MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico Extradites Cavallo to Spain.

Under heavy security, a former member of Argentina's military was extradited Saturday to Spain on charges of genocide and terrorism for allegedly torturing dissidents during his country's “Dirty War” against government opponents.

A convoy of federal agents took Ricardo Cavallo, wearing a dark suit and a bullet-proof vest, from a special holding cell in Mexico City to the airport for a military flight to Spain.

Dozens of people, including relatives of his alleged victims in Argentina, gathered near a government hangar, yelling "murderer" and "justice" as they waved signs and briefly blocked the convoy.

Cavallo, an alleged former navy captain, is accused of torturing and killing suspected dissidents at the notorious Naval Mechanics School in Buenos Aires during the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.

He was director of Mexico's private National Registry of Motor Vehicles, when Interpol arrested him in 2000 after five former political prisoners alleged he had tortured them in Argentina.

An amnesty law in Argentina prevented his prosecution in his native country. But Baltasar Garzon, a high-profile Spanish judge known for seeking to prosecute former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, indicted Cavallo as part of an investigation into the deaths of Spanish citizens.

Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on June 10 that Cavallo couldn't be tried on torture charges because the statute of limitations had expired, but that he could be extradited for genocide and terrorism.

Two courts rejected Cavallo's appeals to block the extradition, and a Mexican judge signed an order Thursday clearing the way for Mexico to expel him.

Cavallo says he was in the Argentine military, but denies the allegations of torture and other human rights abuses.

Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Saturday that he was "very relieved" that Cavallo had left the capital.

The wait for Cavallo's extradition touched off a three-day media frenzy that saw a small army of reporters and photographers camp out at the airport, the prison and the attorney general's office, to await news of the case.

Argentina's military rulers were blamed for a systematic crackdown on political opponents. Some 9,000 leftist dissidents were officially listed as dead or missing during the "Dirty War." Human rights groups put the toll as high as 30,000