Junta Geopolitics 1979: Argentina’s Cóndor Building Archive and Central America’s Dirty War
Abstract
In 1979, Argentina’s military Junta deployed counterinsurgency experts, known as “dirty warriors” for their inhumane methods, to Central America in “Operation Charly.” Their mission was to confront guerrilla factions emerging regionally after the Nicaraguan Revolution. During hostilities that raged into the 1990s, right-wing “death squads” murdered hundreds of thousands of people. Scholars have demonstrated that the US Government, the CIA, and its Special Forces bear much responsibility. Due to departing the conflict earlier, the Argentine role is often treated as a footnote, a trifle compared to US involvement. This article counters that, despite redeploying upon the Junta’s 1983 collapse, Argentine "dirty warriors" significantly shaped the violence Central America experienced. It further argues that deliberate geopolitical analysis and ambition prompted the Junta’s decision to deploy these figures. To support these arguments, it combines existing evidence with recently recovered classified Junta documents.Downloads
References
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