The search for the remains of Civil War victims in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has gained new momentum thanks to research suggesting the presence of a hundred reprisal victims in the mass grave of Vegueta Cemetery. This study, presented by a researcher, provides evidence not considered in a partial excavation carried out in 2018.

The report urges the Government of the Canary Islands to conduct a full exhumation, in compliance with the Democratic Memory Law. Among the individuals mentioned in the document are figures such as the former mayor of San Lorenzo at the beginning of the conflict and the head of the Local Police at the time.

According to the researcher, military records from the era, which often detailed the whereabouts of bodies, were not previously consulted. Instead, oral testimonies from cemetery staff were used. Furthermore, it is highlighted that a DNA bank of relatives of the executed already exists, which would greatly facilitate the identification process of the remains.

Much of the research has focused on the execution of workers from La Isleta and the subsequent repression of their families, including those known as 'the five of La Isleta', four of whom are suspected to be in Vegueta Cemetery. These were among the first workers and trade unionists to be executed after the coup d'état.

A relative of reprisal victims has called for the exhumation so that the remains can be returned to their loved ones and receive a dignified burial. They emphasize that, after so many years, the wounds have not yet healed and that “silence hurts more than oblivion”.