Argentine Naval Officer Convicted of "Dirty War" Murders

Spain has come a very long way in one generation. Thirty years ago, General Franco ran the country as a fascist police state in which human rights were ignored. Yesterday, a Spanish court found an Argentine naval officer guilty of murder for his part in "disappearing" leftist in Argentina during that nation's "Dirty War" that claims as many as 30,000 between 1976 to 1983. Good for Spain.

Adolfo Scilingo, a former member of Argentina's navy, was prosecuted under new Spanish laws that allow for actions against perpetrators whose crimes took place in other countries. Convicted of 30 counts of murder, Mr. Scilingo received 21 years for each, plus extra time for torture and illegal detention. The total came to 640, but he won't have to serve much more than 30 years under Spanish law. Spain, as part of its membership of the EU, has no death penalty -- which is a pity.

Despite recanting his confession, Mr. Scilingo admitted (and was recorded telling the tale to Spanish investigators) that he had been on two "death flights." These were charming junkets during which members of the Argentine military took political prisoners up in a plane -- the prisoners were drugged and naked. Somewhere over the Atlantic or over the Rio de la Plate, the prisoners were thrown out. He further confessed to participating in torturing political prisoners at the Buenos Aires Navy School of Mechanics, a center for "aggressive interrogation," as the Bush administration calls torture. The court found evidence that supported the initial confession, including eyewitnesses who identified him.

Latin America in the 1970s and early 1980s was not a particularly liberal place -- the democratization of Argentina didn't occur until the junta invaded the Falkland Islands and lost the ensuing war with Britain. The settlement in Chile included letting General Pinochet off the hook (although there is some hope still that the old man will face some sort of justice before going to hell). Brazil is still trying to find justice for murdered labor leader Joao Canuto, twenty years after the military government there voluntarily stepped down. The crimes of the Sandinista leftist government in Nicaragua have gone largely unpunished. And when Cuba collapses, there will be no end of "I was just following orders" defenses.

Mr. Scilingo's lawyer says his client is a scapegoat, and an appeal is inevitable. Perhaps, Mr. Scilingo's claim that his confession was fabricated in order to spark an investigation into the abuses in Argentina is true. Spanish courts will review the evidence and make a rational determination based on law and facts. Which is more than any of the victims of the Argentine military received. One wouldn't have it any other way -- although the temptation to throw Mr. Scilingo out of an airplane is great.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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