MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan paramilitary murderers sentenced to over 20 years in jail

The crimes took place in the early 1970s

Two members of Uruguay's infamous Death Squad have been handed down heavy prison sentences for their involvement in two murder cases, it was announced Friday in Montevideo.

Miguel Sofía and Armando Méndez were found guilty of participating in the assassination of Héctor Castagnetto and Gerardo Alter and were sentenced to 25 and 24 years in prison respectively.

Sofía, a former businessman linked to parapolice groups, was sentenced by Judge Silvia Urioste to 25 years in prison for his participation in the 1971 murder of Tupamaro activist Héctor Castagnetto as a result of an inquiry into the activities of the so-called Death Squad, a paramilitary group operating under the protection of the National Directorate of Information and Intelligence of the Police.

Sofia had been charged in 2009 but managed to flee the country. He was arrested in January 2019.

Judge Urioste also ordered the conviction of retired military officer Armando Méndez, accused of the especially aggravated homicide of Argentine militant Gerardo Alter. Méndez, who was Customs Director under President Luis Alberto Lacalle (1990-1995) -father of the current head of state-, was also convicted of the crimes of deprivation of liberty and violence.

Alter had been arrested in August 1973 along with MLN militants Walter Arteche and Jorge Selves. Transferred to the Florida Battalion, he died as a result of beatings and electric shocks.

A member of the Organismo Coordinador de Operaciones Antisubversivas (OCOA), Méndez was found to have participated actively in the episode against the three detainees.

When the country returned to democratic rule, Méndez became a rural, insurance, and security businessman directing the Armando Méndez y Asociados Group.