Mario Pacheco, a veteran of the Malvinas War, recounted with restrained anguish and in a harrowing testimony the murder of Private Rito Portillo, perpetrated by Second Corporal Gregorio Hermes Cabrera on May 11, 1982, during the war on the islands.

Interviewed by Gabriel Ramonet , host of the program "Periodismo" on Radio Provincia in Tierra del Fuego, Pacheco , a direct witness to the incident being investigated in Case 1777 of the Federal Court of Río Grande , described in great detail the context of the abuse and the moment his comrade was gunned down. "Portillo was killed by Corporal Gregorio Hermes Cabrera, who was our corporal in charge in the Malvinas," he stated emphatically.

The incident, according to the report, was not an isolated incident but the culmination of systematic harassment stemming from a previous fight on the mainland. "Portillo had fought with Cabrera here on the mainland, when they had played soccer... and Portillo had hit him, because he was very tough, Portillo was aggressive."

Pacheco highlighted the anomaly of both being sent to the same position: "What a coincidence that a soldier who has had problems on the continent with a corporal is sent to the same position in a war."

Life in the trenches was already inhumane. "We finished digging our hole and our hands were covered in blood. Blood because the blisters were bursting," he recalled. But this was compounded by the constant abuse from the non-commissioned officer: "We'd get to the ranch... and that's when we started to notice something strange was happening, because he'd spit Portillo's food at us and tell us, 'You're going to die like rats, you puppets.' That guy (Cabrera) mistreated us the worst . "

On the night of May 11, during a red alert for bombing, the irreparable happened. "Portillo runs, and before he can reach his position, Cabrera grabs him and fires 20 shots from the FAL. He shattered his chest, all 20 shots."

Horror gripped the young soldiers. "We were on guard at a distance and all we heard was the burst, the crackle, of gunfire." The killer's reaction was absolutely cold. "Germán Navarro shined his flashlight and said, 'It's Portillo, sir.' And the guy acted as if nothing had happened; he wasn't shocked, or hurt, or anything. It was as if he was happy because he had killed him."

Desperation led the soldiers to attack their superior officer: "We beat Cabrera that day... we hit him a little, because imagine if I killed your comrade and he acted as if nothing had happened. We were crazy." Pacheco suffered a nervous breakdown that led to his hospitalization.

Daniel Guzmán, a combatant and journalist from Agenda Malvinas who was present at the interview, contextualized the event within a widespread practice: "What this is narrated is what one lived permanently... In the midst of those situations, of that climate, in that adversity, with the violence that the Argentine Armed Forces handled, in those conditions we were in Malvinas."

Guzmán added that "a large part of the veterans, the majority of their officers and non-commissioned officers, do not want to talk, because when we say these things, they say that we are harming the Malvinas feat," and then clarifying that "these things must be separated from the feat, because torture, humiliation, murders, are not part of the feat, it is the dark part."

Regarding the legal case, he stated that "the facts are fully proven, meaning it's not like he's saying 'no, it's not known whether he did it or not.' No, the facts are proven." The legal debate revolves around whether these are crimes against humanity and, therefore, imprescriptible.

Pacheco recounted how, upon returning to the mainland, they tried to silence the crime: "They took our statements when we returned to the mainland... My statement was one thing and they wanted me to sign another... He said, no, that it had been an accident. No, no, no, no. Here, for me, Portillo's death was premeditated."

For years, fear and threats dogged him. "When we were off work, the order was not to say anything, otherwise you'd never be off work again... He, Cabrera, when we were off work, he went to Santiago. I saw him in Santiago del Estero. He swore to me he was going to kill me," he continued with his harrowing account.

All the harassment and the constant attempt to suppress the recurring theme of Portillo's murder had the opposite effect. The entire Company became more aware of the crime committed by Cabrera and of the silence that the Command of the Argentine Navy's 2nd Marine Battalion was trying to enforce.

Already on the train that would take them from the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base to Buenos Aires, as the final act of their mandatory military service, the soldiers began to sing from the windows.

This train that is leaving,

This train is not coming back,

because the first one goes in it,

towards civility.

We were in the Malvinas and we were able to return,

And today we march all together, all together to our home.

The misfortune had a name,

and we will avenge her.

In the midst of the collective outcry, the soldiers were forced off the train, severely reprimanded, and their documents were confiscated. During the 20-hour journey and under guard, they were only given their National Identity Documents back in Buenos Aires.

Four decades later, Pacheco 's demand is for "Justice." But, he added, "today we don't have Rito, we don't have his mother, his father, it's going to be a partial justice. But anyway, in the end, let the guy who did this pay, let him pay. If he's alive, let them put him in jail... All I want is truth and justice. I don't want any credit, or anything... I'm not looking for anything that isn't due, which in this case is justice."

Mario Pacheco 's testimony, full of emotion and anguish, is an attempt to honor the memory of his companion: "That's why I always tell stories and try to make sure people know about this, because that way I believe Portillo will finally rest in peace."