The remains of Juan Chueca Sagarra, an Aragonese day laborer shot in 1936 in Cuelgamuros, have been identified

The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, has informed the family of Juan Chueca Sagarra, an Aragonese day labourer shot in 1936, of the identification of his remains in the Cuelgamuros Valley. “Unfortunately, Enrique, Juan’s youngest son, died a few weeks ago and we have not been able to communicate this to him directly, but to his granddaughter,” the minister has assured, according to the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory.

Juan Chueca Sagarra was a 42-year-old day laborer with five children who was murdered in August 1936. He is the second body from a mass grave in Borja (Zaragoza) to be identified in the Cuelgamuros Valley (the previous one was Esteban Giménez Ezpeleta).

In total, with the four-year plan of exhumations, 13 victims have already been identified, 11 of them from Aldeaseca (Ávila). So far, 170 families have requested identification in the Valley.

The minister has stressed the Government’s commitment to the Law of Democratic Memory and to continue with the identification of the bodies that were taken to the Valley in the 1950s. “Bodies that, in the case of Republicans, were moved without even notifying their families,” the department highlights.

He also stressed that it is important to continue working “without further interruptions” because time is running out for the families who are demanding “truth and reparation.” Torres believes that these identifications are “an act of humanity” and communicating this personally to the families is “truly emotional.” “They finally know what really happened to them and they will be able to give their relatives a dignified burial in the place they consider,” he added.

The National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences continues to work on identifying more bodies from the mass grave in Borja that were transferred during the dictatorship to the Cuelgamuros Valley, and according to estimates by the forensic team, more bodies from this area will soon be identified.