Massacre of Margarita Belén
Encyclopedia
The Massacre of Margarita Belén took place during the "Dirty War
" in Argentina
. It involved the torture and execution of 22 Montoneros
, some of whom were killed after surrendering and laying down their weapons near the town of Margarita Belén
, Chaco Province
, on 13 December 1976, in a joint operation of the Argentine Army
and the Chaco Provincial Police. One of the victims of the massacre
, Néstor Carlos Salas, is reported to have been a Montoneros commander and took part in a number of guerrilla operations. Argentina was at the time ruled by a military junta
, which had overthrown in March 1976 the constitutional government of Isabel Martínez de Perón
.
The massacre was one of many cases included in the Trial of the Juntas in 1985, two years after the end of the dictatorship. The Buenos Aires Federal Chamber found junta leader Jorge Rafael Videla
guilty of homicide. The Federal Chambers of Rosario and Paraná
dictated the same sentence for Cristino Nicolaides, junta leader Leopoldo Galtieri
and Santa Fe Provincial Police chief Wenceslao Ceniquel.
The late Ricardo Brinzoni
, Secretary General of the Chaco military province during the dictatorship, and Chief of Staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003, has also been accused of responsibility for the massacre.
organization. Some of them were legally detained at Penitentiary Unit #7 in Resistencia, Chaco
, while others were brought from prisons in Misiones Province
; on 12 December they were all taken to the Resistencia police headquarters, tortured, and locked up in individual cells. A military order to move the prisoners to another prison in Formosa
was allegedly received during the night. The military took the prisoners away and drove them along National Route 11 in two vehicles, escorted by a police car. At some point near Margarita Belén, the prisoners were shot and placed in several vehicles. Prior to that, according to a member of the police, the female prisoners were raped and three of the male prisoners were castrated, along with further tortures. Ten bodies were taken to Resistencia's cemetery and buried in graves that had been prepared beforehand.
The official military version reported that the convoy had been attacked on the road, and that at least five of the prisoners had died in the shooting that followed, while the rest had fled. Zapata Soñez is reported to have been one of the Montoneros
who managed to escape in the shootout, according to the military version of events. The prosecution claims that the military version of events is a cover-up, used to mask illegal executions, and maintain they were common during what the junta called a "Dirty War" (a term refused by jurists during the 1985 Trial of the Juntas). It is believed that the massacre, which was ordered by then-Colonel Cristino Nicolaides, was in retaliation for the attack on the 29th Mountain Infantry Regiment in Formosa, carried out by Montoneros
guerrillas on 5 October 1975 and which cost the lives of 14 servicemen. Defence lawyer Eduardo Sinforiano San Emeterio, maintains that eight of the prisoners: Nestor Carlos Salas, Reynaldo Zapata Sonez, Carlos Alberto Zamudio, Luis Alberto Díaz, Mario Cuevas, Patricio Blas Tierno and Manuel Parodi Ocampo had in fact been killed in their escape and in the shootout with guerrillas sent to rescue them.
guilty of homicide. The Federal Chambers of Rosario and Paraná dictated the same sentence for Cristino Nicolaides, junta leader Leopoldo Galtieri
and Santa Fe Provincial Police chief Wenceslao Ceniquel.
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 Argentina
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...
. It involved the torture and execution of 22 Montoneros
Montoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
, some of whom were killed after surrendering and laying down their weapons near the town of Margarita Belén
Margarita Belén
Margarita Belén is a town in Chaco Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Primero de Mayo Department.The town became infamous when on 13 December 1976, a joint operation of the Argentine Army and the Chaco Provincial Police resulted in the Massacre of Margarita Belén during the so-called...
, Chaco Province
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
, on 13 December 1976, in a joint operation of the Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
and the Chaco Provincial Police. One of the victims of the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
, Néstor Carlos Salas, is reported to have been a Montoneros commander and took part in a number of guerrilla operations. Argentina was at the time ruled by a military 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...
, which had overthrown in March 1976 the constitutional government of Isabel Martínez de Perón
Isabel Martínez de Perón
María Estela Martínez Cartas de Perón , better known as Isabel Martínez de Perón or Isabel Perón, is a former President of Argentina. She was also the third wife of another former President, Juan Perón...
.
The massacre was one of many cases included in the Trial of the Juntas in 1985, two years after the end of the dictatorship. The Buenos Aires Federal Chamber found junta leader 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...
guilty of homicide. The Federal Chambers of Rosario and Paraná
Paraná, Entre Ríos
Paraná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
dictated the same sentence for Cristino Nicolaides, junta leader Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli was an Argentine general and President of Argentina from December 22, 1981 to June 18, 1982, during the last military dictatorship . The death squad Intelligence Battalion 601 directly reported to him...
and Santa Fe Provincial Police chief Wenceslao Ceniquel.
The late Ricardo Brinzoni
Ricardo Brinzoni
Ricardo Brinzoni was an Argentine military officer, serving as Argentina's Chief-of-staff.Born in Buenos Aires, Brinzoni entered Military School on 1963, and trained as a paratrooper, qualifying in December 1964. He built a career in the military and reached the rank of Brigadier General in 1990...
, Secretary General of the Chaco military province during the dictatorship, and Chief of Staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003, has also been accused of responsibility for the massacre.
The 13 December 1976 massacre
The prisoners were mostly from MontonerosMontoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
organization. Some of them were legally detained at Penitentiary Unit #7 in Resistencia, Chaco
Resistencia, Chaco
Resistencia is the capital and largest city in the province of Chaco, in northeastern Argentina. At the 2001 census, the population of the Resistencia city proper was 274,490 inhabitants. It is the anchor of a slightly larger metropolitan area, Greater Resistencia, which comprises three more...
, while others were brought from prisons in Misiones Province
Misiones Province
Misiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamiсa region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
; on 12 December they were all taken to the Resistencia police headquarters, tortured, and locked up in individual cells. A military order to move the prisoners to another prison in Formosa
Formosa, Argentina
Formosa is the capital city of the Argentine province of Formosa, on the banks of the Paraguay River, about from Buenos Aires, on National Route 11. It has a population of about 210,000 as per the ....
was allegedly received during the night. The military took the prisoners away and drove them along National Route 11 in two vehicles, escorted by a police car. At some point near Margarita Belén, the prisoners were shot and placed in several vehicles. Prior to that, according to a member of the police, the female prisoners were raped and three of the male prisoners were castrated, along with further tortures. Ten bodies were taken to Resistencia's cemetery and buried in graves that had been prepared beforehand.
The official military version reported that the convoy had been attacked on the road, and that at least five of the prisoners had died in the shooting that followed, while the rest had fled. Zapata Soñez is reported to have been one of the Montoneros
Montoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
who managed to escape in the shootout, according to the military version of events. The prosecution claims that the military version of events is a cover-up, used to mask illegal executions, and maintain they were common during what the junta called a "Dirty War" (a term refused by jurists during the 1985 Trial of the Juntas). It is believed that the massacre, which was ordered by then-Colonel Cristino Nicolaides, was in retaliation for the attack on the 29th Mountain Infantry Regiment in Formosa, carried out by Montoneros
Montoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
guerrillas on 5 October 1975 and which cost the lives of 14 servicemen. Defence lawyer Eduardo Sinforiano San Emeterio, maintains that eight of the prisoners: Nestor Carlos Salas, Reynaldo Zapata Sonez, Carlos Alberto Zamudio, Luis Alberto Díaz, Mario Cuevas, Patricio Blas Tierno and Manuel Parodi Ocampo had in fact been killed in their escape and in the shootout with guerrillas sent to rescue them.
1985 Trial of the Juntas
The massacre was one of many cases included in the Trial of the Juntas in 1985, two years after the end of the dictatorship. The Buenos Aires Federal Chamber sentenced that the official version of the story lacked verisimilitude and found junta leader Jorge Rafael VidelaJorge 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...
guilty of homicide. The Federal Chambers of Rosario and Paraná dictated the same sentence for Cristino Nicolaides, junta leader Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli was an Argentine general and President of Argentina from December 22, 1981 to June 18, 1982, during the last military dictatorship . The death squad Intelligence Battalion 601 directly reported to him...
and Santa Fe Provincial Police chief Wenceslao Ceniquel.
External links
- Report about the massacre, prepared by the Chamber of Deputies of Chaco.
- Links about the massacre.