Ecuador’s Iconic Human Rights Defender Pedro Restrepo Dies at 81

The Restrepo family holds signs that read, “Even life for our children” and “With my heart in Yambo.” X/ @sybelmartinez

December 25, 2024 Hour: 9:20 am

For decades, he demanded the truth about the forced disappearance of his children.

On Tuesday, Pedro Restrepo, the father of Colombian youths Andres and Santiago, who disappeared nearly 37 years ago in Ecuador, passed away at the age of 81.

“His fight for truth and human rights, as well as his tireless pursuit of justice, leaves an indelible legacy in the country. May he rest in peace,” the National Assembly said on social media, expressing solidarity with his daughter, Maria Fernanda.

“Pedro Restrepo, the greatest symbol of dignity and resistance in the face of persecution and violence against the struggle for the defense of human rights, has just passed away,” said journalist Orlando Perez, who was also a victim of state terrorism during the administration of Leon Febres Cordero, a far-right politician who led an anti-subversive campaign that resulted in numerous severe human rights violations.

Colombian youths Santiago and Andres disappeared on January 8, 1988, after being arrested by police. For years, the Restrepo family held weekly protests every Wednesday in front of Carondelet Palace, the seat of the Executive branch, demanding answers from various governments about the disappearance of Santiago and Andres.

MURIÓ PEDRO RESTREPO ARISMENDI, ÍCONO DE LA LUCHA CONTRA EL ABUSO ESTATAL. NO PUDO ENCONTRAR A SUS HIJOS

A los 81 años, y luego de toda una vida de lucha y perseverancia en la búsqueda de sus dos hijos, Carlos Santiago y Pedro Andrés, desaparecidos en 1988, falleció el hombre… pic.twitter.com/alF4OqMllH
— Periodismo Público Ecuador (@PeriodismoP_Ec) December 24, 2024

This text reads, “Pedro Restrepo Arismendi, an icon of the fight against state abuse, has died. He could not find his children. At the age of 81, and after a lifetime of struggle and perseverance in the search for his two sons, Carlos Santiago and Pedro Andres, who disappeared in 1988, the man who for years stood at the bottom of the presidency demanding to know where his children were, died. Pedro Restrepo died this Tuesday, December 24, in Quito. Since 2022 he had been in a delicate health state due to chronic respiratory failure and diaphragmatic paralysis. Rest in peace, dear Pedro.”

Initially, it was suspected that the Restrepo brothers had been thrown into Yambo Lagoon, but other accounts suggested that their bodies might have been buried in a mass grave in a cemetery in Quito.

According to Maria Fernanda, the youngest sister of the Restrepo Arismendi family, no DNA tests conducted on remains found there matched hers or her father Pedro’s. The case was classified as a crime of state, occurring during the presidency of Febres Cordero (1984-1988).

Pedro Restrepo’s death comes at a time when Ecuadorians are outraged by a new case of forced disappearance. On December 8, a military patrol in Guayas province unjustifiably detained four Black minors, who have not been seen alive since.

On Sunday, while the arrest of the youths had not yet been officially confirmed, the Attorney General’s Office posted on X: “Regarding the alleged kidnapping of four minors – in which military personnel may be involved – the Attorney General’s Office informs that the case has been transferred to Quito and will be handled by the Specialized Unit for Investigating the Illegitimate Use of Force.”

Outraged by the shifting official narratives, Maria Fernanda Restrepo wrote: “To the Attorney General’s Office: IT IS NOT CALLED KIDNAPPING; IT IS CALLED FORCED DISAPPEARANCE. The fact that your defense minister finds the term unsettling is irrelevant. ACT NOW! Stop dragging out cases involving the families of victims and leaving EVERYTHING IN NOTHING.”

#Ecuador 🇪🇨 | A video is circulating on social media in which soldiers detain and mistreat one of the four children who are still missing in #Guayaquil, while another was already in the pick-up truck pic.twitter.com/qtfwskeyli
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 23, 2024