A Final Push to Nab Nazi War Criminals Hidden in Brazil and South America

Joseph Mengele The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a prominent Jewish rights group, has launched Operation Last Chance to search for clues leading to 150 to 300 suspected war criminals which are believed to have taken refuge in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, following Nazi Germany's defeat in 1945.

The project, which offers financial rewards for information facilitating the prosecution and punishment of Holocaust perpetrators, began in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in 2002.

"The project … has revealed the names of 480 suspects in 20 countries. Ninety-nine of those cases have been referred to state prosecutors," the Buenos Aires office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said in a statement, referring to worldwide figures for the program.

The project also led to three arrest warrants and two extradition petitions and prompted dozens of ongoing investigations, the group said.

After the end of the Second World War, hundreds of Nazis fled to Latin America where many governments helped them resettle. According to the Wiesenthal Center, 150 to 300 Nazi criminals reached Argentina.

A team of Israeli agents kidnapped Holocaust planner Adolph Eichmann in Argentina in 1960 and flew him back to Israel where he faced trial and was sentenced to death.

Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death from the Auschwitz concentration camp, escaped to Argentina with an International Red Cross passport and also lived in Uruguay and Paraguay before he died in Brazil in 1979.

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Boosts Military Spending by 50% But Tells Neighbors Not to Worry

The Brazilian government has announced plans to boost Brazil's military spending by more than ...

Europe Bans Brazilian Beef. Brazil Calls It Protectionism

The European Union will freeze all imports of Brazilian beef as from Thursday after ...

Brazil Risk Falls to Record Low, But It’s Still Three Times Higher than Mexico’s or Russia’s

There are indices that reflect a country’s economic situation. One of the most popular, ...

Experts Discuss in Brazil Global Good-Food Code

Expanding food access, improving product quality, and giving greater transparency to information on all ...

Hoping These Poor in Brazil Will Inspire More than Just a Liberal Guilt Trip

The Scalabrinian Order of the Catholic Church was founded in Italy in 1887 by ...

Candombé ceremony in Brazil

In Brazil You Dance to Play and You Dance to Pray

There are few countries around the world in which dance takes a center stage ...

Robots Roam Where Humans Can’t Go in Brazil’s Amazon

In an area of approximately 370 square kilometers (143 square miles) of Amazon rain ...

Brazilian Judge Recants and Is Now in Favor of Uncontacted Indians

A judge from Brazil has reinstated orders protecting an uncontacted Amazonian tribe following international ...

News of Inflation Brings Stocks Up in Brazil

Brazilian and Latin American equities rose on optimism regarding the latest inflation-related news out ...

Brazil Gives the Ball and Teaches How to Kick It in Angola

A thousand Angolans between the ages of 7 and 17 will begin to receive ...