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Montevideo, May 21st 2025 - 12:18 UTC

 

 

Furious Chile demands an apology from Argentina’s former military governor of the Falklands

Thursday, April 5th 2012 - 22:57 UTC
Full article 47 comments
President of the Chilean Foreign Affairs Committee Deputy Jorge Tarud President of the Chilean Foreign Affairs Committee Deputy Jorge Tarud

The Chilean political system reacted angrily and demanded official apologies from the Argentine government following statements from former General Mario Menendez who said “Chileans behaved as pigs during the Malvinas war” three decades ago.

“Chileans didn’t behave as brothers but rather as pigs during the Malvinas conflict” said the former military governor of Argentine occupied Falkland Islands (who surrendered to the British Task Force), in direct reference to Chile’s intelligence support to the UK during the conflict.

The president of the Chilean Foreign Affairs Committee Deputy Jorge Tarud said that General Menendez words only reflect the hatred from the Argentine military Junta towards Chile.

“The offensive words from a former Argentine military officer and collaborator of the Junta only reflect the hatred of the Junta towards Chile”, which if they were successful in their campaign in the Falklands, “would have continued with an invasion of Chile” said lawmaker Tarud.

“We expect the Argentine government to categorically condemn this kind of insults from a former high ranking member of the Argentine military Junta”, added Tarud.

The attitude of the Argentine military and the Junta at the time was pure madness against its own people, besides the fact they sent teenagers to wage a war with no food, no proper clothing, lack of military training, in what can only be described as an “adventure”.

Tarud said that General Leopoldo Galtieri head of the military Junta at the time of the Falklands invasion “is the only responsible for the death of 650 Argentine combatants who died in the Falklands”.

Menenedez also admitted that Argentina was not prepared for “a war in the Islands but for war with Chile”.
 

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  • KFC de Pollo

    They were prepared for war with Chile (and planned to invade them at a later date) yet call Chile swines because they helped the UK when they invaded somewhere else??

    Apr 05th, 2012 - 11:56 pm +1
  • JohnN

    Not unexpected really. Two military juntas that couldn't abide each other, but for Britain, at least the Chileans were a useful support during a challenging defence of the Falklands. Pinochet may have been a bad guy - but not near as bad as Stalin was and Allies cooperated with him. From some experience with Argentine and Chilean military attachés during the 1980s, I'd say that the Argentines were quite intolerant of the military of other Latin American countries, and if those countries had a racial mix, the Argentines were openly racist as well.

    Apr 06th, 2012 - 12:19 am +1
  • Dr Carrizal

    Flashback...

    http://en.mercopress.com/2009/11/23/chile-was-next-target-after-falklands-in-1982-admits-argentine-brigadier

    Apr 06th, 2012 - 01:02 am +1
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