Four files open public information to locate victims in El Bierzo

The Directorate of Institutional Relations and External Action of the Ministry of the Presidency of the Regional Government of Castilla y León has opened four public information periods to authorize actions for the localization of victims of the Civil War and Francoism in four municipalities of El Bierzo (León). The announcements are published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL) no. 191, dated October 1, 2026, within section I.E.2 of Other Official Announcements. The request originates from the Semillas de Memoria Association (G123715586).

The four files—MHD-2026-11, MHD-2026-12, MHD-2026-13, and MHD-2026-14—are processed under Article 18.4 of Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory, which requires that authorizations for the localization of victims be submitted for public information before being resolved. The announcements are signed by Ruth Andérez Alonso, Director of Institutional Relations and External Action: the first two are dated September 25, 2026, and the last two, September 28.

Four municipalities and four sites

Each file delimits a specific area of action, including municipality, town, site, and geographic coordinates:

• Villafranca del Bierzo (file MHD-2026-11): town of Valtuille de Abajo, site Prado Grande, coordinates 42º 36’ 5.87" N and 6º 46’ 21.22" W. Pages 108-109.
• Páramo del Sil (file MHD-2026-12): town of Villamartín del Sil, site Sienra, coordinates 42º 46’ 2.35" N and 6º 31’ 42.69" W. Pages 110-111.
• Cubillos del Sil (file MHD-2026-13): town of Fresnedo, site Las Corradinas, coordinates 42º 40’ 41.51" N and 6º 34’ 4.72" W. Pages 112-113.
• Trabadelo (file MHD-2026-14): town of San Fiz do Seo, site Teso Mundín, coordinates 42º 39’ 3.38" N and 6º 54’ 9.90" W. Pages 114-115.

The four announcements use the legal formula “actions for the localization of victims,” the prospecting and localization phase prior to any intervention on the remains.

Twenty business days to file objections

The public information period is twenty business days in all four cases, counted from the day following the publication of the announcement. During this period, the file may be consulted and objections may be presented at the headquarters of the Directorate of Institutional Relations and External Action, on Santiago Alba de Valladolid Street, from 9:00 to 11:00 hours.

Telephone 983 411 100, extension 800283, and the email address memoriahistorica@jcyl.es are also available for inquiries and objections.

An association drives the four requests

The Asociación Semillas de Memoria, with CIF G123715586, appears as the applicant in all four files, making the publication a coordinated block of requests regarding the Bercian region. The body that agrees to the public information is, in all cases, the Directorate of Institutional Relations and External Action, under the Ministry of the Presidency.

The resolution of these procedures does not in itself imply the exhumation of remains, but rather the administrative authorization for localization tasks in the indicated areas.

The simultaneous opening of four procedures in El Bierzo places democratic memory at the center of the community’s administrative current affairs and opens the possibility for the residents of Valtuille de Abajo, Villamartín del Sil, Fresnedo, and San Fiz do Seo to file objections regarding interventions in their environment. The twenty-business-day period makes the publication date the starting point of a calendar that, if successful, will lead to the first field operations in these four points of the region.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 191, of October 1, 2026, section I.E.2 Other Official Announcements, pp. 108-115 (official references: BOCYL-D-01102026-191-27, BOCYL-D-01102026-191-28, BOCYL-D-01102026-191-29 and BOCYL-D-01102026-191-30).