ARGENTINA: ACCUSED TORTURER AND FORMER POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 002237

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: ACCUSED TORTURER AND FORMER POLICE
OFFICIAL CONVICTED; WITNESS DISAPPEARS

Classified By: CDA Michael Matera for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY: Former police official and accused torturer
Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz was convicted on September 19,
2006 for the disappearance of six people during the Argentine
military dictatorship. The ruling was significant as the
first major conviction since two amnesty laws were overturned
by the Argentine Supreme Court last year. The case has
garnered intense media scrutiny, especially since Jorge Julio
Lopez, a torture victim who testified against Etchecolatz,
disappeared the day the verdict was read. His disappearance
has become a major issue of intense political and public
debate. END SUMMARY.



2. (U) The 77-year old Former Commissioner General of the
Buenos Aires provincial police Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison on September 19,
2006 for human rights abuses committed during the military
dictatorship in Argentina. The ruling was significant as the
first to decide that crimes committed during the dictatorship
qualify as crimes of "genocide". Etchecolatz is believed to
have been a close collaborator of Ramon Camps, the late
Buenos Aires provincial police chief who was closely allied
with the military during the "Dirty War." Etchecolatz had
previously been convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison
for his role in the human rights abuses, but his conviction
was nullified by two amnesty laws that were enacted in 1985
to ensure good relations between the recently reinstalled
democratic regime under Raul Alfonsin and the military.
Etchecolatz was already serving a long sentence for stealing
babies of victims of the military government, a crime that
was not covered by the amnesty laws.


3. (U) The same day Etchecolatz was convicted, Jorge Julio
Lopez, whose testimony of how Etchecolatz tortured him and
killed a fellow prisoner was crucial to the conviction,
disappeared. Lopez, also 77, was reported missing on
September 19 when his son arrived at his home to drive him to
the courthouse. The disappearance has caused a public
uproar, culminating in a march of several thousand people in
the Plaza de Mayo on September 27. Although there is no hard
evidence that Lopez was the victim of foul-play, the
disappearance has sparked political recriminations from all
sides. Province of Buenos Aires Governor Felipe Sola was
quoted in local press as calling Lopez "the first disappeared
person in democracy" and as wondering whether Lopez "could
have been kidnapped to intimidate future witness or prevent
future testimony." President Kirchner expressed concern for
Lopez, but also took the opportunity to comment on how "the
past has not been beaten or defeated and we must be on
alert," alluding to pending dangers from the military and
right-wing groups.


4. (U) Shortly after coming into office in May 2003,
President Kirchner began the process to repeal the two
amnesty laws. The Argentine Supreme Court overturned the
laws in June 2005, clearing the way for dozens of new trials
of accused torturers. Although Etchecolatz's trial was the
first to begin since the Court's ruling, it is the second to
result in a conviction; former police officer Julio Simon was
sentenced on August 4 to 25 years in prison for human rights
abuses in connection with the 1978 disappearance of a married
couple.



5. (C) COMMENT: The Etchecolatz conviction is a significant
success for human rights groups who still seek justice for
those who were murdered or disappeared during the military
dictatorship. While the disappearance of Lopez and his fate
are concerning, it has also become a potentially powerful
political issue. Governor Sola seems to be using it to blame
crime and insecurity, which are top public concerns in his
voting district, on an indefinable threat from the right.
Kirchner, who chastised Sola for his comments about Lopez,
could use the case to prevent Sola, a nominal ally of
Kirchner, from running for a third term as Governor and
therefore open the position to one of his preferred
candidates.


6. (C) In a conversation with Emboff, a former senior MFA
official and former Montonero speculated that the
disappearance of Lopez could be the first step towards

renewed political violence in Argentina. He said he feared
that there would be more cases of threatened or harmed
witnesses, possibly from extremists opposed to revisiting the
past and retrying officials from the dictatorship. We feel
it is too early to assume the Lopez disappearance is part of
a sinister trend. We will monitor and report on any further
instances of threats or violence as the "Dirty War" cases
continue. END COMMENT.
MATERA