Argentinian Court Convicts Former Dictator and Military Associates for Role in Operation Condor (May 28, 2016) [1]
On May 28, 2016, an Argentinian court (decision [3] available in Spanish) convicted Reynaldo Bignone, former head of the military junta of Argentina from 1982–83, and fourteen of his associates for their participation in Operation Condor. The co-accused included fourteen military officers, thirteen from Argentina and one from Uruguay. According to a news report [4], Operation Condor was a conspiracy in the 1970s and 1980s between the right-wing military dictatorships of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Brazil. It focused on eliminating government opponents and suspected communists throughout South America—including those who had taken refuge outside of their home countries—through cooperation of the participating states’ secret police. Individuals targeted in Operation Condor were interrogated and tortured in clandestine prisons throughout the region, and the operation resulted in the kidnapping, torture, assassination, and/or forced disappearance of hundreds of estimated victims. The three-year trial of Bignone and his associates concerned allegations from 106 victims. The court found that the accused had participated in kidnappings, torture, and criminal association. It was the first judicial ruling in any court to find that Operation Condor constituted a criminal conspiracy. According to the press release [3], Bignone was sentenced to twenty years in prison. His associates received sentences ranging from eight to twenty-five years. Many of the accused, including Bignone, are currently serving long-term prison sentences for human rights abuses committed during the Argentinian dictatorship.