Chile's illegal adoption investigation unit dissolved under President Kast

Amelia Flores, whose newborn son disappeared in February 1974, has spent more than five decades seeking answers about Chile's illegal adoptions during the Pinochet era. In February 2023 a dedicated unit – the Unidad de Búsqueda de Orígenes y Familiares de Personas Afectadas por Adopciones Ilegales, Forzadas o Irregulares (UBAFI) – was created to coordinate state‑led investigations, access sealed medical records, and establish a public DNA database.

After a month in office, the ultra‑right government of President José Antonio Kast ordered the unit's disbandment, leaving victims like Flores, now 72, without an official avenue to pursue their cases. The move comes amid more than 1,600 judicial inquiries in Chile concerning forced adoptions that began in the 1950s and intensified under Augusto Pinochet, with estimates that over 20,000 children were taken.

Civil‑society groups such as Hijos y Madres del Silencio continue to pressure authorities, but the closure of UBAFI eliminates state‑controlled access to crucial records, deepening the anguish of families still searching for the truth.