Leopoldo Galtieri

As commander of the First Army Corps, Galtieri was considered by federal judge Claudio Bonadío in 2002 to share responsibility for the disappearance of eighteen Montoneros members who had returned or planned to return to Argentina in 1979–1980. He was arrested in connection with the case.

Attribution

Command responsibility

After defeat, the Rattenbach Commission examined political, strategic and military responsibility for the war. Galtieri was subsequently convicted by a military court of negligence related to the conflict's conduct, before being pardoned by President Carlos Menem in 1989.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

Galtieri was among the third junta members brought before the courts in the Trial of the Juntas. Unlike Videla, Massera and several other officers, he was not among those convicted: he was acquitted of the human rights violations examined at that trial.

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Galtieri assumed the de facto presidency in late 1981 and led the third junta alongside the navy and air force chiefs. His government continued the authoritarian regime established by the 1976 coup until its collapse following the Falklands War.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Two days before the invasion of the Falklands, the CGT attempted to march towards Plaza de Mayo in protest against economic policy and the dictatorship. Security forces brutally dispersed demonstrators using tear gas, charges and mass arrests; the ILO recorded complaints concerning arrests of union leaders and participants.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Command responsibility

Despite direct warnings from Ronald Reagan and US mediation offers, Galtieri refused to renounce the use of force and Argentine troops landed in the Falklands on 2 April 1982. The Galtieri-led junta subsequently formalised Argentine control and rejected Alexander Haig's final peace proposal on 29 April. The war ended with Argentina's defeat on 14 June.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated