A court in La Plata will try a former manager of Molinos Río de la Plata, one of the companies accused of collaborating with state terrorism during Argentina’s last military dictatorship, over the kidnapping of three of the firm’s workers.
Emilio Jorge Parodi was the personnel manager at the company’s factory in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires province, in 1976. He is accused of being a necessary participant in the abduction of three workers who remain disappeared to this day.
Francisco Fernández, Roberto José Rivolta Bonino and Santos Ojeda, the victims, were members of the union organization Agrupación 17 de Octubre and were kidnapped while entering or leaving their workplace on the early morning of July 7, 1976.
At the time, Molinos Río de la Plata was one of Argentina’s largest companies, primarily producing flour, oil, and products derived from them. It grew considerably during and after the 1976-1983 dictatorship and remains one of Argentina’s most important food producers.
A 2016 report by the then Ministry of Justice and Human Rights examining the involvement of civilian-run companies in human rights violations during the dictatorship said Molinos Río de la Plata “participated in the kidnapping of its employees” by providing information about them and facilitating access to them by the armed forces.
