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Jorge Rafael Videla dies at 87; Argentine dictator
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Matthew Kruk
May 18, 2013, 2:11:03 AM5/18/13
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/latinamerica/la-me-jorge-videla-20130518,0,2093665.story
Jorge Rafael Videla dies at 87; Argentine dictator
Jorge Rafael Videla led a rebellion that overthrew Isabel Peron in 1976 and then
oversaw a seven-year reign of terror known as the dirty war.
By Andres D'Alessandro and Chris Kraul, Special to the Los Angeles Times
11:46 AM PDT, May 17, 2013
BUENOS AIRES - Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, who presided over
that country's so-called dirty war in which up to 30,000 dissidents were
murdered or disappeared, died Friday while serving a 50-year prison sentence. He
was 87.
He died of natural causes at Marcos Paz prison in Buenos Aires state, according
to official announcements.
Videla led a rebel military group that in 1976 overthrew president Isabel Peron
and then installed a reign of terror lasting seven years in which thousands of
leftist politicians and activists were taken from their homes and workplaces,
often in the dead of night, tortured and killed.
The military junta that Videla led as president until 1981 was finally toppled
in 1983 after public dissatisfaction grew as a result of economic instability
and the country's loss of the Falklands War with Britain costing hundreds of
lives.
Military reaction to leftist insurgencies and poor economies led to
dictatorships not only in Argentina but also Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru in
the 1970s. Argentina and other countries are still coming to grips with
atrocities committed during that period: Argentina, for example, is still trying
to account for seizing 400 to 500 infants and babies taken from imprisoned women
who were killed after giving birth.
An unrepentant Videla issued a harangue in March urging his former military
colleagues to confront leftist President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whom he
accused of using human rights issues as "an instrument of political pressure."
A tall, mustachioed and blade-thin army general, Videla was serving his third
prison term for his role in the coup and dictatorship.
In 1985, two years after the return of democracy, Videla and his accomplices
were sent to prison but then pardoned in 1990 by then-president Carlos Menem as
part of a reconciliation gesture that included pardons for members of a leftist
insurgent group, the Montoneros.
But in 1998, Videla was imprisoned again when it was determined that he and
other military leaders had committed crimes against humanity that were not
subject to pardons. At first he was allowed to serve out his sentence at home
but in 2008 was sent to a common jail. Then in 2010 he was again freed when a
judge found the sentence to be unconstitutional.
Videla was re-incarcerated last year when a federal judge condemned him to 50
years for "generalized and systematic baby theft," for his role in the taking of
hundreds of children from captive mothers during the 1976 to 1983 dictatorship.
Many of the children were turned over to military families to be raised and were
never told who their real parents were. In recent years, DNA testing has helped
many relatives of terror victims identify the offspring.
Videla was born Aug. 2, 1925, in Mercedes in Buenos Aires state and entered the
national military academy in 1942. He rose through the ranks to serve in the
presidential guard and then as director of the military academy. In 1975, Isabel
Peron, successor and widow of the late Gen. Juan Peron, named him army commander
in chief.
In March 1976, Videla along with Navy Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera and Army
Gen. Orlando Ramon Agosti led military forces in overthrowing Peron amid
political and economic chaos that was gripping the country. The junta shut down
congress, prohibited political parties and suspended freedom of the press.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who was held prisoner by the
junta for more than two years, said in a statement Friday that there was no joy
in the death of Videla. "He was a man who went through life causing a lot of
damage and betraying the values of an entire country," Esquivel said.
Special correspondents D'Alessandro reported from Buenos Aires and Kraul from
Bogota, Colombia.
news....@latimes.com
Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times
Jorge Rafael Videla dies at 87; Argentine dictator
Jorge Rafael Videla led a rebellion that overthrew Isabel Peron in 1976 and then
oversaw a seven-year reign of terror known as the dirty war.
By Andres D'Alessandro and Chris Kraul, Special to the Los Angeles Times
11:46 AM PDT, May 17, 2013
BUENOS AIRES - Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, who presided over
that country's so-called dirty war in which up to 30,000 dissidents were
murdered or disappeared, died Friday while serving a 50-year prison sentence. He
was 87.
He died of natural causes at Marcos Paz prison in Buenos Aires state, according
to official announcements.
Videla led a rebel military group that in 1976 overthrew president Isabel Peron
and then installed a reign of terror lasting seven years in which thousands of
leftist politicians and activists were taken from their homes and workplaces,
often in the dead of night, tortured and killed.
The military junta that Videla led as president until 1981 was finally toppled
in 1983 after public dissatisfaction grew as a result of economic instability
and the country's loss of the Falklands War with Britain costing hundreds of
lives.
Military reaction to leftist insurgencies and poor economies led to
dictatorships not only in Argentina but also Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru in
the 1970s. Argentina and other countries are still coming to grips with
atrocities committed during that period: Argentina, for example, is still trying
to account for seizing 400 to 500 infants and babies taken from imprisoned women
who were killed after giving birth.
An unrepentant Videla issued a harangue in March urging his former military
colleagues to confront leftist President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whom he
accused of using human rights issues as "an instrument of political pressure."
A tall, mustachioed and blade-thin army general, Videla was serving his third
prison term for his role in the coup and dictatorship.
In 1985, two years after the return of democracy, Videla and his accomplices
were sent to prison but then pardoned in 1990 by then-president Carlos Menem as
part of a reconciliation gesture that included pardons for members of a leftist
insurgent group, the Montoneros.
But in 1998, Videla was imprisoned again when it was determined that he and
other military leaders had committed crimes against humanity that were not
subject to pardons. At first he was allowed to serve out his sentence at home
but in 2008 was sent to a common jail. Then in 2010 he was again freed when a
judge found the sentence to be unconstitutional.
Videla was re-incarcerated last year when a federal judge condemned him to 50
years for "generalized and systematic baby theft," for his role in the taking of
hundreds of children from captive mothers during the 1976 to 1983 dictatorship.
Many of the children were turned over to military families to be raised and were
never told who their real parents were. In recent years, DNA testing has helped
many relatives of terror victims identify the offspring.
Videla was born Aug. 2, 1925, in Mercedes in Buenos Aires state and entered the
national military academy in 1942. He rose through the ranks to serve in the
presidential guard and then as director of the military academy. In 1975, Isabel
Peron, successor and widow of the late Gen. Juan Peron, named him army commander
in chief.
In March 1976, Videla along with Navy Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera and Army
Gen. Orlando Ramon Agosti led military forces in overthrowing Peron amid
political and economic chaos that was gripping the country. The junta shut down
congress, prohibited political parties and suspended freedom of the press.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who was held prisoner by the
junta for more than two years, said in a statement Friday that there was no joy
in the death of Videla. "He was a man who went through life causing a lot of
damage and betraying the values of an entire country," Esquivel said.
Special correspondents D'Alessandro reported from Buenos Aires and Kraul from
Bogota, Colombia.
news....@latimes.com
Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times
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