Sheraton case: both defendants sentenced

The fourth trial for crimes against humanity committed in the clandestine detention and torture center that operated in the Villa Insuperable district in La Matanza, province of Buenos Aires, came to an end.

The Buenos Aires Federal Oral Court No. 1, led by judges Ricardo Basílico, Adrián Grünberg, and José Michilini, has delivered its verdict following the fourth trial on crimes against humanity perpetrated by members of Artillery Group No. 1 at the clandestine detention and torture center known as the “Sheraton” or “Embudo.” This center operated in the Villa Insuperable district (La Matanza, Buenos Aires) and military area 114.

The trial, held from November 25, 2022, to October 6, 2023, focused on presenting evidence to establish the culpability of the logistics and finance officers of Artillery Group 1 in Ciudadela, namely Alejandro Federico Salice and Roberto Horacio Sifón.

The former officers were tried for their material and financial contributions to the planning, execution and consummation of the serious crimes committed by members of that military unit both in relation to the victims kidnapped and taken captive to the Sheraton CCD and in acts committed by the Artillery Group in area 114.

In this trial, Salice, logistics officer and member of the military unit’s senior staff, was sentenced to life imprisonment as a co-perpetrator. Similarly, Roberto Horacio Sifón, finance officer of the unit, received the same sentence as a necessary participant in the acts that inflicted harm to 28 victims through illegal deprivation of liberty, torment and, in three cases, homicides.

The victims include Roberto Carri and Ana María Caruso, who were abducted on February 24, 1977, in Villa Tesei, Morón, and were held at the Sheraton until at least the end of December 1977. Their daughters, plaintiffs in the case, are represented by CELS.