Operation Colombo

Operation Colombo, or the Case of the 119, was an operation undertaken by the DINA (the Chilean secret police) in 1975 to make political dissidents disappear. At least 119 people are alleged to have been abducted and later killed. The objective of the operation was to deceive national and international public opinion—through the publication of false information in media outlets in Chile and abroad—stating that the disappeared had died in clashes with foreign security forces or had been victims of internal purges. Most of those killed were members of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). However, there were also militants from the Communist Party (PC), the Socialist Party (PS), the Popular Unitary Action Movement (MAPU), the Communist League of Chile, as well as some people without political affiliation. In 2006, the Chilean College of Journalists confirmed the role and the numerous breaches of professional ethics that the newspapers El Mercurio, La Segunda, Las Últimas Noticias and La Tercera had in the framework of the Colombo operation.