Notorious Graduates from Argentina

For a summary of the most notorious grads from Argentina click here

Name: Naval Officer Emilio Massera (Deceased), Commander-in-chief of the Navy, 1973 - 1978 , Military Junta Leader 1976 – 1978
Dates/courses: Attended the School of the Americas in Panama*
Info: In May 1976, Massera, then head of the Navy, undertook a military coup against Perón, together with General Jorge Videla (see below), and the army commander, and Brigadier Ramón Agostin, the commander of the air force. Sought out by the US government for his opposition to communisum, he attended the SOA, then located in Panama, and installed an interrogation and torture centre in the Naval School of Mechanics, ESMA. Here, around 30,000 “enemies of the state” where held as prisoners, and tortured, killed, and routinely taken on “death flights” where they would be dropped from airplanes into the river plate. The newborn babies from women who gave birth while in captivity where sold and/or given away to military families and members of the police force.
Assisting the US with the development of Plan Cóndor, too coordinate the terrorism efforts of South American military dictatorships at the time, he also supported the US backed military dictatorships in Central America. In August 1978, he was ultimately forced to retire. In 1999 an international arrest warrant for him was issued but Argentina refused to extradite him to Spain.

*(This SOA graduate is not in our database, but was determined to have attended the SOA through other sources: The Independent, Nov. 10th, 2010)

Name: General Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo - Army commander, Military Junta Leader 1976 – 1981
Country: Argentina
Dates/courses: Trained at the School of the Americas facility in Panamá. *
Info: Videla took power together with the “Junta of 3” (with the leaders of the three branches of the armed forces) in 1976 in a coup d’etat that overthrew María Estela de Perón, former wife of Perón. He continued in power until 1981. Like Massera, he participated in the “disappearances” of 30,000 persons, and coordinated acts of repression in neighboring Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay operating to implement the U.S. designed “Plan Condor.” (Punto Final, Jan. 2011) In 1985 he was discharged from the army, and received a life sentence for crimes against humanity (though he was later pardoned by Menem in 1990, and remained in liberty until 1998.) Videla, is as of 2008 now being held in military custody. (The Cutting Edge, Nov. 2008)

*(This SOA graduate is not in our database, but was determined to have attended the SOA through other sources: The Independent, Nov. 10th, 2010)

Name: General Roberto Viola
Dates/courses: 1971, Tactical Officer, Arg. Cadet Course.
Info: Military dictator, 1981: Achieved power via scheduled change of military rulers. (WP, 5/19/94) In December 1985, Viola was convicted of murder, kidnapping and torture during the "dirty war."(The New York Times, 10/8/89)

Name: Luis Arce Gomez
Dates/courses: Communications course, Tactical officer and radio repair courses, 1958
Info: With Garcia Meza Tejada, Arce Gomez plotted and executed a bloody coup, which occurred on July 17, 1980. (Garcia Meza became "president" and Arce Gomez Minister of the Interior.) Prior to the coup, Arce Gomez was in charge of assembling a paramilitary force to overthrow the government. (One of his recruits was Klaus Barbie, the Nazi war criminal known as the Butcher of Lyon) (Americas Watch Report, Bolivia: The Trial of Responsibilities: The Garcia Meza Tejada Trial, 1993) Drug trafficking (convicted), 1989: Arce Gomez, who was declared a fugitive from justice in 1986, was captured by Bolivian police in 1989. With the approval of the Bolivian government, he was handed over to the United States and is currently serving a 30-year sentence in Miami for drug-trafficking. (Americas Watch Report, Bolivia: The Trial of Responsibilities: The Garcia Meza Tejada Trial, 1993)

Name: General Leopoldo Galtieri, military dictator, 1981-1982
Dates/courses: Engineer course, 1949
Info: One of many violent dictators of Argentina, who achieved power by means of a violent coup. Galtieri was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for leading Argentina into the disastrous war with Britain for control of the Falkland Islands, using the war as a way to manipulate public support for the military. He was pardoned, along with 280 other human rights abusers by President Carlos Menem in October 1989. (The New York Times, 10/12/89)

Name: Miguel Alvarez Delgado
Dates/courses: 1977 Joint Operations
Info: Links to drug trafficking: Accused in the "Narconavales" case of cashing checks that came from a drug-trafficking ring. The proceedings against him were stayed in 1997. (Andean Information Network)

Name: Colonel Mario Davico
Dates/courses: 1971, Military Intelligence Officer Course Advisor, Honduran Battalion 3-16, 1980's: Info: One of several Argentinean military advisors present in Honduras during the early 1980's. The Honduran Armed Forces, particularly Battalion 3-16, were taught the "Argentine Method" of extreme repression practiced successfully during Argentina's "dirty war' (1976-1983). Techniques included arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial executions, and methods of disposing of the bodies of the victims. (Americas Watch Report: The Facts Speak for Themselves, 1994)

Name: Juan Flores Country: Argentina
Dates/courses: 1964
Info: List of repressors: Flores’ name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimonies 02, 75, and 0440. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further
information about Flores and other SOA graduates that appear on this list. (http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).

Name: General Leopoldo Galtieri
Dates/courses: 1949, Engineer Course
Info: Military dictator, 1981-82: Achieved power by means of a violent coup, ousting Roberto Viola, below. (WP, 5/19/94) Galtieri was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison for leading Argentina into the disastrous war with Britain for control of the Falkland Islands. He was pardoned, along with 280 other human rights abusers by President Carlos Menem in October 1989. (The New York Times, 10/12/89)

Name: Ricardo Garcia
Dates/courses: 1971
Info: List of repressors: Garcia’s name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimony 3674. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further information about Garcia and other SOA graduates that appear on this list.(http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).

Name: Hector Gonzalez
Dates/courses: 1964
Info: List of repressors: Gonzalez’ name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimony 3382. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further information about Gonzalez and other SOA graduates that appear on this list. (http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).

Name: Miguel Angel Gonzalez
Dates/courses: 1977
Info: List of repressors: Gonzalez’ name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimony 3674. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further information about Gonzalez and other SOA graduates that appear on this list. (http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).

Name: Captain Osvaldo Guarnaccia
Dates/courses: 1964
Info: List of repressors: Guarnaccia’ s name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimony 4972. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further information about Guarnaccia and other SOA graduates that appear on this list. (http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).

Name: Carlos Alberto Martinez
Dates/courses: 1970
Info:List of repressors: Martinez’ name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimony 7169. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further information about Martinez and other SOA graduates that appear on this list. (http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).

Name: Joaquin M. Urruty Formiguni
Dates/courses: 1973
Info: List of repressors: Urruty’s name was included in a list of repressors gleaned from testimony given to the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP), an investigative body formed to clarify the events of Argentina’s “dirty war”. His name was mentioned in testimony 2403 as head of a clandestine detention center. Unfortunately, the complete text of the testimonies is archived by the Argentine government and is not available to the public. School of the Americas Watch is currently seeking further information about Formiguni and other SOA graduates that appear on this list.
(http://www.yendor.com/vanished/represores.html).