Dirty War

The Dirty War (Spanish: Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina (Spanish: dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina) for the period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and security forces and death squads in the form of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA, or Triple A) hunted down any political dissidents and anyone believed to be associated with socialism, communism, left-wing Peronism, or the Montoneros movement.

It is estimated that between 22,000 and 30,000 people were killed or disappeared, many of whom were impossible to formally document; however, Argentine military intelligence at the time estimated that 22,000 people had been murdered or disappeared by 1978. The primary targets were communist guerrillas and sympathisers but also included students, militants, trade unionists, writers, journalists, artists and any citizens suspected of being left-wing activists who were thought to be a political or ideological threat to the junta. According to human rights organisations in Argentina, the victims included 1,900 and 3,000 Jews, between 5–12% of those targeted despite Argentinian Jews comprising only 1% of the population. The killings were committed by the Junta in an attempt to fully silence social and political opposition.

By the 1980s, economic collapse, public discontent, and the disastrous handling of the Falklands War resulted in the end of the junta and the restoration of democracy in Argentina, effectively ending the Dirty War. Numerous members of the junta were prosecuted and imprisoned for crimes against humanity and genocide as a result of their actions during the period.