Vicaría de la Solidaridad Founded — Catholic Church Defends Victims

Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez of the Archdiocese of Santiago creates the Vicaría de la Solidaridad to provide legal defense, documentation, and humanitarian assistance to victims of political repression. The Vicaría (replacing the ecumenical Committee for Peace suppressed by Pinochet in 1975) becomes the primary human rights organization in Chile under the dictatorship, documenting over 48,000 cases. Its archives later become crucial evidence for prosecutions.