From 1974 to 1983, Argentina practiced state-sponsored terrorism against its own people. The civic-military dictatorship of Argentina, also known as the military junta, attacked political opponents at home and abroad in what was known as the “Dirty War.”
This Day in History: FDR Establishes the Modern Thanksgiving Holiday (Saturday, Nov. 26th)
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During this time, right-wing death squads known as the Argentine Anti-Communist Alliance or AAA chased down any political dissidents and anyone thought to be unsympathetic to the dictatorship. Arrests without trial, disappearances, torture and murder were all common as the junta clung ever tighter to its crumbling power structure.
Of all the methods of cruelty and torture practiced by the Argentines, perhaps the most evil was known as Death Flights, or “Vuelos de la Muerte”. These extrajudicial executions were carried out by military personnel with access to aircraft. Victims are dropped to their deaths from helicopters or aircraft, often onto terrain where their bodies would never be found.
