Uncovered | Unmasking the alleged torturer turned Bondi nanny | Part 2
From Secrets We Keep by LiSTNR
March 25, 2026 · 28 min · Season 9 · Episode 22
About this episode
The episode features an interview with Adriana Rivas, a former member of Pinochet’s secret police, discussing her past and justifications for her actions.
A CIA-backed coup. A hidden Australian connection. And a suburban nanny with a secret past. In Part Two of Unmasking the Alleged Torturer Turned Bondi Nanny , Uruguayan-Australian journalist Florencia Melgar takes us inside her extraordinary interview with Adriana Rivas — a former member of Augusto Pinochet’s secret police, accused of some of the dictatorship’s most brutal crimes. While living in Sydney’s Bondi, working as a nanny, Rivas was wanted in Chile for crimes against humanity. In a rare and revealing conversation, she describes how she fled Chile while on bail — paying smugglers to escape through the Andes before returning to Australia, where she had lived since the late 1970s. In this episode, we hear how Rivas justifies torture, glorifies a brutal regime, and reflects on the power she once held. More on this story: The Other 9/11 ABC Foreign Correspondent, Facing the Past More on Australia’s involvement in Chile: 'Last thing he wanted was to embarrass the CIA': Inside Whitlam's 'agonising' decision to shut Australian spy operation in Chile Got any tips? Email us at secretswekeep@sca.com.au . Credits: Host…
People in this episode
Host: Joey Watson
Guests: Florencia Melgar, Adriana Rivas
Topics covered
- torture
- human rights
- dictatorship
- interview
- Australia
- Chile
- secrets
Keywords
- CIA
- torturer
- Bondi nanny
- Adriana Rivas
- Florencia Melgar
- Pinochet
- Chile
- human rights
- interview
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CIA, Augusto Pinochet’s secret police
Places: Chile, Bondi, Sydney
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