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Luciano Arruga

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Luciano Nahuel Arruga (28 February 1992 - 1 February 2009) was a teenage boy who was killed after being hit by a car in Buenos Aires, Argentina, shortly after being detained by local police.

In 2016, he was conclusively identified after his family believed that remains they found at a cemetery in 2014 belonged to him. A police officer has been charged with torturing Arruga 4 months before his disappearance. However, no convictions have been made for his death. It is believed that Arruga was killed by the police officers who detained him.

Case[]

Disappearance[]

In the early hours of 31 January 2009, Luciano Arruga returned to his home in Lomas del Mirador, located in the La Matanza district of Buenos Aires, Argentina, after visiting his friends. Sometime afterwards, he left his home and was never seen by his family again. Reportedly, Arruga had been detained by police at least four months prior for an unspecified reason and alleged that he had been tortured by one of the officers. It is alleged that sometime after he left his home, Arruga was detained by the Lomas del Mirador police for another unspecified charge.

Searches began for Arruga after his family noticed he was missing, but were unsuccessful. His family hypothesized that he had been a victim of a "forced disappearance" for refusing to steal items for the police officers at the local stations. Therefore, it was believed that police had kidnaped Arruga and was either being held in another location or was killed. Supporting their hypothesis, an expert with sniffer dogs found that the boy had been taken to the 8th Lomas del Mirador police station, alongside his scent being found in a patrol car that had not completed its route the night of his disappearance. In 2010, 8 police officers were questioned. But were released without incident and sent to work at other police stations.

Arruga's case was noted to have received much public attention after his disappearance. Many calls were made to find him and investigate the police, with the singer of a band performing in Buenos Aires having "Where is Luciano Arruga?" written on his back during a concert.

Discovery[]

Hours after the disappearance, a teenage boy was admitted to the Santojanni Hospital in Buenos Aires after being hit by a car fifteen blocks away from the Arruga household. He was operated on in an attempt to save his life, but he passed away the following day. Authorities were unable to identify him, and he was shortly buried under "No Name" in the Chacarita Cemetery, located in Buenos Aires.

Identification[]

In 2014, Arruga's family began searching cemeteries for his body and pushing for authorities to find him. The body of the teenage boy from Santojanni Hospital was located and stated to be him by his family. However, he would not be conclusively identified as Luciano Arruga until 2016. During that time, in 2015, former Lomas del Mirador police officer Diego Torales was sentenced to 10 years in prison for torturing Arruga 4 months before his disappearance. However, the Justice Department of Argentina concluded that the person who ran over the decedent would be acquitted if they were discovered. It is still widely believed that Arruga was killed by police officers, and his family is currently calling for the police in Argentina to be held accountable for human rights violations. Arruga's case has been credited with causing the Argentinian government to change the protocol concerning identifying deceased minors in hospitals.

Media[]

  • In 2012, the band Salta la Banca released an album titled "Copla" dedicated to Arruga's case and the alleged involvement of the police in his death.
  • The song "Kristina" by Las Manos de Filippi and Cadena Perpetua from 2012 is noted to mention Arruga's case. "Mi Musa" by Apashagú from 2017 also mentions the case.
  • In 2016, singer Ismael Serrano made a song dedicated to Arruga's case titled "Los Invisibles".
  • In 2019, a documentary titled "Who Killed My Brother?" was released at the Lateinamerikafilmtage in Nuremberg, Germany. It was directed by Ana Fraile and Lucas Scavino and followed the life of Arruga's family as well as their investigation into his death and disappearance.

Sources[]

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