Vera Files Analyst/Columnist Antonio Montalvan II Reminds Public that Imee Admitted Activist ‘Archie’ Trajano was Tortured and Killed

Vera Files columnist Antonio Montalvan II wrote on April 13, 2025 that Senator Imee Marcos admitted in a U.S. court that activist Archimedes “Archie” Trajano was tortured and killed. Image credit: www.verafiles.org Mr. Montalvan recounted that Imee’s bodyguards abducted Archimedes on August 31, 1977. This was after Archie questioned the eldest daughter of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during a public forum about why she was leading the Kabataang Barangay.Two days later, on September 2, 1977, Archimedes’ mother, Mrs. Agapita Francisco Trajano found the activist’s lifeless body in a morgue—battered and clearly tortured. Mrs. Trajano testified, “He was covered in a white sheet, lying on a table. And when I opened the sheet… I saw him black and blue… I could not talk… nothing… but I think my heart hardened. I said, ‘My God, why him?’” Nine years after the incident, Mrs. Trajano filed a case for false imprisonment, kidnapping, wrongful death, and deprivation of rights against Imee in a federal court in Hawaii.Because Imee failed to appear in court, a default judgment was issued in favor of Mrs. Trajano. The court ordered Imee to pay $4.16 million in damages and attorney’s fees. Mr. Montalvan wrote, “Imeee appealed the verdict in [...]