Nearly 50 years after her death, Uruguay lays to rest a woman disappeared by its dictatorship

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Nearly five decades after Uruguayan security forces seized Amelia Sanjurjo from the street, disappearing the newly pregnant woman into the maw of the military's prison system, she received a proper burial on Thursday in her hometown of Montevideo.

The bone fragments of Sanjurjo — described as a kind, patient and disheveled-looking employee at a publishing house and member of Uruguay's Communist party — were exhumed exactly a year ago from a military base in a small southern town in Uruguay. She was finally identified last week after investigators took DNA samples from her maternal aunt and nephews in Uruguay, Spain and Italy in hopes of finding a match.

The revelation was as thrilling as it was grim. Forensic teams have only recovered the remains of five other disappeared people in Uruguay since excavations began in 2005. The vast majority of the nearly 200 people kidnapped and killed during the country’s dictatorship remain unidentified.

The search for bone fragments, teeth and shreds of clothing, investigators say, is the hardest part, given that members of the dictatorship deliberately destroyed DNA in an effort to deny that detainees were tortured and killed.

“Each new identification is a joy. It's a recognition of a great task that is carried out quietly by a whole group of professionals, archaeologists, anthropologists, geneticists, historians,” said Carlos Vullo, the genetic lab director of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, which assisted with Sanjurjo's identification.

In downtown Montevideo on Thursday, somber crowds thronged the small wooden box that held Sanjurjo's remains outside Uruguay’s Republic University, home to the forensic investigators that identified her using genetic testing. Some hugged. Others wept.

Representatives of the relatives of Uruguay’s disappeared paid tribute to Sanjurjo's late father and sister, who they said devoted their lives to searching for Sanjurjo and died without getting answers.

“Today means we have found Amelia and are able to say goodbye to her, which was the right thing to do for many years,” said Ignacio Errandonea, a member of the group whose relatives were disappeared.

Sanjurjo's surviving relatives, today scattered around Europe, sent a message to be read aloud at her wake, where supporters placed red and yellow roses on her box. From the building's facade, Sanjurjo’s smiling face stared down at the sea of people. Mikaela Mall, a representative of the relatives, delivered the family statement, saying Sanjurjo’s loved ones were “excited to receive this news.”

“The dictatorship was cruel to her as it was to so many others, making her pay dearly for the simple and brave act of dreaming of a more just and supportive world,” the statement read. “She dedicated her entire life to her activism, and was consistent until the very end.”

Sanjurjo was 41 years old and pregnant when she was abducted from the streets of Montevideo on Nov. 2, 1977. Prosecutors said that she died after being beaten and tortured at a military detention center six days after her arrest.

The identification of victims is part of a broader effort to deliver justice and accountability 40 years after the end of the dictatorship in Uruguay, a traumatic chapter of history as violent authoritarian rule swept through South America. From 1973 to 1985, Uruguay's military unleashed a campaign of repression after having largely defeated a guerrilla uprising, disappearing 197 people, according to the government’s count.

An untold number of Uruguayans abducted by the military dictatorship ended up detained in Argentina as a result of Operation Condor, a secret plan carried out by several South American dictatorships to eliminate their left-wing opponents. Forensic teams have so far identified 31 disappeared Uruguayans based on remains recovered elsewhere in the region, including Argentina’s clandestine detention centers.

Argentina’s reckoning with its particularly brutal past has been far more extensive than that of Uruguay and other neighboring countries. After power returned to civilians in Uruguay, the government enacted an amnesty covering the crimes of the dictators as well as their guerrilla opponents, delaying the judicial process.

In Argentina, where human rights groups estimate 30,000 people were forcibly disappeared, courts have handed down over 300 verdicts and delivered sentences to thousands of military officials over dictatorship-era crimes. In Uruguay, less than 30 trials have occurred.

Recent legal changes seek to speed the justice process along. Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said Sanjurjo’s identification shows “the government’s commitment to the search for the disappeared.”

Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Nayara Batschke in Santiago, Chile, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A man holds an image of Amelia Sanjurjo during her funeral service held at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Members of the Uruguayan Communist Party hold a tribute to Amelia Sanjurjo during her funeral service held at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that human the remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Relatives of prisoners disappeared carry the coffin that contains the remains of Amelia Sanjurjo during her funeral service at the University of the Republic, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

People attend the burial service of Amelia Sanjurjo at La Teja cemetery in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

A woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish; "Those who fight never die," during the burial service of Amelia Sanjurjo at La Teja cemetery in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

The coffin that contains the remains of Amelia Sanjurjo sits inside a hearse during her funeral service at the University of the Republic, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

A woman places a red rose on the coffin that contains the remains of Amelia Sanjurjo sits inside a hearse during her funeral service at the University of the Republic, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

People hold a tribute for Amelia Sanjurjo during her funeral service held at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 6, 2024. The Uruguayan Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the human remains found in June 2023 at the 14th Battalion of the Uruguayan Army belong to Sanjurjo, a victim of the 1973-1985 dictatorship who was 41 years old and pregnant at the time of her disappearance. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson is moving on from the Golden State Warriors, with the four-time league champion agreeing to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday.

ESPN and The Athletic first reported the deal which, as currently constructed, will be executed as the sign-and-trade of a three-year, $50 million contract involving the Warriors, Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been publicly announced. One of the people who spoke to the AP said final trade terms were still being worked out.

Thompson is sixth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list with 2,481, behind Reggie Miller (2,560), Damian Lillard (2,607), James Harden (2,940), Ray Allen (2,973) and Thompson’s now-former “Splash Brother” with the Warriors, Stephen Curry, and his 3,747 career makes from beyond the arc.

There were indications last season that Thompson and the Warriors might be headed toward a breakup.

Thompson came off the bench 14 times — not much in the grand scheme of things considering he played 77 games, but those were his first appearances as a reserve since his rookie season of 2011-12. He shot 38.7% from 3-point range, the second-worst of his career. He averaged 17.9 points, the third-lowest of his career. He wasn’t always in the finishing lineup and the season — and his Warriors career — ended with a 0-for-10 shooting performance against Sacramento in a play-in tournament loss.

Thompson — a five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection who missed two entire seasons with injuries — took a long look around the court after that game, soaking in the scene just in case it would be his final time playing with the Warriors. Turns out, it was. And now he'll join a Dallas team that just went to the NBA Finals as a shooter brought in to help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

They were all undervalued on some level when they entered the NBA. None was a lottery pick, some weren’t even first-round picks and they didn’t have the label of can’t-miss prospects.

That was then. Monday was a very different story for Tyrese Maxey, Derrick White, Isaiah Hartenstein, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins — who are about to sign deals worth a combined $565 million.

All were confirmed to the AP by people with knowledge of the negotiations for the players involved.

Maxey, an All-Star this past season, agreed in principle to a five-year, $204 million extension that keeps him with the Philadelphia 76ers and set to play alongside Joel Embiid and soon-to-be-signed Paul George.

The 76ers, like the rest of the league, are chasing the Boston Celtics, who made a big move by agreeing with guard Derrick White on a four-year extension worth around $125 million. White averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists for the NBA champions this past season.

Hartenstein, a center coming off a breakout year, is leaving New York for Oklahoma City on an $87 million, three-year deal that includes an option. The Thunder — the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this past season — also finalized extensions with Joe ($48 million) and Wiggins ($47 million).

And Harris is going to Detroit on a two-year deal worth $52 million, a move first reported by ESPN and one that will give the young Pistons an experienced veteran in the room as they continue their rebuild under newly hired coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Reynolds reported from Miami.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) scores past San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Monday, March 11, 2024. Klay Thompson is moving on from the Golden State Warriors, with the four-time league champion agreeing to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday, July 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson gestures after making a 3-point basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Los Angeles. Klay Thompson is moving on from the Golden State Warriors, with the four-time league champion agreeing to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday, July 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Ryan Sun)