Ex-police officers summoned over 1976 massacre

A federal judge has summoned four former Federal Police officers for questioning in connection with the 1976 San Patricio massacre, a brutal event during Argentina's last dictatorship that saw the murder of three priests and two seminarians. The officers, identified as Miguel Ángel Romano, Atilio Edgardo Juárez, Serafín Losada, and Héctor Roberto Olivetto, are suspected of clearing the area to allow perpetrators to carry out the killings at the San Patricio parish in the Belgrano neighborhood.

The parish itself was recently declared a cultural heritage site. The investigation suggests that these former officers not only facilitated the crime but also participated in its subsequent cover-up, as their precinct handled the initial stages of the investigation. The massacre occurred in the early hours of July 4, 1976, when a "task group" stormed the parish rectory, killing priests Alfredo Leaden, Alfredo Kelly, and Pedro Duffau, along with seminarians Salvador Barbeito and Emilio Barletti.

Their bodies were discovered by the church organist, Rolando Savino, arranged on a red carpet with inscriptions accusing them of "indoctrinating virgin minds." The crime scene showed extensive bullet damage. The massacre was part of a series of retaliatory actions by repressive forces, occurring just two days after an attack on the Federal Security Superintendency's dining hall. The investigation has been marred by irregularities, including a failure to preserve the crime scene and a seven-month delay in providing ballistic evidence to the court.