The Campo de Mayo military compound was the most terrifying place during the seven years of dictatorship in Argentina, 1976-83. These facilities were located 30 km from the capital and only 1% of the over 4,000 people who were there survived. Many of the victims’ loved ones did not have the chance to find their location due to extermination methods like the ‘death flight’. These were called death flights because they were thrown into Rio de la Plata to drown from being drugged. Ten former soldiers were sentenced Wednesday to life imprisonment for their crimes and other atrocities. This trial closes one of America’s darkest chapters.
The Federal Oral Court number 2 of San Martin in Buenos Aires made clear that the ten ex soldiers sentenced to the maximum punishment, along with the nine other former members of Armed Forces Armed, were guilty of crimes against humanity. They spent almost two hours reading the sentence. The verdicts were received by cheers and applause from the crowd, including the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, who participated as a plaintiff.
It was not surprising that 14 of the 323 victims whose deaths or disappearances the defendants were held accountable were pregnant women whose children were given to the appropriators. Five cases involving children who were taken into captivity or kidnapped with their fathers and mother, have been returned. However, we still need to find ten more, the Grandmothers at Plaza de Mayo stated in a statement. The abuses committed against Campo de Mayo residents included torture, treacherous murders, and even rape, all of which were perpetrated in El Campito. This clandestine detention facility was located within the military complex. Judge Daniel Gutierrez, who read the verdict, stated that it was the Army’s largest prison.
Santiago Omar Rivero (98), the commander of Campo de Mayo’s military garrison was sentenced to life imprisonment. Rivero had been previously under house arrest. Rivero was sentenced to the maximum in more than 12 trials, including Monday’s historic ruling that considered the existence and proof of “death flight” as proven. These flights were able to depart from military facilities where he was the commander.
Wednesday’s verdict ended the longest Argentine trial for crimes against humanity since 2006. This process started three years ago. The judges have heard over 700 witnesses during that period. Most of them appeared electronically because the hearings took place in the worst months since the outbreak of coronavirus. The story of the ex-conscripts, young men who served compulsory military service during those years, is particularly relevant. They are the only ones who were able to reveal the atrocities in Campo de Mayo, given the limited number of survivors.
