely poor, young and indigenous women in vulnerable situations were either forced to give up their children or were told they died shortly after childbirth. Now, families like the Cortés’ are finally reuniting after decades…Read more