State terrorism is terrorism that a state conducts against another state, non-state actors or against its own citizens . Acts accused of being state terrorism typically involve the use or threat of violence by state agents, including military, police, or intelligence agencies, and targets can be domestic or foreign individuals or groups.
125-645: The Argentine Masters or Torneo de Maestros was one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in Argentina , despite not having been played continuously since the inaugural event in 1961. It was always held at the Olivos Golf Club near Buenos Aires . The tournament formed part of the Tour de las Americas schedule. In 2008 it was co-sanctioned by the Canadian Tour ( 2009 season). The most successful players have been
250-599: A BBC Panorama documentary was aired about the MRF. It drew on information from seven former members, as well as a number of other sources. Soldier H said: "We operated initially with them thinking that we were the UVF ." Soldier F added: "We wanted to cause confusion." In June 1972, he was succeeded as commander by Captain James 'Hamish' McGregor. In June 2014, in the wake of the Panorama programme,
375-465: A Dutch photographer. The organisation who committed the attack, the Directorate-General for External Security (DSGE), is a branch of France's intelligence services . The agents responsible pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a plea deal and were sentenced to ten years in prison, but were secretly released early to France under an agreement between the two countries' governments. During
500-520: A bomb on Korean Air Flight 858 , killing everybody aboard. Following the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the initial investigations into war crimes committed by Russian soldiers, there were calls for Russia to be designated a terrorist state. On May 10, 2022, Lithuania's parliament designated Russia a terrorist state and its actions in Ukraine a genocide. The US Senate unanimously passed
625-643: A clandestine organization. José López Rega organized the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA) to fight against them and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP). Perón died in July 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, who signed a secret decree empowering the military and the police to "annihilate" the left-wing subversion, stopping ERP's attempt to start a rural insurgence in Tucumán province. Isabel Perón
750-667: A critical role in the party, died of cancer in 1952. As the economy continued to tank, Perón started losing popular support, and came to be seen as a threat to the national process. The Navy took advantage of Perón's withering political power, and bombed the Plaza de Mayo in 1955. Perón survived the attack, but a few months later, during the Liberating Revolution coup, he was deposed and went into exile in Spain. The new head of State, Pedro Eugenio Aramburu , proscribed Peronism and banned
875-695: A definition of state terrorism as "state agents using threats or acts of violence against civilians, marked by a callous indifference to human life, to instill fear in a community beyond the initial victim for the purpose of preventing a change or challenge to the status quo." These acts of violence can include both the types of state violence that some argue ought to be considered terrorism, such as: genocide , mass murders , ethnic cleansing , disappearances , detention without trial , and torture ; and more widely accepted methods of terror including bombings and targeted killings . Stohl and George A. Lopez have designated three categories of state terrorism, based on
1000-458: A final heart attack on Monday, 1 July 1974, and died at 13:15. He was 78 years old. After his death, Isabel Perón , his wife and vice president, succeeded him in office. During her presidency, a military junta, along with the Peronists' far-right fascist faction, once again became the de facto head of state . Isabel Perón served as President of Argentina from 1974 until 1976, when she was ousted by
1125-547: A left-wing Peronist, who took office on 25 May 1973. A month later, in June, Perón returned from Spain. One of Cámpora's first presidential actions was to grant amnesty to members of organizations that had carried out political assassinations and terrorist attacks, and to those who had been tried and sentenced to prison by judges. Cámpora's months-long tenure in government was beset by political and social unrest. Over 600 social conflicts, strikes , and factory occupations took place within
1250-718: A military coup d'état led by General Arturo Rawson toppled the democratically elected government of Ramón Castillo . Under pressure from the United States, later Argentina declared war on the Axis Powers (on 27 March 1945, roughly a month before the end of World War II in Europe ). During the Rawson dictatorship a relatively unknown military colonel named Juan Perón was named head of the Labour Department. Perón quickly managed to climb
1375-662: A modern nation. France initially denied any involvement in the attack, and it even joined in condemning the attack as a terrorist act . In July 1986, a United Nations -sponsored mediation effort between New Zealand and France resulted in the transfer of the two prisoners to the French Polynesian island of Hao , so they could serve three years there, as well as an apology and an NZ$ 13 million payment from France to New Zealand. In November 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Israel of being "a terrorist state" committing war crimes and violating international law in
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#17328760722321500-561: A post-Sukarno Indonesia." According to Simpson, the terror in Indonesia was an "essential building block of the quasi neo-liberal policies the West would attempt to impose on Indonesia in the years to come". Historian John Roosa, who commented on documents which were released by the U.S. embassy in Jakarta in 2017, said they confirmed that "the U.S. was part and parcel of the operation, strategizing with
1625-677: A pro- Iranian Shiite group connected to the Palestine Liberation Organisation ) issued a claim of responsibility for the mining, but circumstantial evidence indicated that Libya was responsible. Myanmar has been accused of state terrorism in the internal conflict . North Korea has been accused of state terrorism on several occasions, such as in 1983 in the Rangoon bombing , the Gimpo International Airport bombing , and in 1987 when North Korean agents detonated
1750-603: A proposal known as the Inca plan of 1816, which proposed that the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Present Argentina) should be a monarchy, led by a descendant of the Inca . Juan Bautista Túpac Amaru (half-brother of Túpac Amaru II ) was proposed as monarch. Some examples of those who supported this proposal were Manuel Belgrano , José de San Martín and Martín Miguel de Güemes . The Congress of Tucumán finally decided to reject
1875-524: A resolution to this effect on July 27, 2022, and the US House of Representatives is to consider such legislation. On August 11, Latvia's parliament designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Ukraine 's Verkhovna Rada on 20 August 2022 also designated Russia as a terrorist state. On October 17, the European Parliament approved a request to debate and vote on a resolution recognizing Russia as
2000-610: A second term . With the economy beginning to decline in 1995, and with increasing unemployment and recession, the UCR, led by Fernando de la Rúa , returned to the presidency in the 1999 elections . De la Rúa left Menem's economic plan in effect despite the worsening crisis, which led to growing social discontent. Massive capital flight from the country was responded to with a freezing of bank accounts , generating further turmoil. The December 2001 riots forced him to resign. Congress appointed Eduardo Duhalde as acting president, who revoked
2125-462: A single month. Even though far-left terrorist organisations had suspended their armed struggle, their joining with the participatory democracy process was interpreted as a direct threat by the Peronist right-wing faction. Amid a state of political, social, and economic upheaval, Cámpora and Vice President Vicente Solano Lima resigned in July 1973, calling for new elections, but this time with Perón as
2250-414: A system of social assistance for the most vulnerable sectors of society. The economy began to decline in 1950 due in part to government expenditures and the protectionist economic policies. He also engaged in a campaign of political suppression. Anyone who was perceived to be a political dissident or potential rival was subject to threats, physical violence and harassment. The Argentine intelligentsia ,
2375-589: A terrorist state, which it did on November 23. As of October 2023, the following states and organizations have designated Russia as terrorist or a sponsor of terrorism: Between 1979 and 1990, the Apartheid government in South Africa operated a branch of the South African Police known as Vlakplaas who routinely used methods of terrorism to support the state in maintaining Apartheid. These methods included
2500-449: Is a tool used exclusively by non-state actors, while others maintain that state-directed violence intended to terrorize civilian populations should also be classified as terrorism. There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper definition of the word terrorism . Some scholars believe the actions of governments can be labelled "terrorism". Using the term 'terrorism' to mean violent action used with
2625-408: Is employed by governments—or more often by factions within governments—against that government's citizens, against factions within the government, or against foreign governments or groups." While the most common modern usage of the word terrorism refers to political violence by insurgents or conspirators, several scholars make a broader interpretation of the nature of terrorism that encompasses
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#17328760722322750-612: Is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires . The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system . Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands , South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands , the Southern Patagonian Ice Field , and a part of Antarctica . The earliest recorded human presence in modern-day Argentina dates back to
2875-497: Is unacceptable and fits into the definition of terrorism." Dr. Bruce Hoffman has argued that failing to differentiate between state and non-state violence ignores the fact that there is a "fundamental qualitative difference between the two types of violence." Hoffman argues that even in war , there are rules and accepted norms of behaviour that prohibit certain types of weapons and tactics and outlaw attacks on specific categories of targets. For instance, rules which are codified in
3000-410: Is used to describe such acts." Walter Laqueur has said those who argue that state terrorism should be included in studies of terrorism ignore the fact that "The very existence of a state is based on its monopoly of power . If it were different, states would not have the right, nor would they be in a position, to maintain that minimum of order on which all civilized life rests." Calling the concept
3125-618: The Cordobazo and the Rosariazo . The terrorist guerrilla organization Montoneros kidnapped and executed Aramburu. The newly chosen head of government, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse , seeking to ease the growing political pressure, allowed Héctor José Cámpora to become the Peronist candidate instead of Perón. Cámpora won the March 1973 election , issued pardons for condemned guerrilla members, and then secured Perón's return from his exile in Spain. On
3250-614: The Bombing of Plaza de Mayo in 1955. The Trelew massacre of 1972, the actions of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance commencing in 1973, and Isabel Perón 's "annihilation decrees" against left-wing guerrillas during Operativo Independencia (Operation Independence) in 1975, are also possible events signaling the beginning of the Dirty War. Onganía shut down Congress, banned all political parties, and dismantled student and worker unions. In 1969, popular discontent led to two massive protests:
3375-710: The Centralists and the Federalists —a move that would define Argentina's first decades of independence. The Assembly of the Year XIII appointed Gervasio Antonio de Posadas as Argentina's first Supreme Director . On 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán formalized the Declaration of Independence , which is now celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday. One year later General Martín Miguel de Güemes stopped royalists on
3500-685: The Charrúa , Minuane and Guaraní in the northeast, with slash and burn semisedentary existence; the advanced Diaguita sedentary trading culture in the northwest, which was conquered by the Inca Empire around 1480; the Toconoté and Hênîa and Kâmîare in the country's centre, and the Huarpe in the centre-west, a culture that raised llama cattle and was strongly influenced by the Incas. Europeans first arrived in
3625-547: The Cold War . The United States government justified this policy by saying it needed to contain the spread of Communism , but Blakeley says the United States government also used it as a means to buttress and promote the interests of U.S. elites and multinational corporations. The U.S. supported governments who employed death squads throughout Latin America and counterinsurgency training of right-wing military forces included advocating
3750-522: The Gaza Strip . He said Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories should be recognized as "terrorists". In December 2023, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the alleged genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and called Israel a "terrorist state". The 2024 Lebanon pager explosions , which killed 39 people and wounded nearly 3,500, have been widely attributed to Israel. Iran referred to
3875-480: The Geneva and Hague Conventions on warfare prohibit taking civilians as hostages , outlaw reprisals against either civilians or POWs , recognise neutral territory , etc. Hoffman says "even the most cursory review of terrorist tactics and targets over the past quarter century reveals that terrorists have violated all these rules." Hoffman also says that when states transgress these rules of war "the term " war crime "
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4000-554: The Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 , British propagandists secretly incited anti-communists including army generals to eliminate the PKI , and used black propaganda , due to Indonesian President Sukarno 's hostility to the formation of former British colonies into the Malayan federation from 1963. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson 's government had instructed propaganda specialists from
4125-567: The Laborioust candidate. The Labour Party (later renamed Justicialist Party ), the most powerful and influential party in Argentine history, came into power with the rise of Juan Perón to the presidency in 1946. He nationalized strategic industries and services, improved wages and working conditions, paid the full external debt and claimed he achieved nearly full employment . He pushed Congress to enact women's suffrage in 1947, and developed
4250-500: The Macri Government introduced neoliberal austerity measures intended to tackle inflation and overblown public deficits. Under Macri's administration, economic recovery remained elusive with GDP shrinking 3.4%, inflation totaling 240%, billions of US dollars issued in sovereign debt, and mass poverty increasing by the end of his term. He ran for re-election in 2019 but lost by nearly eight percentage points to Alberto Fernández ,
4375-624: The Organization of Ibero-American States . The description of the region by the word Argentina has been found on a Venetian map in 1536. In English, the name Argentina comes from the Spanish language ; however, the naming itself is not Spanish, but Italian . Argentina ( masculine argentino ) means in Italian '(made) of silver, silver coloured', derived from the Latin argentum for silver. In Italian,
4500-635: The Paleolithic period. The Inca Empire expanded to the northwest of the country in Pre-Columbian times. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century. Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata , a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810–1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating in
4625-565: The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) opened an investigation into the matter. In an earlier review of the programme, the position of the PSNI was that none of the statements by soldiers in the programme could be taken as an admission of criminality. The Dirty War is the name used for the period of state terrorism in Argentina between 1974 and 1983. Chile during Augusto Pinochet 's rule
4750-510: The Southern Cone . The Dirty War involved state terrorism in Argentina and elsewhere in the Southern Cone against political dissidents, with military and security forces employing urban and rural violence against left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with socialism or somehow contrary to the neoliberal economic policies of the regime. Victims of
4875-565: The Spanish Empire , and " United Provinces of the Río de la Plata " after independence. The 1826 constitution included the first use of the name "Argentine Republic" in legal documents. The name "Argentine Confederation" was also commonly used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853 . In 1860 a presidential decree settled the country's name as "Argentine Republic", and that year's constitutional amendment ruled all
5000-645: The absolutist monarchy that ruled the country. As in the rest of Spanish America, the overthrow of Ferdinand VII during the Peninsular War created great concern. Beginning a process from which Argentina was to emerge as successor state to the Viceroyalty, the 1810 May Revolution replaced the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros with the First Junta , a new government in Buenos Aires made up from locals. In
5125-589: The bombing of Guernica has been called an act of terrorism. Other examples of state terrorism may include the World War II bombings of Pearl Harbor , London , Dresden , Chongqing , and Hiroshima . An act of sabotage, sometimes regarded as an act of terrorism, was the peacetime sinking of the Rainbow Warrior , a ship owned by Greenpeace , which occurred while in port at Auckland , New Zealand on July 10, 1985. The bomb detonation killed Fernando Pereira ,
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5250-509: The neo-Keynesian economic policies laid by Duhalde, Kirchner ended the economic crisis attaining significant fiscal and trade surpluses, and rapid GDP growth. Under his administration, Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with an unprecedented discount of about 70% on most bonds, paid off debts with the International Monetary Fund , purged the military of officers with dubious human rights records, nullified and voided
5375-748: The "thousands of those hell-hounds called terrorists" who he believed threatened Europe. During the Reign of Terror , the Jacobin government and other factions of the French Revolution used the apparatus of the state to kill and intimidate political opponents, and the Oxford English Dictionary includes as one definition of terrorism "Government by intimidation carried out by the party in power in France between 1789–1794". The original general meaning of terrorism
5500-521: The 1916 election . He enacted social and economic reforms and extended assistance to small farms and businesses. Argentina stayed neutral during World War I . The second administration of Yrigoyen faced an economic crisis, precipitated by the Great Depression . In 1930, Yrigoyen was ousted from power by the military led by José Félix Uriburu . Although Argentina remained among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century, this coup d'état marks
5625-544: The 1990s by covertly assisting loyalist paramilitaries . Ruth J Blakeley, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield , accuses the United States of sponsoring and deploying state terrorism, which she defines as "the illegal targeting of individuals that the state has a duty to protect in order to instill fear in a target audience beyond the direct victim", on an "enormous scale" during
5750-415: The Falkland Islands . The United Kingdom dispatched a task force to regain possession. Argentina surrendered on 14 June and its forces were taken home. Street riots in Buenos Aires followed the humiliating defeat and the military leadership stood down. Reynaldo Bignone replaced Galtieri and began to organize the transition to democratic governance. Raúl Alfonsín won the 1983 elections campaigning for
5875-400: The Foreign Office to send hundreds of inflammatory pamphlets to leading anti-communists in Indonesia, inciting them to kill the foreign minister, Subandrio , and claiming that ethnic Chinese Indonesians deserved the violence meted out to them. Britain has been accused of involvement in state terrorism during the Troubles , an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland from the 1960s to
6000-431: The Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, ruled them as unconstitutional, and resumed legal prosecution of the Junta's crimes. He did not run for reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife, senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner , who was elected in 2007 and reelected in 2011 . Fernández de Kirchner's administration established positive foreign relations with countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, while at
6125-439: The Inca plan, creating instead a republican, centralist state. The 1820 Battle of Cepeda , fought between the Centralists and the Federalists, resulted in the end of the Supreme Director rule . In 1826 Buenos Aires enacted another centralist constitution , with Bernardino Rivadavia being appointed as the first president of the country. However, the interior provinces soon rose against him, forced his resignation and discarded
6250-411: The Indonesia/East Timor Documentation Project at the National Security Archive , says "Washington did everything in its power to encourage and facilitate the army-led massacre of alleged PKI members, and U.S. officials worried only that the killing of the party's unarmed supporters might not go far enough, permitting Sukarno to return to power and frustrate the [Johnson] Administration's emerging plans for
6375-419: The Indonesian army and encouraging them to go after the PKI." Geoffrey B. Robinson, a historian at UCLA, argues that without the support of the U.S. and other powerful Western states, the Indonesian Army's program of mass killings would not have happened. An Organization of American States report on human rights violations in Venezuela stated that colectivos , armed groups that support Nicolás Maduro and
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#17328760722326500-508: The Justicialist Party candidate. President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner took office in December 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Argentina and among accusations of corruption , bribery and misuse of public funds during Nestor and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidencies . On 14 November 2021, the center-left coalition of Argentina's ruling Peronist party, Frente de Todos (Front for Everyone), lost its majority in Congress, for
6625-490: The Justicialist Party nominee. Perón won the election with his wife Isabel Perón as vice president. Perón's third term was marked by escalating conflict between left and right-wing factions within the Peronist party, as well as the return of armed terror guerrilla groups such as the Guevarist ERP , leftist Peronist Montoneros , and the state-backed far-right Triple A . After a series of heart attacks and signs of pneumonia in 1974, Perón's health deteriorated quickly. He suffered
6750-472: The Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 election . Soon after, riots forced Alfonsín to an early resignation . Menem embraced and enacted neoliberal policies: a fixed exchange rate , business deregulation , privatizations , and the dismantling of protectionist barriers normalized the economy in the short term. He pardoned the officers who had been sentenced during Alfonsín's government. The 1994 Constitutional Amendment allowed Menem to be elected for
6875-540: The Soviet Union, it was eventually unleashed on victims chosen at random." The terror of tsarism was directed against the proletariat . Our Extraordinary Commissions shoot landlords, capitalists, and generals who are striving to restore the capitalist order. Do you grasp this ... distinction? Yes? For us communists it is quite sufficient. Leon Trotsky , Terrorism and Communism , 1920. Military actions primarily directed against non-combatant targets have also been referred to as state terrorism. For example,
7000-541: The Soviets] sought to impose total political control on society. Such a radical aim could be pursued only by a similarly radical method: by terrorism directed by an extremely powerful political police at an atomized and defenseless population. Its success was due largely to its arbitrary character—to the unpredictability of its choice of victims. In both countries, the regime first suppressed all opposition; when it no longer had any opposition to speak of, political police took to persecuting 'potential' and 'objective opponents'. In
7125-414: The Troubles , an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland from the 1960's to the 1990's, the Military Reaction Force (MRF), a counterinsurgency unit of the British Intelligence Corps , was tasked with tracking down members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). During the period when it was active, the MRF was involved in the killings of Catholic civilians in Northern Ireland. In November 2013,
7250-439: The United States government during the Johnson , Nixon , Ford , Carter , and Reagan administrations. The exact chronology of the repression is still debated, yet the roots of the long political war may have started in 1969 when trade unionists were targeted for assassination by Peronist and Marxist paramilitaries. Individual cases of state-sponsored terrorism against Peronism and the left can be traced back even further to
7375-562: The United States'—led to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and economy that by 1908 had placed the country as the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world. Driven by this immigration wave and decreasing mortality, the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy 15-fold: from 1870 to 1910, Argentina's wheat exports went from 100,000 to 2,500,000 t (110,000 to 2,760,000 short tons) per year, while frozen beef exports increased from 25,000 to 365,000 t (28,000 to 402,000 short tons) per year, placing Argentina as one of
7500-413: The United States, Argentina is a developing country with the second-highest HDI (human development index) in Latin America after Chile . It maintains the second-largest economy in South America, and is a member of G-15 and G20 . Argentina is also a founding member of the United Nations , World Bank , World Trade Organization , Mercosur , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and
7625-488: The adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said l'Argentina . The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venetian and Genoese navigators, such as Giovanni Caboto . In Spanish and Portuguese, the words for 'silver' are respectively plata and prata and '(made) of silver' is plateado and prateado , although argento for 'silver' and argentado for 'covered in silver' exist in Spanish. Argentina
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#17328760722327750-398: The allegiance of escaped Filipinos in San Blas who defected from the Spanish to join the Argentine navy, due to common Argentine and Philippine grievances against Spanish colonization. Jose de San Martin's brother, Juan Fermín de San Martín , was already in the Philippines and drumming up revolutionary fervor prior to this. At a later date, the Argentine sign of Inca origin, the Sun of May
7875-401: The area now known as Argentina are dated from the Paleolithic period, with further traces in the Mesolithic and Neolithic . Until the period of European colonization, Argentina was relatively sparsely populated by a wide number of diverse cultures with different social organizations, which can be divided into three main groups. The first group are basic hunters and food gatherers without
8000-441: The attacks as "Israeli terrorism". Leon Panetta , the former- CIA director, also termed the attack terrorism. In the 1980s, Libya under Muammar Gaddafi was accused of state terrorism following attacks abroad such as the Lockerbie bombing . Between 9 July and 15 August 1984 seventeen merchant vessels were damaged in the Gulf of Suez and Bab al-Mandeb straits by underwater explosions. Terrorist group Al Jihad (thought to be
8125-594: The bombing of civilian buildings ( COSATU House and Khotso House ), and the targeted-killing and assassinations of anti-Apartheid activists. In the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, the former Major-General and Commander of Vlakplaas, Sarel “Sakkie” du Plessis Crafford gave the following three reasons for the Apartheid state’s policy of extra-judicial killings: (1) “It scared off other supporters and potential supporters; it made people reluctant to offer open support; it created distrust and demoralization amongst cadres. (2) It gave white voters confidence that
8250-400: The border, and the appropriation of the indigenous territories. The first conquest consisted of a series of military incursions into the Pampa and Patagonian territories dominated by the indigenous peoples, distributing them among the members of the Sociedad Rural Argentina , financiers of the expeditions. The conquest of Chaco lasted up to the end of the century, since its full ownership of
8375-400: The concepts of state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism. Michael Stohl argues, "The use of terror tactics is common in international relations and the state has been and remains a more likely employer of terrorism within the international system than insurgents. Stohl clarifies, however, that "[n]ot all acts of state violence are terrorism. It is important to understand that in terrorism
8500-444: The constitution. Centralists and Federalists resumed the civil war; the latter prevailed and formed the Argentine Confederation in 1831, led by Juan Manuel de Rosas . During his regime he faced a French blockade (1838–1840), the War of the Confederation (1836–1839), and an Anglo-French blockade (1845–1850), but remained undefeated and prevented further loss of national territory. His trade restriction policies, however, angered
8625-554: The context of counterterrorism or counterinsurgency . Accused actions of state terrorism are normally also criticised as severe violations of human rights and international law, but contrast with state-sponsored terrorism in that the state is carrying out the actions rather than sponsoring violent non-state actors who do so. Historically, governments have been accused of using state terrorism in various settings . The exact definition and scope of state terrorism remain controversial, as some scholars and governments argue that terrorism
8750-437: The country was slow to meet its original goals of industrialization: after the steep development of capital-intensive local industries in the 1920s, a significant part of the manufacturing sector remained labour-intensive in the 1930s. Between 1878 and 1884, the so-called Conquest of the Desert occurred, with the purpose of tripling the Argentine territory by means of the constant confrontations between natives and Criollos in
8875-441: The country's reorganization as a federation . The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with several waves of European immigration , mainly Italians and Spaniards , influencing its culture and demography . Following the death of President Juan Perón in 1974, his widow and vice president, Isabel Perón , ascended to the presidency, before being overthrown in 1976 . The following military junta , which
9000-526: The day Perón returned to Argentina, the clash between Peronist internal factions— right-wing union leaders and left-wing youth from the Montoneros—resulted in the Ezeiza Massacre . Overwhelmed by political violence, Cámpora resigned and Perón won the following September 1973 election with his third wife Isabel as vice-president. He expelled Montoneros from the party and they became once again
9125-642: The development of pottery , such as the Selk'nam and Yaghan in the extreme south. The second group are advanced hunters and food gatherers which include the Puelche , Querandí and Serranos in the centre-east; and the Tehuelche in the south—all of them conquered by the Mapuche spreading from Chile —and the Kom and Wichi in the north. The last group are farmers with pottery, such as
9250-518: The enemies of the people. Now the term "terrorism" is commonly used to describe terrorist acts committed by non-state or sub-national entities against a state. (italics in original) Later examples of state terrorism include the police state measures employed by the Soviet Union beginning in the 1930s, and by Germany's Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s. According to Igor Primoratz, "Both [the Nazis and
9375-404: The first ballotage in Argentina's history, beating Front for Victory candidate Daniel Scioli and becoming president-elect. Macri was the first democratically elected non- peronist president since 1916 that managed to complete his term in office without being overthrown. He took office on 10 December 2015 and inherited an economy with a high inflation rate and in a poor shape. In April 2016,
9500-628: The first clashes of the Independence War the Junta crushed a royalist counter-revolution in Córdoba , but failed to overcome those of the Banda Oriental , Upper Peru and Paraguay , which later became independent states. The French-Argentine Hippolyte Bouchard then brought his fleet to wage war against Spain overseas and attacked Spanish California , Spanish Peru and Spanish Philippines . He secured
9625-488: The first time in almost 40 years, in midterm legislative elections . The election victory of the center-right coalition, Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) limited President Alberto Fernandez's power during his final two years in office. Losing control of the Senate made it difficult for him to make key appointments, including to the judiciary. It also forced him to negotiate with the opposition every initiative he sends to
9750-424: The fixed exchange rate established by Menem, causing many working- and middle-class Argentines to lose a significant portion of their savings. By late 2002, the economic crisis began to recede, but the assassination of two piqueteros by the police caused political unrest, prompting Duhalde to move elections forward. Néstor Kirchner was elected as the new president . On 26 May 2003, he was sworn in. Boosting
9875-614: The fourth-largest country in the Americas , and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces , and one autonomous city , which
10000-491: The government after elected labour movement officials were forcefully replaced by Peronist puppets from the Peronist Party . Reyes was soon arrested on charges of terrorism, though the allegations were never substantiated. Reyes, who was never formally charged, was tortured in prison for five years and only released after the regime's downfall in 1955. Perón managed to get re-elected in 1951 . His wife Eva Perón , who played
10125-538: The groups or individuals who use terrorism; whilst act-centric definitions emphasize the unique aspects of terrorism from other acts of violence. Historically, the term terrorism was used to refer to actions taken by governments against their own citizens whereas now it is more often perceived as targeting of non-combatants as part of a strategy directed against governments. Historian Henry Commager wrote that "Even when definitions of terrorism allow for 'state terrorism', state actions in this area tend to be seen through
10250-504: The interior provinces and in 1852 Justo José de Urquiza , another powerful caudillo , beat him out of power . As the new president of the Confederation, Urquiza enacted the liberal and federal 1853 Constitution. Buenos Aires seceded but was forced back into the Confederation after being defeated in the 1859 Battle of Cepeda . Overpowering Urquiza in the 1861 Battle of Pavón , Bartolomé Mitre secured Buenos Aires' predominance and
10375-651: The interrogation and torture of suspected insurgents. J. Patrice McSherry , a professor of political science at Long Island University , says "hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans were tortured, abducted or killed by right-wing military regimes as part of the U.S.-led anti-communist crusade," which included U.S. support for Operation Condor and the Guatemalan military during the Guatemalan Civil War . More people were repressed and killed throughout Latin America in
10500-611: The last three decades of the Cold War than in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc , according to historian John Henry Coatsworth . Declassified documents from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta in 2017 confirm that U.S. officials directly facilitated and encouraged the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of suspected Communists in Indonesia during the mid-1960s . Bradley Simpson, Director of
10625-596: The left-wing. By the end of 1976, the Montoneros had lost nearly 2,000 members and by 1977, the ERP was completely subdued. Nevertheless, the severely weakened Montoneros launched a counterattack in 1979, which was quickly put down, effectively ending the guerrilla threat and securing the junta's position in power. In March 1982, an Argentine force took control of the British territory of South Georgia and, on 2 April, Argentina invaded
10750-642: The legislature. In April 2023, President Alberto Fernandez announced that he will not seek re-election in the next presidential election . The 19 November 2023 election run-off vote ended in a win for libertarian outsider Javier Milei with close to 56% of the vote against 44% of the ruling coalition candidate Sergio Massa . On 10 December 2023, Javier Milei was sworn in as the new president of Argentina. State terrorism Governments accused of state terrorism may justify these actions as efforts to combat internal dissent, suppress insurgencies, or maintain national security, often framing their actions within
10875-418: The middle-class, university students, and professors were seen as particularly troublesome. Perón fired over 2,000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions. Perón tried to bring most trade and labour unions under his thumb, regularly resorting to violence when needed. For instance, the meat-packers union leader, Cipriano Reyes , organized strikes in protest against
11000-408: The military. Her short presidency was marked by the collapse of Argentine political and social systems, leading to a constitutional crisis that paved the way for a decade of instability, left-wing terrorist guerrilla attacks, and state-sponsored terrorism. The "Dirty War" (Spanish: Guerra Sucia ) was part of Operation Condor , which included the participation of other right-wing dictatorships in
11125-417: The names since 1810 as legally valid. In English , the country was traditionally called "the Argentine", mimicking the typical Spanish usage la Argentina and perhaps resulting from a mistaken shortening of the fuller name 'Argentine Republic'. 'The Argentine' fell out of fashion during the mid-to-late 20th century, and now the country is referred to as "Argentina". The earliest traces of human life in
11250-498: The national economic system only took place when the mere extraction of wood and tannin was replaced by the production of cotton . The Argentine government considered indigenous people as inferior beings, without the same rights as Criollos and Europeans. In 1912, President Roque Sáenz Peña enacted universal and secret male suffrage , which allowed Hipólito Yrigoyen , leader of the Radical Civic Union (or UCR), to win
11375-546: The north, and General José de San Martín . He joined Bernardo O'Higgins and they led a combined army across the Andes and secured the independence of Chile; then it was sent by O'Higgins orders to the Spanish stronghold of Lima and proclaimed the independence of Peru . In 1819 Buenos Aires enacted a centralist constitution that was soon abrogated by federalists. Some of the most important figures of Argentine independence made
11500-517: The openness or secrecy with which the acts are performed, and whether states directly perform the acts, support them, or acquiesce to them. Aristotle wrote critically of terror employed by tyrants against their subjects. The earliest use of the word terrorism identified by the Oxford English Dictionary is a 1795 reference to tyrannical state behavior, the " reign of terrorism " in France. In that same year, Edmund Burke decried
11625-445: The party from any future elections. Arturo Frondizi from the UCR won the 1958 general election . He encouraged investment to achieve energetic and industrial self-sufficiency, reversed a chronic trade deficit and lifted the ban on Peronism; yet his efforts to stay on good terms with both the Peronists and the military earned him the rejection of both and a new coup forced him out. Amidst
11750-417: The political ladder, being named Minister of Defence by 1944. Being perceived as a political threat by rivals in the military and the conservative camp, he was forced to resign in 1945, and was arrested days later. He was finally released under mounting pressure from both his base and several allied unions. He would later become president after a landslide victory over the UCR in the 1946 general election as
11875-414: The political turmoil, Senate leader José María Guido reacted swiftly and applied anti- power vacuum legislation, ascending to the presidency himself; elections were repealed and Peronism was prohibited once again. Arturo Illia was elected in 1963 and led an increase in prosperity across the board; however he was overthrown in 1966 by another military coup d'état led by General Juan Carlos Onganía in
12000-419: The predominant intention of causing terror, Paul James and Jonathan Friedman distinguish between state terrorism against non-combatants and state terrorism against combatants , including " shock and awe " tactics: "Shock and Awe" as a subcategory of "rapid dominance" is the name given to massive intervention designed to strike terror into the minds of the enemy. It is a form of state-terrorism. The concept
12125-400: The prism of war or national self-defense, not terror." While states may accuse other states of state-sponsored terrorism when they support insurgencies, individuals who accuse their governments of terrorism are seen as radicals, because actions by legitimate governments are not generally seen as illegitimate. Academic writing tends to follow the definitions accepted by states. Most states use
12250-604: The prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations during the Proceso : the Trial of the Juntas and other martial courts sentenced all the coup's leaders but, under military pressure, he also enacted the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, which halted prosecutions further down the chain of command . The worsening economic crisis and hyperinflation reduced his popular support and
12375-551: The region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci . The Spanish navigators Juan Díaz de Solís and Sebastian Cabot visited the territory that is now Argentina in 1516 and 1526, respectively. In 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded the small settlement of Buenos Aires , which was abandoned in 1541. Further colonization efforts came from Paraguay —establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata — Peru and Chile. Francisco de Aguirre founded Santiago del Estero in 1553. Londres
12500-539: The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) party, murdered at least 131 individuals between 2014 and 2017 during anti-government protests . The National Assembly of Venezuela designated the colectivos as terrorist groups due to their "violence, paramilitary actions, intimidation, murders and other crimes," declaring their acts as state-sponsored terrorism. The chairman of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee has said
12625-606: The same time relations with the United States and the United Kingdom became increasingly strained. By 2015, the Argentine GDP grew by 2.7% and real incomes had risen over 50% since the post-Menem era. Despite these economic gains and increased renewable energy production and subsidies, the overall economy had been sluggish since 2011. On 22 November 2015, after a tie in the first round of presidential elections on 25 October , center-right coalition candidate Mauricio Macri won
12750-721: The scourge of terrorism is compromised by what we did through SOE. The justification ... That we had no other means of striking back at the enemy ... is exactly the argument used by the Red Brigades , the Baader-Meinhoff gang , the PFLP , the IRA and every other half-articulate terrorist organisation on Earth. Futile to argue that we were a democracy and Hitler a tyrant. Means besmirch ends. SOE besmirched Britain." British Foreign Office documents declassified in 2021 revealed that during
12875-507: The security forces were in control and winning the fight against Communism and terrorism. (3) The information gleaned during the interrogation needed to be protected against disclosure.” The most notorious of the Vlakplaas operatives were Eugene de Kock and the askari Joe Mamasela , who were linked to several high-profile extra-judicial killings, including that of Griffiths Mxenge . Following South Africa's transition to democracy , de Kock
13000-512: The self-proclaimed Argentine Revolution , creating a new military government that sought to rule indefinitely. Following several years of military rule, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse was appointed president by the military junta in 1971. Under increasing political pressure for the return of democracy, Lanusse called for elections in 1973. Perón was banned from running but the Peronist party was allowed to participate. The presidential elections were won by Perón's surrogate candidate, Hector Cámpora ,
13125-496: The silver and gold mines in Bolivia and Peru, and as such it became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital. Buenos Aires repelled two ill-fated British invasions in 1806 and 1807. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the first Atlantic Revolutions generated criticism of
13250-434: The start of the steady economic and social decline that pushed the country back into underdevelopment. Uriburu ruled for two years; then Agustín Pedro Justo was elected in a fraudulent election , and signed a controversial treaty with the United Kingdom . Argentina stayed neutral during World War II , a decision that had full British support but was rejected by the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor . In 1943
13375-551: The superstars of Argentine golf, Roberto De Vicenzo with five victories, and Ángel Cabrera with four wins in the five events held between 1999 and 2007. Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in the southern half of South America . Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km (1,073,500 sq mi), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil ,
13500-441: The term terrorism for non-state actors only. The Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines terrorism generally as "the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective", and states that "terrorism is not legally defined in all jurisdictions." The encyclopedia adds that "[e]stablishment terrorism, often called state or state-sponsored terrorism,
13625-530: The time the United Nations Secretary-General , said it is "time to set aside debates on so-called 'state terrorism'. The use of force by states is already regulated under international law". Annan added, "... regardless of the differences between governments on the question of the definition of terrorism, what is clear and what we can all agree on is any deliberate attack on innocent civilians [or non-combatants], regardless of one's cause,
13750-425: The twelve previous international conventions on terrorism had never referred to state terrorism, which was not an international legal concept, and when states abuse their powers they should be judged against international conventions which deal with war crimes , international human rights law , and international humanitarian law , rather than international anti-terrorism statutes. In a similar vein, Kofi Annan , at
13875-450: The violence in Argentina alone included an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 left-wing activists and militants, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists , Peronist guerrillas , and alleged sympathizers. Most of the victims were casualties of state terrorism . The opposing guerrillas' victims numbered nearly 500–540 military and police officials and up to 230 civilians. Argentina received technical support and military aid from
14000-565: The violence threatened or perpetrated, has purposes broader than simple physical harm to a victim. The audience of the act or threat of violence is more important than the immediate victim." Scholar Gus Martin describes state terrorism as terrorism "committed by governments and quasi-governmental agencies and personnel against perceived threats", which can be directed against both domestic and foreign targets. Noam Chomsky defines state terrorism as "terrorism practised by states (or governments) and their agents and allies". Simon Taylor provides
14125-561: The world's top five exporters. Its railway mileage rose from 503 to 31,104 km (313 to 19,327 mi). Fostered by a new public, compulsory, free and secular education system, literacy quickly increased from 22% to 65%, a level higher than most Latin American nations would reach even fifty years later. Furthermore, real GDP grew so fast that despite the huge immigration influx, per capita income between 1862 and 1920 went from 67% of developed country levels to 100%: In 1865, Argentina
14250-669: Was accused of state terror against political opponents. The Uyghur American Association has claimed that Beijing's approach to terrorism in Xinjiang constitutes state terrorism. In 2006, a Spanish court opened an investigation into claims that the Chinese state was committing acts of state terrorism in Tibet . However, the investigation was dropped in 2014. The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior took place in Auckland Harbour on July 10, 1985. It
14375-572: Was adopted as a symbol by the Filipinos in the Philippine Revolution against Spain. He also secured the diplomatic recognition of Argentina from King Kamehameha I of the Kingdom of Hawaii . Historian Pacho O'Donnell affirms that Hawaii was the first state that recognized Argentina's independence. He was finally arrested in 1819 by Chilean patriots. Revolutionaries split into two antagonist groups:
14500-467: Was already one of the top 25 nations by per capita income. By 1908, it had surpassed Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands to reach 7th place—behind Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Argentina's per capita income was 70% higher than Italy's, 90% higher than Spain's, 180% higher than Japan's and 400% higher than Brazil 's. Despite these unique achievements,
14625-700: Was an attack carried out by French DGSE agents Captain Dominique Prieur and Commander Alain Mafart aimed at sinking the flagship craft of the Greenpeace Organisation in order to stop it from interfering in French nuclear testing in the South Pacific . The attack resulted in the death of Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira and led to a huge uproar over the first ever attack on New Zealand's sovereignty as
14750-404: Was elected as the first president of the reunified country. He was followed by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Nicolás Avellaneda ; these three presidencies set up the basis of the modern Argentine State. Starting with Julio Argentino Roca in 1880, ten consecutive federal governments emphasized liberal economic policies . The massive wave of European immigration they promoted—second only to
14875-478: Was first associated with the silver mountains legend , widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin . The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina , a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region. Although "Argentina" was already in common usage by the 18th century, the country was formally named " Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata " by
15000-413: Was founded in 1558; Mendoza , in 1561; San Juan , in 1562; San Miguel de Tucumán , in 1565. Juan de Garay founded Santa Fe in 1573 and the same year Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera set up Córdoba . Garay went further south to re-found Buenos Aires in 1580. San Luis was established in 1596. The Spanish Empire subordinated the economic potential of the Argentine territory to the immediate wealth of
15125-478: Was however developed long before the Second Gulf War by Harlan Ullman as chair of a forum of retired military personnel. However, others, including governments, international organisations, private institutions and scholars, believe the term terrorism is applicable only to the actions of violent non-state actors . This approach is termed as an actor-centric definition which emphasizes the characteristics of
15250-583: Was later tried and convicted on eighty-nine charges and sentenced to 212 years in prison. During World War II, the United Kingdom created the Special Operations Executive (SOE) which, in the words of Prime Minister Winston Churchill , was to "set Europe ablaze" with sabotage and subversion in countries occupied by the Axis powers , especially Nazi Germany . The British military historian John Keegan later wrote, "We must recognise that our response to
15375-584: Was of terrorism by the state, as reflected in the 1798 supplement of the Dictionnaire of the Académie française , which described terrorism as systeme , regime de la terreur . Myra Williamson wrote: The meaning of "terrorism" has undergone a transformation. During the Reign of Terror, a regime or system of terrorism was used as an instrument of governance, wielded by a recently established revolutionary state against
15500-579: Was ousted one year later by a junta of the combined armed forces, led by army general Jorge Rafael Videla . They initiated the National Reorganization Process , often shortened to Proceso . The Proceso shut down Congress, removed the judges on the Supreme Court, banned political parties and unions, and resorted to employing the forced disappearance of suspected guerrilla members including individuals suspected of being associated with
15625-452: Was supported by the United States , persecuted and murdered thousands of political critics, activists, and leftists in the Dirty War , a period of state terrorism and civil unrest that lasted until the election of Raúl Alfonsín as president in 1983 . Argentina is a regional power , and retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs. A major non-NATO ally of
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