Former Argentine naval officer found guilty of the 1972 Trelew massacre

First modification: 07/02/2022 – 22:16

Five decades later and after five days of trial, the families of the victims of the Trelew massacre found a little justice.

By unanimous decision, a Miami jury found former Argentine naval officer Roberto Guillermo Bravo responsible for torture and extrajudicial execution after the murder of 16 unarmed political prisoners at the Trelew military base in Patagonia, Argentina.

The court in charge of the case ordered compensation of 24.25 million dollars, for damages, for the four plaintiff families. The lawsuit was filed for the murders of Eduardo Cappello, Rubén Bonet and Ana María Villarreal de Santucho, as well as for the torture and attempted extrajudicial execution of Alberto Campamentos.

“I have dedicated much of my life to seeking justice against all those responsible for the torture and attempted murder of my father. Today’s verdict brings me, my brother Mariano, and the other families of those who were murdered or tortured closer together in Trelew to the total responsibility for which we have been working,” stressed Raquel, plaintiff and daughter of Alberto Campamentos, who died later.

Bravo, 79, remained silent upon hearing the verdict. Shortly afterward as he was leaving the courtroom the defendant said “I’m happy for them”; while he watched Raquel Campamentos, who was crying heartbroken on the shoulders of one of the lawyers.

Although the events occurred in Argentina, the Law for the Protection of Victims of Torture allows legal action to be taken in the United States if the defendants are in that territory.

Bravo has lived in that country since 1973 and acquired US citizenship in 1987. He was the only accused soldier who had not faced justice for this act. Three others named were accused in their country for their role in the massacre and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012.

The plaintiff family members were represented by the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and the firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters and Markus/Moss PLLC, in collaboration with the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS).

The Trelew massacre, another dark chapter in the era of the dictatorship in Argentina

According to evidence exposed during the five days of trial, in the early hours of August 22, 1972, the then naval officer Roberto Guillermo Bravo and other soldiers woke up 19 sleeping political prisoners, lined them up and opened fire on them.

16 died and the other three were seriously injured. The execution took place after 25 detained leftist rebels fled from a prison. Of the latter, 19 were recaptured and transferred to the Trelew military base, in Patagonia, southern Argentina.

That massacre has been declared a crime against humanity. “I feel very satisfied, the world is going to be fairer than it was (…) We have a clear objective: that he be tried in Argentina and this verdict is a decisive argument for the judge who has the extradition,” he assured the AP agency Eduardo Cappello, one of the plaintiffs, one of the plaintiffs and nephew of one of the victims.

The United States previously rejected a request from Argentina to extradite Bravo.

It was only after Argentina briefly returned to democracy, in 1973, that three survivors of the execution testified what had happened.

But those three men were later kidnapped and killed by the military following a coup that led to Argentina’s next dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.

The jury also heard testimony about the systemic persecution of the plaintiffs and their families that followed the massacre.

With AP and EFE