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Born in Argentina · Nationality Argentine — Military dictatorship / state terrorism / crimes against humanity / transitional justice
Documented profile covering 8 controversies, including “2001–2013: Operation Condor proceedings — unlawful association, illegal arrests and torture” and “1976–2012: systematic plan to appropriate babies born in captivity — 50-year sentence”.
Profile No. 2024 · Updated on 12 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
June 2001–May 2013
In 2001, while already under house arrest in the stolen-babies case, Videla was questioned and prosecuted for unlawful association, illegal arrests and torture in connection with Operation Condor, a transnational system of repression among South American dictatorships.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1976–5 July 2012
In July 2012, a federal court sentenced Videla to fifty years in prison for participating in a systematic plan to take babies born to detainees in clandestine centres, falsify their identities and place them with other families. The court characterised the practice as systematic and widespread.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
April 2012
In extensive interviews with journalist Ceferino Reato, Videla described the logic of 'final disposition' and mentioned approximately seven to eight thousand people who, according to the published transcripts, 'had to die' to win the war against subversion, explaining that their bodies had been concealed. He also accepted political responsibility for the process.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
Case · 3 documented stages
1990–2010
President Carlos Menem pardoned Videla in 1990, interrupting enforcement of the sentence imposed at the Trial of the Juntas. Argentine courts subsequently declared the pardon unconstitutional in serious crime cases and ordered sentences to be enforced again.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
9 December 1985
The Federal Chamber sentenced Videla to life imprisonment in Case 13 for crimes committed during the dictatorship. The trial examined 709 cases and constituted the principal judgment of the leaders of the first three juntas after the return to democracy.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1976–1981
Under the first junta, security forces implemented a clandestine system of abductions, detention centres, torture, killings and disappearances. The Trial of the Juntas characterised the period as involving a systematic extermination plan and examined hundreds of cases.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
22 December 2010
Federal Criminal Court No. 1 in Córdoba sentenced Videla to life imprisonment in an ordinary prison for torture, murder and unlawful deprivation of liberty, classified as crimes against humanity committed in 1976 within Córdoba's repressive system.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
24 March 1976
Jorge Rafael Videla participated in the coup of 24 March 1976 that overthrew Isabel Perón and became de facto president. The junta initiated the 'National Reorganisation Process', the framework for the clandestine repression that followed.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
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