Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, La Moncloa, Madrid (Spain)

After the beginning of the exhumations in the crypts of the Cuelgamuros Valley on June 12, 2023 for the search of 133 people buried there and claimed by their relatives, the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martinez López and the forensic technical team, have met with the relatives in an informative session in order to publicize the progress made in the work of search and identification of the remains deposited in the crypts of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.

They have been notified that on June 15 there was the discovery at level 0 of the chapel of a box, 198, containing the remains of twelve civilians killed by Falangist groups in the summer of 1936 in Fuente el Saúz and Aldeaseca, respectively from Navalmoral de la Sierra and Pajares de Adaja, (Ávila). Among them is that of a woman, claimed by her relatives.

Given the maximum difficulty of these exhumation works, the discovery has been possible thanks to the excellent work of the technical team and the existence of two unique photos taken by a photographer from the EFE agency inside the crypts on March 23, 1959. At this level there are a total of 1057 boxes with the remains of 4,266 people.

After anthropological and genetic analysis, the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF) has officially advanced to the State Secretariat of Democratic Memory the genetic identification of four of the people: Valerico Canales Jorge, Emilio Caro García, Flora Labajos Labajos and Román González Enrique.

Felix Bolaños, Minister of the Presidency for Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, telephoned the news to the relatives of those who have been genetically identified.

Throughout the meeting, the forensic team gave detailed information to the relatives about the entire technical process that is being carried out and advanced that the work has already reached level 2, in which the remains of the Lapeña brothers and other victims from Zaragoza are buried.

The exhumations, therefore, continue without pause, in accordance with the determined will of the Government of Spain to place the victims of war and dictatorship at the center of the Executive’s action in matters of memory with the aim of repairing as soon as possible the pain of those who have spent decades trying to recover the remains of their loved ones to give them a dignified burial.

At the time of any other news, the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory pledged to continue informing the relatives of the victims buried in Cuelgamuros who have been claimed.