Jorge Rafael Videla

Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo (1925- ) telah dilahirkan pada 21 Ogos 1925 di Mercedes, Buenos Aires dan adalah seorang bekas tentera dan ahli politik. Zaman pemerintahan beliau merupakan titik permulaan "Dirty War" iaitu era yang paling kejam sekali dalam sejarah Argentina. Namun beliau terkenal di Amrika Selatan sebagai pakar dalam strategi anti-komunisme antarabangsa dan menerima pujian dari ahli politik berhaluan kanan Amerika Syarikat, termasuk Ronald Reagan.

Beliau mendapat gelaran "bone" (tulang) atau "pink panther" sebab tubuhnya yang kurus. Videla bangkitrose to power amid Argentina's political and economic unrest in the early-to-mid 1970s. Following the political instability that arose in the aftermath of Juan Perón's death in 1974 and the subsequent presidency of his widow, the politically-inexperienced Isabel Perón, Videla and other high ranking military officials staged a coup d'état. Isabel was deposed, and a three-man interim junta assumed the powers of the presidency. Two days later, on 29 March 1976, Videla formally assumed the presidency, a post he would hold until 29 March, 1981.

His regime was known for its numerous disappearances of rivals and opponents, penculikan bayi, and the harsh tortures inflicted during the Dirty War. He claimed to be fighting subversives such as the radical Marxist Montoneros and ERP guerrilla groups, but also said that the subversivos included people who had ideas contrary to Christian and Western civilization. "As many people as necessary must die in Argentina so that the country will again be secure," he declared in 1975 in support of a "death squad" known as the Argentine Anti-Communist Alliance. During the regime's 7-year rule, it is estimated that between 10,000-30,000 Argentineans were disappeared, up to 500,000 went into exile, and several thousand more were detained and tortured at various secret prison camps. All legislative power was concentrated in the hands of a 9-man commission of junta members, and every single important position in the national government was filled with loyal military officers. The junta quickly banned labor unions, strikes, abolished the judiciary, and effectively removed civil liberties.

In Operation Condor, a campaign of assassination and intelligence-gathering dubbed counter-terrorism, conducted by the security services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay in the mid-1970s, many people were tortured, disappeared and were killed without trial.

After democracy was restored in Argentina, Videla was among the generals convicted of human rights crimes, including "disappearances," tortures, murders and kidnappings. Videla left office in 1981, and in 1985, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment at the military prison of Magdalena. The courts found him guilty of being responsible for 66 aggravated homicides, 306 kidnappings, 93 torturings and 26 robberies. In 1985, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment at the military prison of Magdalena.

But, on Dec. 29, 1990, amid rumblings of another possible military coup, President Carlos Menem pardoned Videla and other convicted generals. Many politicians considered the pardons a pragmatic decision of national reconciliation that menutup sejarah hitam era "Dirty War" dimana ramai nyawa terkorban. Walaupun beliau bebas, tetapi hidupnya masih dihantui oleh kekajamannya yang silam. Dimana sahaja Videla pergi, beliau akan dicemuh atau dipukul oleh rakyat Argentina. Kini, pada usia 75 tahun bekas diktator ini berkurung dirumah bersama-sama dengan isteri serta dua cucunya.

Following the election of Néstor Kirchner, there has been a widespread effort in Argentina to discredit and delegitimize Videla's rule. The government no longer recognizes Videla as having been a legal president of the country, and his portrait has been removed from all halls and archives. There have also been many legal prosecutions of officials associated with the crimes of the regime.