NCJ Number
91513
Date Published
1983
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The terrorism and counterterrorism in Argentina from 1965 to 1979 plunged the country into a period of lawless violence that included not only left-wing terrorism but government counterterrorism that included intimidation of the media and all who challenged government methods.
Abstract
The Peronist left wing in Argentina had been granted legitimacy in the election of March 1973, and although their representatives in the government were the victims of the purge ordered by Peron upon his return to Argentina, that was more the consequence of the refusal of the guerrilla-cum-terrorist organizations to operate within the system than of attacks from the traditional fascists of the Peronist right wing. The left-right polarization within the Peronist movement was exacerbated by the aggressiveness of the Montoneros. The left chose violence and played into the hands of the Peronist right wing, which controlled the masses through the Peronist trade unions. The military were intent on using nationalism to counter the appeal of the Peronist new left, so they exaggerated the links with international communism. The counterterrorist campaign of the armed forces was as emotional and irrational as that of the terrorists. Further, the security forces were so inept in dealing with terrorism that they were driven in desperation to extreme methods, such that they found themselves mimicking the terrorists. Because they operated in total secrecy and their brutal methods created such an atmosphere of fear that few people would even acknowledge their existence, the security groups responsible for assassinations and disappearances never had to account for their actions. This further encouraged the security forces to adopt whatever means suited them in their campaign against terrorism.