Oscar Lorenzo Reinhold, Seven-Time Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity, Dies

The repressor Oscar Lorenzo Reinhold died at the age of 91. The former head of Intelligence of the VI Mountain Infantry Brigade of Neuquén during the last military dictatorship and responsible for the clandestine detention center "La Escuelita", had accumulated seven convictions for crimes against humanity, including three life sentences.

Reinhold passed away on July 7 due to acute respiratory failure. In his last days, he was hospitalized in a nursing home due to advanced cognitive deterioration, although he was under house arrest in an apartment in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

The retired colonel was one of the central figures of state terrorism in Subzone 52, a repressive structure that encompassed the province of Neuquén and much of western and southern Río Negro, including the city of San Carlos de Bariloche. This dependency was under the jurisdiction of the Command of Zone V and had its main operational center at the VI Mountain Infantry Brigade of Neuquén.

According to judicial investigations, Reinhold played a key role in victim selection, identifying persecuted individuals, conducting torture interrogations, and determining the fate of the abducted during the dictatorship. Survivors and human rights organizations described him as a figure with a "cold and intimidating" demeanor, noting that he received relatives of the disappeared with a weapon on his desk while denying information about their loved ones.

The Seven Convictions for Crimes Against Humanity

Following the reopening of trials for crimes against humanity, Reinhold was convicted seven times over nearly two decades of judicial processes.

In 2008, the Federal Oral Court of Neuquén sentenced him to 25 years in prison for aggravated illegal deprivation of liberty, torture, criminal association, theft, and coercion against 17 victims, including survivor Islanda Becerra.

Four years later, in 2012, he received a new sentence of 21 years in prison for the kidnapping and torture of another 39 individuals from the region. That same year, the Federal Oral Court of Bahía Blanca issued his first life sentence for crimes committed under the jurisdiction of the V Army Corps.

In 2016, he was again sentenced to life imprisonment as the regional maximum responsible for 20 kidnappings, 13 cases of torture, and 11 qualified homicides of disappeared persons. In a subsequent review, in 2023, a conviction for sexual violence was added, as he was found responsible for an aggravated rape against a captive victim.

Additionally, in 2019, he received a sentence of 11 years in prison for the kidnapping and forced disappearance of Juan Marcos Herman. In 2021, he obtained his third life sentence: the court found him a co-author of qualified homicide by treachery in eight cases, in addition to illegal deprivation of liberty, indecent assault, and rape.

House Arrest and Pending Cases

Despite the seriousness of the crimes for which he was convicted, Reinhold spent most of his detention under the house arrest regime. After his first conviction, he spent a brief period in federal prisons and subsequently continued several trials via videoconferences.

During the judicial processes, he never testified or provided information about the fate of the victims who remain missing, including Oscar Ragni.

At the time of his death, Reinhold had already been removed from the ninth trial of the case known as "La Escuelita", which began this year, due to a condition of dementia compatible with Alzheimer’s. After his death was confirmed, the Federal Court No. 2 of Neuquén declared the criminal action extinguished and issued his dismissal in the cases that remained open, including an investigation into the theft of apartments belonging to a cooperative of journalists during the dictatorship.

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