Kidnapping of Abílio dos Santos Diniz
Encyclopedia
In December 1989, Abílio dos Santos Diniz was the victim of a political kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

, that took place on the day of the first Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian democratic presidential elections after a military dictatorship
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....

.

It was followed by an almost immediate police rescue that revealed that among the kidnappers were Canadians David Spencer, a student at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

 in British Columbia and Christine Lamont, also a student at Simon Fraser University.

The act is recognized as an act of sabotage of the elections having been executed on elections day and associating the act to the political left wing.

The candidates were Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...

, founding member of the Workers' Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...

 (Partido dos trabalhadores - PT), and Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his trial of impeachment by the Brazilian Senate...

, the right wing party candidate running for a newly formed National Reconstruction Party
Christian Labour Party
The Christian Labour Party is a christian-conservative political party in Brazil.The party was founded in 1985 as Youth Party by Daniel Tourinho, a brazilian lawyer...

 (Partido da reconstrução nacional - PRN). As there was a prohibition of any political party of taking the media, television, radio or newspapers, on the days prior to election day, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's party had no opportunity to clarify the accusations that the party (PT) was involved in the kidnapping.

There is no evidence that the kidnapping of Abílio dos Santos Diniz was part of other kidnappings that occurred in Brazil, said to be executed by radical political groups. As the kidnapping occurred on presidential elections day, it had serious repercussions in the emerging democratic elections in the country that were taking place after the brutal military dictatorship that spread from 1964 to 1985.

Kidnapping

The kidnapping took place in the morning of the Brazilian presidential election in Brazil in 1989
Brazilian presidential election, 1989
The Brazilian presidential election of 1989 was the first direct presidential election in Brazil since 1960.-Historical context:On January 15, 1985, Tancredo Neves won the election for president on the electoral college, represented by Deputies and Senators, putting an end to the 21-year-old...

 when the candidates were Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...

, founding member of the Workers' Party, and Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his trial of impeachment by the Brazilian Senate...

, the right wing party candidate running for a newly formed National Reconstruction Party, backed by he richest man in Alagoas
Alagoas
Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...

, senator João Lyra, who reportedly gave up to $16 million to help elect Collor.

When arrested, the kidnappers characterized themselves as members of a left-wing group.

It is documented that in June 1989, two Canadians David Spencer and Christine Lamont joined the kidnap-gang. They used their Canadian passports and contacts to rent a number of apartments in preparation for the next victim, the principal shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....

 of Brazil's largest supermarket chain, Abílio dos Santos Diniz. In December 1989 Mr. Diniz was dragged out of his Mercedes-Benz as he was on his way to work and then bundled into a station wagon disguised as an ambulance. At the safe-house, he was kept in a small underground cell and subjected to loud music to break his will. While the family of Mr. Diniz was negotiating payment of a $5 million ransom, the police stormed the house in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 where he was held. Diniz was freed and ten people were arrested. The police arrested five Chileans, two Argentines, a Brazilian, along with the two Canadians Spencer and Lamont. Chilean police were later able to confirm that three of the Chileans are members of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left
Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)
Revolutionary Left Movement is a Chilean political party and former left-wing guerrilla organization founded on October 12, 1965...

:
  • Ulises Gallardo Acevedo - Movement of the Revolutionary Left cadre
  • Pedro Fernandes Lembach - an explosives expert, was secretary of Chile's National Council of Political Prisoners while he was in jail in Chile.
  • Maria Emilia Badilla - spent 10 years in jail in Chile for subversive activities.

David Spencer

David Spencer was born in in Moncton, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. A university dropout who moved to Vancouver in the 1980s where he found work at an alternate radio station. There he met Christine Lamont, a student at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

. The two soon became supporters of the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 and became members of Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, based in Washington, D.C., is a national activist organization with chapters in various cities in the United States. CISPES supports the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front and the progressive social movement in El Salvador.CISPES...

. In 1989, using false passports, the two traveled to Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...

, the capital of Nicaragua making contact with various left wing groups including the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is, since 1992, a left-wing political party in El Salvador and formerly a coalition of five revolutionary guerrilla organizations...

. They spent six months in Managua, supposedly, as translators for a Spanish newspaper.

Christine Lamont

Christine Lamont was born in in Langley
Langley, British Columbia (city)
The City of Langley is a municipality in Metro Vancouver. It lies directly east of the City of Surrey, adjacent to Cloverdale, and surrounded on the north, east and south by Township of Langley.-History:...

, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and a student at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in the late 1980s. During her time at SFU she worked at CFRO-FM
CFRO-FM
CFRO-FM, licensed and owned by Vancouver Co-operative Radio, is a non-commercial community radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Coast Salish territory. It is a legally registered co-operative and is branded as Co-op Radio. They broadcast on 102.7 megahertz FM...

, a community radio station, where she met David Spencer. The two became involved in Latin American solidarity activism, supporting left-wing movements like the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrillas in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

. In 1989, using false passports, the two traveled to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. They spent six months in Managua, supposedly, as translators for a Spanish newspaper.

Trial and aftermath

In 1990, the two were both sentenced to 28 years in prison for kidnapping. Both Lamont and Spencer professed that they were innocent victims and had no involvement in the kidnapping. Their plight became a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...

 in Canada and led to a strain in relations between Canada and Brazil. The couple were able to garner a lot of support from family, fellow Canadians, the news media and the Canadian government. Lamont's parents were very active in gaining support for the two and apparently spent thousands of dollars support trying to win their freedom .

While both Lamont and Spencer stated they were innocent, there were several inconsistencies with their story. First, trial transcripts show that the two had rented two houses in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 using false passports and letters of reference. One of these houses was later used to house Diniz. Secondly, these transcripts state that Spencer had obtained the materials the cell later used to house Diniz. Finally, they also state that Spencer had actually participated in guarding the kidnap victim.

Lamont and Spencer continued to maintain their innocence, however, their story started to unravel four years later when a secret weapons cache in Managua exploded (the Sandinistas had lost power by this point). Among the material exposed by the explosion were documents that linked both Lamont and Spencer to the Diniz kidnapping. Faced with these revelations, Lamont admitted that they had been involved in the kidnapping.

Release

Lamont and Spencer continued to battle the Brazilian government in an effort to be deported back to Canada which often backfired as shown in 1998. In November 1998 after a hunger strike by the pair, the Brazilian government accused them of violating "good behaviour" and refused to release them to Canadian authorities. The officials quickly reversed their decision and on November 21, 1998 they landed in Abbotsford
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...

, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and were quickly whisked away to a local prison. Two years later the pair were granted full parole.

See also

  • Sergio Apablaza
    Sergio Apablaza
    Galvarino Sergio Apablaza Guerra , nicknamed "Comandante Salvador", is a Chilean Marxist guerilla and former member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front , which opposed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet...

  • Isabel Vincent
    Isabel Vincent
    Isabel Vincent is a Canadian investigative journalist who writes for the New York Post, an alumna of the University of Toronto Varsity newspaper, and the author of several books.-Lamont/Spencer case:...

    , See no evil. Reed Books Canada, 1996.
  • Caroline Mallan, Wrong time, wrong place? Key Porter Books, 1996
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