Luis María Mendía
Encyclopedia
Luis María Mendía was the Argentine
Chief of Naval Operations in 1976-77, with the rank of vice-admiral. According to confessions gathered by Horacio Verbitsky
and made by Adolfo Scilingo
(later sentenced to 640 years in prison in Spain), Luis María Mendía was the architect of the "death flight" assassination method (vuelos de la muerte) whereby the Argentine state "disappeared" people by throwing them out of aircraft over the ocean, thus making the retrieval of their corpses nearly impossible (and thus subsequent legal investigations unlikely). This method was set out in the Plancitara military plan of 1975, during Isabel Perón's government .
Luis María Mendía did not benefit from the amnesty law
s enacted during the transition to democracy (Ley de Punto Final
and Ley de Obediencia Debida
) but from an amnesty declared by president Carlos Menem
in October 1989. However, he appeared before the courts for his role in the ESMA
case, one of the largest concentration camps and torture centers used by the military. The ESMA case was reopened by the Argentine courts following the Supreme Court's 2003 decision declaring the amnesty laws anti-constitutional. Under house arrest
because of his age (82 years old), in 2007 Luis María Mendía finally admitted before magistrate Sergio Torres "complete responsibility" for the security forces under his direction. He called his subordinates "heroes" . He was also questioned in the case of the disappearances of two French nuns, Alice Domon
and Léonie Duquet
, in which Alfredo Astiz
(alias "Angel of Death") is also being prosecuted.
," including the use of torture
and of death flights. He also theorized the theft of babies, taken from their mothers and given to military families . Mendia was known as "The Christian," as he liked to say to his colleagues: "Struggle against everything which is against Occidental
civilization
and the Church
"
, Mendía was questioned by judges in 2007 concerning the ESMA
case. ESMA was one of the most important torture centers of Jorge Rafael Videla
's junta
. During his testimony, he talked about the "Plan de Capacidades" (Placintara), a document signed by him in 1975 and for which he took responsibility, that organized the illegal repression legitimized by the junta under the name of "Dirty War
," in particular the "death flights
" (openly stating: "physical elimination by using planes which, in flight, would throw out the prisoners drugged beforehand. " The Placintara document was possible because of Isabel Perón's "anti-subversion decrees" signed before her overthrow in 1976 by Videla. Mendía's point was to show that the repression had started well before Videla's coup.
Critics accused him of trying to legitimize the military "National Reorganization Process
" junta, as already done during the 1985 Juicio a las Juntas
. Mendía claimed that "Act 20840 [by Isabel Peron's government] and decrees then dictated appears to have served, according to my judgment, as legalization of the actions" carried out. "The military forces, the security and police forces did not invent anything on March 24, 1976 [date of the coup], nor after this date," he declared . His juridical strategy thus clearly appeared to be in claiming that the crimes committed were in fact covered by a de jure government, which is hotly contested by human rights supporters.
Luis María Mendía insisted on responsibilities before the 1976 coup, citing the names of two desaparecidos kidnapped before the coup: Héctor Aldo Fagetti Gallego
, for which Isabel Perón arrested in early 2007, and of French citizen Maurice Jeaguer. But he remained silent on the "death flights."
putting an end to the Algerian War (1954-62). French intelligence agents have long been suspected of having trained their Argentine counterparts in "counter-insurgency
" techniques (involving massive use of torture, as experimented during the Algerian War). Referring to Marie Monique Robin's film documentary titled The Death Squads - the French School (Les escadrons de la mort - l'école française), which demonstrated that the French intelligence services had trained Argentine counterparts in counter-insurgency technics, Luis María Mendía asked the Argentine Court that former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
, former French premier Pierre Messmer
, former French ambassador to Buenos Aires Françoise de la Gosse, and all officials in place in the French embassy in Buenos Aires between 1976 and 1983 be summoned before the court . Besides this "French connection," he has also charged former head of state Isabel Perón and former ministers Carlos Ruckauf
and Antonio Cafiero
, who had signed the "anti-subversion decrees" before Videla's 1976 coup d'état. According to ESMA survivor Graciela Dalo, this is another tactic which pretends that these crimes were legitimate as the 1987 Obediencia Debida Act claimed them to be and that they also obeyed to Isabel Perón's "anti-subversion decrees" (which, if true, would give them a formal appearance of legality, despite torture being forbidden by the Argentine Constitution)
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Chief of Naval Operations in 1976-77, with the rank of vice-admiral. According to confessions gathered by Horacio Verbitsky
Horacio Verbitsky
Horacio Verbitsky is a prominent Argentine investigative journalist and author. He writes for the left-leaning Argentine newspaper Página/12 and heads up the Center for Legal and Social Studies , an Argentine human-rights organization.He is also a member of the Directive Board of Human Rights...
and made by Adolfo Scilingo
Adolfo Scilingo
Adolfo Scilingo was an Argentine naval officer who is currently serving 30 years in a Spanish prison after being convicted on April 19, 2005 for crimes against humanity, including extra-judicial execution.-Charges:Scilingo was charged under Spain's universal jurisdiction laws by investigating...
(later sentenced to 640 years in prison in Spain), Luis María Mendía was the architect of the "death flight" assassination method (vuelos de la muerte) whereby the Argentine state "disappeared" people by throwing them out of aircraft over the ocean, thus making the retrieval of their corpses nearly impossible (and thus subsequent legal investigations unlikely). This method was set out in the Plancitara military plan of 1975, during Isabel Perón's government .
Luis María Mendía did not benefit from the amnesty law
Amnesty law
An amnesty law is any law that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for crimes committed.Most allegations involve human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.-History:...
s enacted during the transition to democracy (Ley de Punto Final
Ley de Punto Final
Ley de Punto Final was a law passed by the National Congress of Argentina after the end of the military dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional . Formally, this law is referred to by number Ley de Punto Final (Spanish, roughly translated Full Stop Law) was a law passed by the...
and Ley de Obediencia Debida
Ley de Obediencia Debida
Ley de Obediencia Debida was a law passed by the National Congress of Argentina after the end of the military dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional . Formally, this law is referred to by number Ley de Obediencia Debida (Spanish, Law of Due Obedience) was a law passed by the...
) but from an amnesty declared by president Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
in October 1989. However, he appeared before the courts for his role in the ESMA
ESMA
The Navy Petty-Officers School of Mechanics , commonly referred to by its abbreviation ESMA, is a facility of the Argentine Navy that was employed as an illegal detention center during the dictatorial rule of the National Reorganization Process...
case, one of the largest concentration camps and torture centers used by the military. The ESMA case was reopened by the Argentine courts following the Supreme Court's 2003 decision declaring the amnesty laws anti-constitutional. Under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
because of his age (82 years old), in 2007 Luis María Mendía finally admitted before magistrate Sergio Torres "complete responsibility" for the security forces under his direction. He called his subordinates "heroes" . He was also questioned in the case of the disappearances of two French nuns, Alice Domon
Alice Domon
Alice Domon, Caty, was a Roman Catholic nun from France whose forced disappearance occurred in Argentina during the military dictatorship of the "National Reorganization Process" .-Life:Alice Domon was born in Charquemont in France's Doubs region...
and Léonie Duquet
Leonie Duquet
Léonie Duquet was a French nun who was killed by the military regime of Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla during the Dirty War.-Biography:...
, in which Alfredo Astiz
Alfredo Astiz
Alfredo Ignacio Astiz was a Commander, intelligence office and maritime commando in the Argentine Navy during the dictatorial rule of Jorge Rafael Videla in the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional...
(alias "Angel of Death") is also being prosecuted.
1970s
Two weeks before the military coup d'état of March 24, 1976, Luis María Mendía gathered naval officers on March 10, under the orders of General and head of military forces Eduardo Massera, to prepare the repression against so-called "subversive delinquents." On March 24, the day of the coup, he held another meeting, at which he theorized about the tactics used during the so-called "Dirty WarDirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
," including the use of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and of death flights. He also theorized the theft of babies, taken from their mothers and given to military families . Mendia was known as "The Christian," as he liked to say to his colleagues: "Struggle against everything which is against Occidental
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
and the Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
"
Placintara document
Sharing the same lawyer as Alfredo AstizAlfredo Astiz
Alfredo Ignacio Astiz was a Commander, intelligence office and maritime commando in the Argentine Navy during the dictatorial rule of Jorge Rafael Videla in the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional...
, Mendía was questioned by judges in 2007 concerning the ESMA
ESMA
The Navy Petty-Officers School of Mechanics , commonly referred to by its abbreviation ESMA, is a facility of the Argentine Navy that was employed as an illegal detention center during the dictatorial rule of the National Reorganization Process...
case. ESMA was one of the most important torture centers of Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo is a former senior commander in the Argentine Army who was the de facto President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'état that deposed Isabel Martínez de Perón...
's junta
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
. During his testimony, he talked about the "Plan de Capacidades" (Placintara), a document signed by him in 1975 and for which he took responsibility, that organized the illegal repression legitimized by the junta under the name of "Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
," in particular the "death flights
Death flights
The death flights were a form of forced disappearance routinely practiced during the Argentine "Dirty War", begun by Admiral Luis María Mendía. Victims of death flights were first drugged into a stupor, hustled aboard fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters, stripped naked and pushed into the Río de la...
" (openly stating: "physical elimination by using planes which, in flight, would throw out the prisoners drugged beforehand. " The Placintara document was possible because of Isabel Perón's "anti-subversion decrees" signed before her overthrow in 1976 by Videla. Mendía's point was to show that the repression had started well before Videla's coup.
Critics accused him of trying to legitimize the military "National Reorganization Process
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
" junta, as already done during the 1985 Juicio a las Juntas
Juicio a las Juntas
The Trial of the Juntas was the judicial trial of the members of the de facto military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, which lasted from 1976 to 1983...
. Mendía claimed that "Act 20840 [by Isabel Peron's government] and decrees then dictated appears to have served, according to my judgment, as legalization of the actions" carried out. "The military forces, the security and police forces did not invent anything on March 24, 1976 [date of the coup], nor after this date," he declared . His juridical strategy thus clearly appeared to be in claiming that the crimes committed were in fact covered by a de jure government, which is hotly contested by human rights supporters.
Luis María Mendía insisted on responsibilities before the 1976 coup, citing the names of two desaparecidos kidnapped before the coup: Héctor Aldo Fagetti Gallego
Héctor Aldo Fagetti Gallego
Héctor Aldo Fagetti Gallego was an Argentine activist who disappeared in 1975 during the Presidency of Isabel Perón, who was President of Argentina from July 1, 1974 to March 24, 1976. In January 2007 an Argentine federal judge, Raul Costa, ordered the arrest of former President Isabel Perón over...
, for which Isabel Perón arrested in early 2007, and of French citizen Maurice Jeaguer. But he remained silent on the "death flights."
French cooperation?
Luis María Mendía testified in January 2007, before the Argentine judges, that a French intelligence "agent," Bertrand de Perseval, had participated in the abduction of the two French nuns. Perseval, who lives today in Thailand, denied any links with the abduction, but did admit being a former member of the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS), and having escaped for Argentina after the March 1962 Evian AccordsÉvian Accords
The Évian Accords comprise a treaty which was signed in 1962 in Évian-les-Bains, France by France and the F.L.N. . The Accords put an end to the Algerian War with a formal cease-fire proclaimed for March 19, and formalized the idea of cooperative exchange between the two countries...
putting an end to the Algerian War (1954-62). French intelligence agents have long been suspected of having trained their Argentine counterparts in "counter-insurgency
Counter-insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
" techniques (involving massive use of torture, as experimented during the Algerian War). Referring to Marie Monique Robin's film documentary titled The Death Squads - the French School (Les escadrons de la mort - l'école française), which demonstrated that the French intelligence services had trained Argentine counterparts in counter-insurgency technics, Luis María Mendía asked the Argentine Court that former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
, former French premier Pierre Messmer
Pierre Messmer
Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Louis XV – and then as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1972 to 1974...
, former French ambassador to Buenos Aires Françoise de la Gosse, and all officials in place in the French embassy in Buenos Aires between 1976 and 1983 be summoned before the court . Besides this "French connection," he has also charged former head of state Isabel Perón and former ministers Carlos Ruckauf
Carlos Ruckauf
Carlos Federico Ruckauf is a Peronist politician in Argentina, member of the Justicialist Party.-Biography:Carlos Federico Ruckauf was born in the western Buenos Aires suburb of Ramos Mejía. His parents separated when he was seven, and he lived in Mar del Plata, Salta, and Buenos Aires during the...
and Antonio Cafiero
Antonio Cafiero
Antonio Francisco Cafiero is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician.-Biography:Cafiero was born in Buenos Aires. He joined Catholic Action in 1938, and enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires, becoming President of the Students' Association...
, who had signed the "anti-subversion decrees" before Videla's 1976 coup d'état. According to ESMA survivor Graciela Dalo, this is another tactic which pretends that these crimes were legitimate as the 1987 Obediencia Debida Act claimed them to be and that they also obeyed to Isabel Perón's "anti-subversion decrees" (which, if true, would give them a formal appearance of legality, despite torture being forbidden by the Argentine Constitution)
External links
- Luis Maria Mendia's testimony during the 1985 Juicio a las JuntasJuicio a las JuntasThe Trial of the Juntas was the judicial trial of the members of the de facto military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, which lasted from 1976 to 1983...