Latin America

Former Argentina official reveals ‘Dirty War’ mass graves

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A former army commander in Argentina accused of committing crimes against humanity has revealed secrets of the US-backed military dictatorship in the 1970s, Press TV reports.

Former Major Ernesto “Nabo” Barreiro has broken his 31-year pact of silence by revealing the locations of graves of people who disappeared under the military regime during the so-called “Dirty War” from 1976-1983, an Argentine judge said on Thursday.

Barreiro said some two dozen people are buried inside two large earthen ovens at a military base outside the central city of Cordoba.

“Up until now, all the information about, for instance, illegal graves and children that were taken away from their mothers was obtained by other means,” said Luz Palmas Zaldua, a member of the Center of Legal and Social Studies.
Authorities have begun full investigation into the claims. The Cordoba court has charged about 50 former armed service members in a two-year case.

The unprecedented disclosure marks the first time a former officer breaking the code of silence over the war.

Previous Argentine governments have failed to investigate crimes committed during the almost seven-year dictatorship due to the so-called Full Stop law, which saw an end to prosecutions. However, the law was repealed ten years ago.

The US-backed dictatorship in Argentina jailed, tortured and murdered dozens of people and forced thousands to flee the country during the war.

Federal courts are seeking the whereabouts of an estimated 30,000 people who were killed or abducted and presumed killed during the dictatorship.

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