Argentine military governor of the Falklands arrested for human rights violations
The military governor of the Falkland Islands during Argentina’s brief occupation of the archipelago in 1982 was detained for his alleged role in human rights abuses at a notorious torture center in the 1970s, prosecutors said Thursday.
Former Gen. Mario Benjamin Menendez was arrested at his home in Buenos Aires on Wednesday and transferred to a federal prison in Tucuman province, 1.300 kilometers north of Argentina’s capital.
The 82-year-old Menendez was briefly governor of the Falklands after Argentina occupied the Islands by force in April 1982. It subsequently lost control when British troops retook the Islands and the Argentine troops surrendered on 14 June 1982.
His arrest relates to ‘‘La Escuelita,’’ a torture center in Tucuman province that he allegedly helped run in 1975, the year before the military coup that ushered in Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship, the attorney general’s office said Thursday. Prosecutors said he was head of the ‘‘Tactical Command Post’’ at the center.
A unit of the Marxist Cuban trained Revolutionary People’s Army, ERP, operated in the mountains of Tucuman in 1974, and the civilian government in power at the time ordered a crackdown on the group. The campaign was called “Operation Independence”.
Prosecutors say 1.507 suspects passed through the center between Feb. 10 and Dec. 18, 1975, part of a systematic campaign of repression against dissidents and leftists ahead of the coup.
From February to December 1975, thirty military units were involved in the operation including border guards and federal police which also helped to disband sugar industry unions and militant student organizations.
The operation was under the command of General Adel Edgardo Vilas and later by General Antonio Domingo Bussi, who died in jail in 2008 condemned for human rights abuses. But he was also a successful politician and was voted governor of Tucuman under democracy.
Besides Menendez, 21 other people have been arrested across Argentina in connection with the case. Among them is a cousin of Menendez, former Col. Jose Maria Menendez, who is under house arrest.
Another military officer arrested former Colonel Walter Saborido, was deputy governor candidate in Tucuman’s last elections running for a party called La Linea which supposedly rallied all those who somehow were involved in the “Operation Independence”. He owns a security company which employs 200 people.
Suggested Stories
-
May 21st 2013
Falkland Islands: it’s a three-side debate; Argentina must recognize Islanders right to decide their future
-
May 20th 2013
Falkland Islands: Argentina blasts UK’s ‘double standard’ on self determination right
-
May 20th 2013
Polynesia in decolonization list; Pacific islands proposal supported by 193 votes in UN General Assembly
-
May 21st 2013
Falklands: optimism about identification of unknown Argentine delegation
60 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Thank you.
hehe, the government an La Campora are going to crab some private land from 'wealthier' land people in the province of Buenos Aires. They have to give 10% of their residential land to La Campora if the law passes.
So people, don't invest in Argentina!
Argentina= Nazi save haven.
Col H Jones v Gen Menendez. I couldn't see the fat Argie having the guts to risk his own life for his country.
Why should anyone be surprised at this headline?
Argentine military= Criminal in uniform
Are these actions politically motivated??
What do the Argentinian public think of this, given the events occurred 30-35 years ago?
Is this a kick in the backside of the military - a warning not to fail if another invasion meets resistance??
Brits??
Trolls ??? :-)
“PiRAT-Hunter”, what do you think??? :-D
Further fighting was pointless would only have cost more lives on both sides and achieved nothing.
The land reform plan is a dangerous indication of where things are headed .
MBOA is a white female version of Mugabe .
2, 5, 9, 13 years being tortured by the military for defending your nation against usurpers of power, and you want them to be tried??? They've already paid for crimes they never commited.
However it shows the inferior quality of the Argentine military. When they are attacking an inferior force and unarmed civilians they are full of hot air but when faced with people who throw myths aside and deal with reality, not dreams, they crumble ie @9 Beef'-Col H Jones v Gen Menendez.'
#12, his decision to surrender “against argentine law” probably saved his and his men's and his country's reputations. His defeat was inevitable (arguably as soon as the taskforce was seen coming his way). His troops near Stanley were itching to take it out on the locals. He knew that if he didn't end it he would truly be facing war crimes under British arrest, with all the implications for his family's shame on the world stage, and a not bitter and grudging “amnesty” deal from fellow Argentines needing to move forward and strategically ignore parts of the very recent past.
What have Koala bears got to do with the comments?
Are you p1ssed?
Just wait until the next Prez is installed and they will go after Ks and all their supporters for the terrorist activities in the 70s. It's gonna happen just watch.
@15 I agree. Trying them would be a waste of time and money. Just shoot 'em!
@17 You need to mention the outstanding abilities, bravery, courage, dedication, fighting ability, honour, intelligence, tactics of members of the British armed forces. Honoured, as always, by the presence of Gurkhas. Who helped argies achieve world records in the 5 mile dash!
@18 It's worth noticing that argie forces totalled around 13,300. Defeated by less than 10,000 proper troops.
Kinda like backing the Taliban before you were against it.
That's the problem with Banana republics, they think very short term but don't analyze the consequences of their actions long term.
3000 civilians dead, 10000 soldiers dead, 20 billion in material damage, 1 trillion in war costs, 1.5 trillion in economic shock costs...
All for supporting a rag-tag in the 1980s.
hahahahaha, ultimate banana republic. It so blew up in your face didn't it.
@17
“You need to mention the outstanding abilities, bravery, courage, dedication, fighting ability, honour, intelligence, tactics of members of the British armed forces. Honoured, as always, by the presence of Gurkhas. Who helped argies achieve world records in the 5 mile dash!
” Absolutely.
No doubt about that, our guys were and are the best and I think it is a travesty that John Gavin Hamilton did not get a VC, plus alot of blokes deserved them in my opinion.
These people were not playing a stupid game. At least the RGs have had a Gypsies Warning of what will happen if they are stupid enough to take another pop.
“faced with people who throw myths aside and deal with reality, not dreams,”
Back in 82, or now?
Probably about the same time as Blair is for Iraq.
Oct 19th, 2012 - 05:08 pm
Quite right, Tim, after all the Montoneros and ERP etc. started killing innocent people during a DEMOCRATICALLY elected Government and were directly responsable for the military holocaust which came on March 24th. 1976!!!!!!
IT NOT TOO LATE RG ARMY......BE HERO”S AND MAKE A REAL DEMOCRACY!
Whole SA would be your friends today, had you done that. But no, instead you chose to watch in silence...
I wonder what CFKs price will be :) :)
She will make sure she does not hang by her heels from a lamp post.
Her sort never get caught, only the underlings.
and so did the citizens of all of the countries in question.
Which means they are either too stupid or too cowardly (or both) to do something about it.
SAs are always whining.. whining.. whining
don't you ever get sick of playing the victim?
Losers
I am briton and I am scare...
what can you do for me?
lol
I have no idea what you mean. English please.
The same goes for the Tupamaros in Uruguay, but fortunately most of them subsequently forsook terrorism and entered democratic politics.
We got a pension and an official apology from the state of Uruguay for their crimes against humanity (that would be us)
... y que te duela el orto ;)
Yes, today many of Uruguay's former terrorists and their descendants are raking in as much money as they possibly can, in the guise of pensions, jobs, special permits to import carpenters' machinery tax-free, etc. Some of them suffered terribly during the dictatorship, others not. The latter are now dubbed the “caviar left” for their expensive bourgeois habits, paid for by Uruguay's poor. President Mujica is an honourable exception.
However, they all tried to overthrow a democratic government and made the dictatorship possible.
Notwithstanding their past or present failings. you seem to be the only one who became an Argentine lickspittle.
I don't know one Tupa that accepted the pension and doesn't use it for the good of Uruguay, our President isn't the only Tupa to think as he does ;)
Ah, hindsight!
Dad could have bought a very large farm in southern Argentina, in the early seventies.
We had the money & expertise to invest in a big way.
The way things turned out, l'm glad he didn't.
Just think, we may have been sr Think's neighbours!
That could have been loads of fun!
Abuse and personal attacks in all honour, but don't you think you are taking it a bit far now?
l'm speaking the truth.
Mum & Dad seriously looked at buying land in Patagonia before l was born.
Eventually they opted to manage a coffee plantation in lndonesia instead.
@50 Guzz,
Taking what too far?
We may very well have been sr Think's neighbours, l don't know.
The very idea af putting those images in Mr Think's head is far less bearable than any personal insult, one would “Think” ;)
Vos si no sos mas chiflau porque no te da el dia....
l think you're onto something,
l've had my suspicions for quite some time now.
maybe yes, maybe no, maybe even maybe!
I take that as a compliment, myself I see Think as a much wiser man than me though, he has a self-control I truly miss. I hope it comes with age...
Much more interesting is the fact that I've been taking up time in your head... Is that before going to bed, or just before waking up? Maybe yes? Maybe no? Maybe, mayhap?
The Dutch left in 1949. l was born many years after that.
l was a toddler when we went there & a teenager when Mum & Dad left there for Papua New Guinea.
l like lndonesia, l love the food. So spicy it burns your lips. Then you wash it down with coconut milk. The fruits are absolutely gorgeous.
Cost of living is low, but some things like meat are expensive.
l learned to drive in lndonesia. lf you can cope with lndo traffic, you can drive anywhere!
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!