Londres 38 was one of the Chilean dictatorship’s clandestine torture, detention and extermination centres situated in the city centre of Santiago. The secret prison was named after the address of the building, No.38 London Street: 500 metres away from the seat of government, known as the Palacio de la Moneda.

The three-storey house was built in 1925 for residential use. The Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) took over the building in 1970 in order to use it as one of its official buildings.

Following the coup d’état on 11th September 1973, the Metropolitan Intelligence Brigade (Brigada de Inteligencia Metropolitana, BIM) took over the building. It was later used by the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia (Directorate of National Intelligence, DINA). In December 1973, Londres 38 began its operations as a clandestine torture and detention centre.

Several aliases were used to refer to Londres 38, such as “cuartel Yucatán”, “casa del terror” and “casa de las campanas” (“bell house”), the latter owing to its proximity to San Francisco Church.

The captives were brought onto the site in vehicles which entered via the front gate, leading to a carpark, where their details were taken. Through the survivors’ testimonies, it was identified that the prisoners were held in a groundfloor common room which was surveilled by armed guards. The prisoners were held in this room during the daytime, where they remained blindfolded and handcuffed, sitting down on chairs or on the floor. From there, during the day or night, they were taken up to the interrogation and torture rooms on the second floor. The survivors also identified other places that were used for torture including the basement, the attic on the third floor, and the mezzanine.

The first operation to capture and transfer individuals to this site occurred in October 1973. However, the mass detention and torture operations were mainly concentrated between May and September 1974, before being partially abandoned in 1975.

At the end of 1974, the prisoners who were still being held at Londres 38 were separated into groups. Some of them were then transferred to other detention centres, while others were disappeared. To date, it has been ascertained that at least 96 people were executed, were disappeared or died as a result of the torture that they had endured. Of the total number of people who lost their lives, 83 were men and 13 were women, two of whom were pregnant at the time.

One such victim was the Uruguayan national, Nelsa Zulema Gadea Galán, who was captured on 19th December 1976 at the Chilean Housing Corporation (Corporación de la Vivienda, CORVI), where she worked as a secretary. Survivors mentioned that, after Nelsa was held at Londres 38, they later saw her at the Tejas Verdes clandestine torture and detention centre, where she disappeared.

Members of the military regime denied the existence of the secret prison. In 1978, the house number was changed to Londres 40 and the building was donated to the O’Higgins Institute, which counted on the sympathy of the regime. In 1980, public complaints started to emerge for the abductions, tortures and disappearances that had taken place there.

In July 2005, the Londres 38 organisation submitted a request to the Chilean National Council of Monuments to declare the place a National Monument. Although the request was approved, this did not mean that the house would be automatically recovered and preserved. NGOs and groups of victims’ relatives and friends filed complaints and encouraged a public outcry to prevent the house from going to auction. In 2007, the building was recovered and the original house number was restored.

In 2010, the building’s administration was passed onto the organisation “Londres No. 38 Espacio de Memorias” (“Londres No.38 Memory Space”). It continues to be open to visits from the public today. Londres 38 is currently a site for the conservation of historical memory and the fight for human rights and the search for truth and justice.