News of dictatorship

Madres de Plaza de Mayo activist Herenia Sánchez de Viamonte dies at 97

09-09-2024 14:12 Tributes paid to human rights activist and teacher, who passed away at the age of 97; Sánchez de Viamonte, who co-founded La Plata branch of Madres de Plaza de Mayo, remembered for tireless search for her son and daughter-in-law, who were kidnapped by the military dictatorship in 1977.

When ugly ducklings are black swans

31-08-2024 05:27 How can the libertarian creed possibly have anything in common with the totalitarian model of a military dictatorship?

by Michael Soltys

Lula reinstates commission to probe Brazil dictatorship crimes

05-07-2024 17:16 President Lula orders reinstatement of a special commission on crimes during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, which had been dissolved by his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

Horacio Méndez Carreras upheld dignity and decency in inglorious times

02-05-2024 09:00 Horacio witnessed so much. Some of his experiences were as hilarious as they were chilling, but he did much more than bear witness. He is a man who helped make Argentina a better place.

by Robert Cox

Alberto González: ESMA torturer – and vice-president’s mentor

29-03-2024 21:02 He headed the dreaded “underground” of the ESMA Navy Mechanics School concentration camp. Convicted for crimes against humanity, Alberto González was also the first dictatorship-era criminal to be sentenced for rape. He is also the mentor of Argentina’s Vice-President Victoria Villarruel.

by Juan Luis González

‘Los Pozos’: 10 handed life sentences for dictatorship-era abuses

28-03-2024 14:28 Court issues 10 lifetime prison sentences as part of a long-running, mass prosecution into incidents of kidnapping, torture, rape and disappearances at three sites during the country's 1976-83 military dictatorship.

Judge asks Uruguay to repatriate Navy plane used in the Condor Plan

21-03-2024 14:05 Court demands repatriation of plane in Uruguay that was used to transfer detainees during the Operation Condor plan of coordination between South American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s.

Boca and River pay tribute to disappeared club members

20-03-2024 15:56 Football being one of the standards of identity, both clubs shared the initiative to raise the flags of memory, truth and justice.

by Claudio Gómez

Chile to reopen probe into mystery death of poet Pablo Neruda

20-02-2024 15:32 An appeals court in Santiago ordered the reopening of the investigation into the death of Neruda, who many believe was poisoned by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Silvia Labayrú: ‘I was the first, I believe, to give birth at ESMA’

17-02-2024 06:43 Silvia Labayrú is a survivor of one of Argentina’s darkest places during the 1976-1983 era of state terrorism. Held at the ex-ESMA Navy Mechanics School, which served as a clandestine detention centre during the dictatorship’s rein of terror, she was kidnapped, tortured and raped several times during her captivity. In a feature interview, she recalls her experience and reveals the horrors she suffered during those black days.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Victoria Villarruel: First vice-president to play down dictatorship’s crimes

22-11-2023 11:37 By presenting herself as a militant of "complete memory," the La Libertad Avanza vice-president-elect has constructed her political figure around the controversial “theory of two demons,” equating left-wing killings with state terrorism.

Carlotto wants Milei to ‘respect search for grandchildren’

20-11-2023 17:35 Leader of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo human rights group says that she will request a meeting with libertarian leader Javier Milei and demand that her organisation's “search for our grandchildren” is respected.

Dictatorship killer Jorge ‘El Tigre’ Acosta hopeful of Milei presidency

27-10-2023 13:13 The former leader of the ESMA killer task group expresses hope that "moment of truth is near" as Javier Milei qualifies for presidential run-off vote.

The imperious need to penalise denialism

27-09-2023 13:12 There are issues, like crimes against humanity, which should be beyond electoral speculation. With the same speed with which the government secured approval for amending the income tax threshold, it should also now approve a law to condemn denialism with the support of Juntos por el Cambio and a united opposition.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

UNESCO strives to ensure memory remains part of global heritage

19-09-2023 13:11 While UNESCO has universalist aspirations, memorials are ripe for appropriation for political causes – especially where they touch on bloody events of the past.

Ex-ESMA recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Site

19-09-2023 13:10 Former clandestine detention, torture and extermination camp during era of state terrorism recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Outcry at event puts Villarruel's dictatorship beliefs in spotlight

05-09-2023 16:23 Demonstrators protest against Victoria Villarruel's event paying tribute to "the victims of terrorism" held at the City Legislature.

Victoria Villarruel on the military dictatorship and era of state terrorism

05-09-2023 11:58 Javier Milei’s running-mate leapt into politics from her militancy in organisations for "a complete memory" of the 1976-1983 era of state terrorism. Her statements on the military dictatorship, response to those who accuse her of denialism and the national deputy’s links with dictators.

Aircraft used in 1977 death flight repatriated to Argentina

27-06-2023 11:07 Skyvan PA-51 cargo plane used in the 1977 flight in which three members of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo human rights group and two French nuns, among others, were killed is successfully repatriated and returned to Argentina.

Chile doctor convicted of Pinochet-era crimes arrested at Ezeiza Airport

06-06-2023 21:47 Fugitive Manfredo Enrique Jurgensen arrested at Ezeiza International Airport moments before he boarded a flight to Germany; Chilean doctor convicted of crimes during Pinochet dictatorship could now be extradited.