Chile's New Government Reverses Expropriation Plan for Colonia Dignidad Memorial Site

The settlement of Villa Baviera in Chile, formerly known as Colonia Dignidad until 1991, was established in 1961 by Paul Schäfer, a former Nazi and weapons smuggler. Schäfer acquired land in the valley and created a fenced enclave that housed up to 300 people with limited external contact.

The compound included tunnels and was used by state security forces during General Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship as a clandestine torture center, where at least 100 people were murdered.

Schäfer sexually abused and tortured children in the camp. He was convicted on child abuse charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison, where he died in 2010. Investigations into the site proceeded intermittently over the years.

In 2023, then-President Gabriel Boric signed a decree to expropriate 117 hectares (289 acres) of the property, including residential areas of Villa Baviera and Schäfer's former home, where documentation related to the site's use as a detention center was discovered.

The expropriation aimed to create a memorial for victims of the dictatorship. Relatives of the disappeared had supported these efforts.

The current government under President José Antonio Kast, who took office recently, has announced plans to reverse the expropriation.

This decision is part of a broader order to all ministries to cut budgets by 3%, based on an assessment that the Boric administration left national finances in disarray. Housing Minister Iván Poduje stated that the expropriation would have cost more than $50 million, though no evidence was provided to support this figure.

The ministries of housing and justice declined to comment further on their plans.