The wounds of Dirty War atrocities are still fresh in the minds of the people in Latin America’s Southern Cone. A few of the region’s worst offenders may have gotten away with murder yet many other figures have been slapped in the face by the long arm of the law.Gregorio Alvarez ruled as president of Uruguay from 1981-85 and he was also an instrumental figure behind the 1973 military coup that overturned the civilian government. Political repression, forced disappearances, and torturing of dissidents became the norm in Uruguay during the 12-year dictatorship which Alvarez was part of. Uruguayan authorities even took part in the infamous Operation Condor where the Southern Cone’s rightist dictatorships coordinated “an ambitious and successful plan to coordinate repression internationally”.
Though Alvarez was granted asylum in 1986 as part of the transition to civilian rule subsequent courts have chipped away at his impunity; in 2007 he was sentenced for kidnapping and exiling leftist dissidents to Argentina as part of Operation Condor. Earlier today a court sentenced Alvarez to an additional 25 years in jail for human rights abuses and the murder of political opponents during his time in the presidency. Alvarez was sentenced along with two other former senior military officials in a ruling praised by a lawyer representing the victims:
The sentence carried out by justice Luis Charles “grants dignity to the victims” underlined attorney Oscar López Goldaracena who also emphasized the importance that Alvarez’ actions be recognized as “crimes against humanity”…The “controversial norm” alluded to by Goldaracena is a referendum to scrap an amnesty law shielding other dictatorship figures from being put on trial. (The measure coincides with the country’s presidential election which is expected to be won by the ruling left-wing coalition).
“For us it’s a crucial moment since it shows that the truth can be reached through justice” added Goldaracena who urged Uruguayans to vote on Sunday to annul the controversial norm.
Image- Telecinco (February 2009 photo of former Uruguayan strongman Gregorio Alvarez).
Online Sources- Upside Down World, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, AFP, El Pais, Angus Reid Global Monitor
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