Brief Review of the Argentine Dirty Wars

The Argentine Dirty Wars began in 1976 after a military coup by Jorge Videla threw out the government of Isabel Peron. Essentially, it was a time when the Argentine government killed or disappeared thousands of people, including guerrillas and civilians. Not until the mothers of the disappeared organized and began protesting with posters of their missing loved ones did the press take notice. In 1983, after a change of government, the Dirty Wars ended.

The estimated number of dead or missing as a result of the war varies, but most estimates range between 10,000 and 30,000. The Argentina National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, established in 1983, made an initial assessment of 9,000.

During the period 1969-1978, 728 government security personnel were killed according to the Argentine government. According to a Spanish Web site run by victims of left-wing terrorism in Argentina, some 13,500 people were killed by the left.

Videla was tried for crimes against humanity, murder, kidnapping and other charges. He was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment but was released after five years at a military prison. The repercussions of the Dirty War era continue, however. During 1998, Videla was tried again for child kidnapping charges - according to the judge, the amnesty granted for the earlier offenses did not apply to the latter charges. He was again imprisoned in October 2008.

Isabel Peron, leader of the government that was overthrown in 1976, was arrested and charged in 2007 because of "annihilation decrees" made in 1975 against left-wing guerrillas. As vice president, she had taken control of government after her husband and President Juan Peron died in 1974. He had spent almost 20 years in Franco's Spain after a coup forced him from the presidency in 1955; he was a known admirer of Mussolini.

It is well established that Argentina was a destination for numerous Nazis after World War II who were fleeing prosecution for war crimes.

The roots of the conflict can also be traced to the political instability in the country from 1930-1976. Historian Thomas C. Wright writes: "Between 1930 and 1976, Argentina experienced nine successful military coups and twenty-one different presidential administrations; only two elected governments completed their constitutional terms, none after 1952."