Los desaparecidos A PRESENTATION REFLECTING UPON THE RECURRENT THEME OF THE DISAPPEARANCES OF PROLIFIC LEADERS & CIVILIANS IN LATIN AMERICA, THROUGHOUT HISTORY AND ALSO AS SEEN TODAY, AND THE UNDERLYING MOTIVES FOR THESE DISAPPEARANCES

Outline of essay & presentation Mass civilian disappearances, by country Presidential/Executive leader assassinations and deaths of the 1970s Allende (Chile) 1973 Prats (Chile) 1974 Torres (Bolivia) 1976 Goulart (Brazil) 1976 Kubitschek (Brazil) 1976 Modern incidences of forced disappearances and associated foulplay in Colombia, Mexico, and Central America (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, etc.) Final considerations The Argentine military rounds up those suspected of being leftists during the brutal dictatorship in the late 1970s. (Photo: EFE)

CHILE September 11, 1973 Chilean military seized power, forcing Allende from power and replacing it with Augusto Pinochet’s regime Extension of Operation Condor (see following slide) Reggit Report: Of the disappeared… 2,279 killed 31,947 tortured 1,312 exiled …justified as necessary by Pinochet theredphoenixapl.org Salvador Allende addressing his numerous supporters, pre-military takeover Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator & Commander-in- Chief of the Chilean Army

Death of Salvador Allende Assassination or suicide? Public radio address made just prior to the military capture of the presidential palace and his subsequent death Gunfire audible in background Allende’s glasses, found in the Palacio de la Moneda following his death En.Wikipedia.com en.tempo.co September 11, 1973: Augusto Pinochet leads a military coup in Chile’s Palacio de la Moneda amte.wordpress.com

Operation Condor 1975 Deaths estimated 60 thousand or more Southern Cone countries Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia (Later) Ecuador, Peru United States support In CHILE Assassinated former members of Allende’s cabinet and general supporters while in exile General Carlos Prats (killed 1974, B. Aires) In BOLIVIA Assassinated former Bolivian president, also while in exile President Juan José Torres (killed 1976, B. Aires) In BRAZIL Suspicious death of 2 former Brazilian presidents; alleged in 2000 to be a result of Operation Condor President João Goulart (died 1976, exiled in Mercedes, Argentina) President Juscelino Kubitschek (died 1976, Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

ARGENTINA Guerra Sucia ~ (1969?) “Process of National Reorganization” OFFENDERS: military/security forces, right-wing death squads (Argentine Anticommunist Alliance) TARGETS: left-wing guerrillas, political protesters, anyone associated with socialism (union members, students, journalists, Marxists, Perón-ist guerrillas, common citizens) 13,000 disappeared (National Commission od Disappearance of Persons) detroitbureau.com

MEXICO, COLOMBIA, & CENTRAL AMERICA Incidences of disappearances are different than those in 1960s/70s Southern Cone Internal crimes against human rights Drug- and gang-related FARC in Colombia Underreported Poor economic status of victims Indigenous victims (social cleansing)

Mexico

Thoughts for discussion WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD HAS THESE SAME THEMES OF POLITICAL DISAPPEARANCES? IS THIS CONFLICT UNIQUE TO LATIN AMERICA? WHY OR WHY NOT? HOW MUCH INVOLVEMENT DO YOU THINK THE UNITED STATES HAD IN THESE EVENTS? WHAT DIFFERENCES DO YOU PERCEIVE WITH THE DISAPPEARANCES IN THE SOUTHERN CONE NATIONS VERSUS IN MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA? AND FINALLY… DOES THE TOPIC SEEM TOO BROAD FOR A SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH PAPER?