Argentine ‘death flight’ pilots get life for 100s of junta opponents thrown into ocean

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It is a shame that this has not happened in Israel, a place where Count Folke Bernadotte’s murderer became Ariel Sharon’s driver and bodyguard

It is a pity that Argentina does not have the death penalty, or even better, executing convicted perpetrators in the manner they used with their victims. Then we would have the videos of the cringing perps in their last few moments before being thrown out of the plane into the ocean.

Do the families feel better about the trauma they suffered? Not all, but I think most of them would. And they are owed that, and also some serious financial compensation.

The US was chummy with Argentina during this time, and was aware of this official murder capaign. It was still the Cold War days where all kinds of “illegal killings” went on. And this would include the US getting its hand wet.

The perpetrators never feared they would stand accused one day

Someone who was offered heading up the Central American death squads as a promotion during those turbulent years. He quit on the spot, literally walking out of the meeting. He became an instant outcast, but later on morphed into a silent hero as the story became known within a small circle as someone who stood up for refusing an illegal order, or promotion in this case.

Unfortunately a certain US ambassador was offered and took the job. He went on to having a “successful” career, with this nasty part of his resume airbrushed out. 

But for every one of these horror stories, there are many more that we don’t know. 

29 Argentines Sentenced to Life in Prison in ‘Death Flights’ Trial

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Relatives of people who disappeared during the Argentine military dictatorship appeared at the sentencing in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. 

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Javier Gonzalez Toledo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

BUENOS AIRES — Judges overseeing Argentina’s most high-profile human rights trial sentenced 29 former officials to life in prison on Wednesday, in a case that documented the former military dictatorship’s widespread practice of killing civilians by throwing them from aircraft.

“This is a happy moment in the long fight for justice that has been going on for decades,” said Victor Basterra, 73, a former political prisoner held at the notorious naval base in Buenos Aires that was at the heart of the case. “It’s always satisfying to watch them get life sentences.”

The verdict capped the most ambitious effort to date to hold former military leaders accountable for abuses committed during the 1970s and 1980s, when several Latin American countries were ruled by right-wing military juntas. Prosecutors tried 54 former Argentine officials in the deaths or forced disappearances of 789 people, and presented testimony from more than 800 witnesses.

The court acquitted six defendants, including a couple of pilots, and sentenced the rest to prison terms that ranged from eight to 25 years. As the four-hour sentencing hearing concluded, the defendants avoided looking at former political prisoners and relatives of those who were killed, who were standing in the back of the courtroom.

Some in the gallery held photographs of their loved ones. “Murderers, rapists,” victims yelled, tapping on a glass panel that separated them from the defendants. “You’re going to jail!” an older woman exclaimed triumphantly.We can bring back the dead, but we can give some justice to their families

Judges in Argentina have given life sentences to the former ‘death flights’ pilots after hundreds of people opposing the country’s 1976-83 military junta – including a close friend of Pope Francis – were thrown into the ocean.

A major ruling on Wednesday marked the “first” such Argentinian judgment against pilots involved in the notorious ‘death flights,’ local media reports. During the operations, opponents of Argentina’s military regime that ruled the country from 1976 until 1983 were thrown into the waters of the Atlantic.

According to the verdict, the announcement of which lasted almost four hours, 29 former service members were sentenced to life imprisonment, 19 were sentenced to eight to 25 years, and six were acquitted, local media report.

There are 54 defendants in the major trial. It also involves cases of 789 victims of a secret detention center – known as the Navy Mechanics Higher School (ESMA) – where up to 5,000 people opposing the repressive junta regime are believed to have been vanished.

The five-year trial – called the ‘mega cause’ in Argentina – exposed the chilling practices of systematic torture and the killing of thousands of people, including left-wing opponents of the regime and members of Argentina’s urban guerrilla groups, but also human rights activists and relatives of those forcibly disappeared by junta forces.

Esther Careaga and the Pope

In a series of hearings, it emerged that numerous victims were drugged, loaded onto ‘death flight’ aircraft, and thrown into the freezing waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Among ESMA victims was Esther Careaga, a close friend of Jorge Bergoglio, who later became Pope Francis. She was thrown to her death from a plane one night in December 1977, along with two French nuns and nine others.

“Careaga was a good friend and a great woman,” Beroglio said when the body was identified in 2003. The future pontiff met Careaga, a biochemist and his boss at the time, when he worked as an apprentice at a pharmaceutical laboratory in Buenos Aires in the early 1950s.

CHRISTMAS IN JERUSALEM Modern Jerusalem view from Mt. Olives near the garden of Gethsemane. According to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Jerusalem was supposed to be an international city, not part of either the proposed Jewish or Arab state. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, West Jerusalem was captured by Israel, while East Jerusalem (including the Old City) was captured by Jordan. Upon its capture, the Jordanians immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter, most of whom from families that had been living there for centuries. Many synagogues were destroyed, and the Jewish Quarter was bulldozed. The ancient Jewish cemetery on Mount of Olives was desecrated. In 1950 East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, was annexed by Jordan. However, the annexation of the West Bank was recognized only by the United Kingdom, which did not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem absorbed some of the refugees from West Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods that came under Israeli rule

The Holy City of Jerusalem has been covered in a brilliant white blanket after the worst snowstorm in 20 years. Schools and highways have been closed as more than eight inches of snow piled up in the city centre by this afternoon. Israel and much of the surrounding region has been hit by five days of rain, wind and snow as temperatures have dipped below freezing. Snow covers the Dome of the Rock on the compound know to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount after the worst snowstorm to hit Jerusalem for 20 years Western part of the wailing Wall. The Kotel, is a retaining wall in Jerusalem that dates from the time of the Jewish Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE). It is sometimes referred to by gentiles as the Wailing Wall, the term that may be considered derogatory, as it implies the image of Jews wailing and moaning over the hardships they have endured throughout Jewish history. The Western Wall is part of the larger religious site in the Old City of Jerusalem called (the Temple Mount) to Jews and some Christians Snow-covered valleys made Jerusalem look more like the Alps than the Middle East Archeological dig near the walls. Jews have prayed at the Western Wall for hundreds of years, believing that the Divine Presence rests upon it and that the gate of heaven is situated directly above it. The tradition of placing a prayer written on a small piece of paper into a crack in the Wall goes back hundreds of years. Included in the thrice daily Jewish prayers are fervent pleas that God return to the Jews exiles to the Land of Israel, rebuild the Third Temple, and bring the messianic era with the arrival of Jewish Messiah. A Palestinian policeman shirks the usual decoration to dress his snowman in the West Bank city of Ramallah A Palestinian throws a snowball in the snow-covered Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem An Orthodox Jewish man sits on the snow-covered ground at the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem. Although average winter temperatures can be chilly, it is unusual for the city to see such heavy snow in the winter.The Jeruslaem to Tel Aviv highway was closed this afternoon due to the cold and icy conditions. RARE COLD SNAP FOR THE CITY THAT BATHES IN 3,400 HOURS OF SUNSHINE A YEAR. Snow is not uncommon in Israel, and the country even boasts a ski resort in Mount Heron. But heavy snowfall in Jerusalem is rare, with average temperatures staying at a mild 9 degrees, even in the coldest months of January and February. A flurry of white flakes may descend every three or four years during cold winters but the city hasn't seen such deep snow since 1992. Back then, as much as 12 inches fell and police had to go on national TV to give drivers advice on how to drive in the snow. The rest of the year Jerusalem enjoys average temperatures of 18 degrees and 3,400 hours of sunshine. Elisha Peleg, an official in charge of emergencies with the Jerusalem Municipality, urged the city's residents to remain at home and stay off the streets, telling Army Radio the area had overnight seen its greatest snowfall since 1992. 'The downtown area is bathed in white,' Peleg said. 'The elders of Jerusalem don't remember such a snowstorm in years.' Public transport has ground to a halt, and many vehicles that ventured onto roads were stuck, he added, urging citizens to remain at home. The Jerusalem light rail resumed service today just before noon, but 69 bus lines remained out of service, with icy roads making travel tenuous. Jerusalem’s outlying neighborhoods were the first to celebrate the arrival of snow in the capital on Wednesday. The higher neighborhoods, including Gilo, Ramot and parts of Pisgat Ze’ev and Armon Hanatziv had 2 centimeters of snow on Wednesday afternoon. Snow blanketed the rest of the city at 9 pm and fell for about half an hour. Some traffic arteries opened later in the afternoon as temperatures rose and some snow melted. Public bus services partially resumed and were free of charge in Jerusalem, as an incentive to keep private vehicles off the slushy roads. In the occupied West Bank, city streets were largely abandoned, with few residents chancing the hilly and widely rutted roads and schools kept shut because of the weather. Stormy weather conditions continued in Jerusalem today with snow, torrential rains and strong winds across the region A Muslim man prays in the snow in front of the Dome of the Rock inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound of Jerusalem's old city The heavy snowfall has turned much of Jerusalem into a winter wonderland Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys the snow with his family today as snow affected several parts of the Middle East Public transport has ground to a halt after the unusual snowstorm hit Jerusalem Public transport has ground to halt as a result of heavy snow in Jerusalem Orthodox Jews enjoy the wintry weather by building snowmen in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem A general strike by government employees also kept Palestinians in their homes, as the Palestinian Authority has been unable to fully pay salaries following Israeli economic sanctions announced last month in anger at a campaign that won de facto United Nations recognition of Palestinian statehood. The Palestinian meteorological institute said that snow levels in the Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas had reached 10-20cm and as much as 30cm in Hebron. Flooding was reported in the northern West Bank, where water 'inundated dozens of houses and widely damaged agricultural areas local farmers depend on for their livelihoods,' Jenin governor Talal Dweikat told Palestinian Radio. 'Dozens of families have been forced to flee their homes, but thank God there have been no deaths, and the Authority is dealing with the problem aggressively despite its financial problems,' Dweikat said. The heavy snow has caused problems for people trying to get around in Jerusalem as public transport has virtually ground to a halt A Palestinian security officer puts the finishing touches to his snowman decorated with a Palestinian flag in the West Bank city of Hebron The snowstorm is so heavy an Israeli is able to go snowboarding in Jerusalem's French Hill neighbourhood Jerusalem’s Fire and Rescue Services responded to more than 500 calls for assistance on Wednesday, after dozens of antennas and trees, and even a balcony, collapsed due to strong winds. Emergency services rescued two adults and three children from a jeep using ladders, after the driver tried to fjord a river near Ein Kerem. Firefighters have rescued around 20 vehicles from large puddles and flooded roadways, including a minibus with seven children early Wednesday morning. Children makes snow angles in the heaviest snowfall to hit Jerusalem since 1992 Israel's emergency services have had hundreds of calls since the snow fell including vehicles trapped by unexpected flooding Palestinians play in the snow next to a section of Israel's separation barrier in Qalandia between Jerusalem and the West bank city of Ramallah Snowball fights erupt around the Dome of the Rock where up to eight inches has fallen since last night The last heavy snowstorm in Jerusalem was in 1992

Hagia Sophia Mosque in the background. Hagia Sophia, i.e. (the Church of) Holy Wisdom, now known as the Ayasofya Museum, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted to a mosque in 1453 by the Turks, and converted into a museum in 1935. It is located in the Turkish city of Istanbul. It is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest buildings of the world and sometimes considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. Its conquest by the Ottomans at the fall of Constantinople is considered one of the great tragedies of Christianity by the Greek Orthodox faithful.

Boys play in the courtyard of the Sultanahmet mosque, known as the Blue mosque, during a snow storm in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 8, 2013.(Reuters/Murad Sezer) 

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An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man covered with snow walks in Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. Jerusalem was transformed into a winter wonderland after heavy overnight snowfall turned the Holy City and much of the region white, bringing hordes of excited children onto the streets. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Snow covers the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A man plays with snow after a heavy snowstorm in the desert, near Tabuk, 1500 km (932 miles) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 9, 2013. (Reuters/Mohamed Alhwaity) # 

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Men play with snow after a heavy snowstorm in Amman, Jordan, on January 10, 2013. Snowstorms and heavy rain have caused the closure of main streets in the capital Amman and other cities over the past two days. (Reuters/Ali Jarekji) # 

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Flamingos in their snow-covered enclosure in Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo, on January 10, 2013. The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut public transport, roads and schools in Jerusalem on Thursday and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon.(Reuters/Ronen Zvulun) # 

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Snow falls as an ultra-orthodox Jewish man prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, on January 10, 2013. Stormy weather conditions continued on Thursday with snow, torrential rains and strong winds across the region. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) # 

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Iraqi youth play with snow in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, on January 10, 2013. (Shwan Mohammed/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A man uses a tablet computer to film the Saar waterfall on the slopes of the Golan Heights, during stormy weather, on January 8, 2013.(Reuters/Ammar Awad) # 

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Rescue workers help a family, in Jadra south of Beirut, Lebanon, on January 7, 2013. Lebanon was hit with a snow storm that has blocked roads in the mountains and brought heavy rain showers to the capital Beirut and other coastal areas since Sunday.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) # 

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A Syrian refugee removes water and mud around his tent at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border with Jordan in Mafraq, on January 9, 2013. Thousands of Syrian refugees are appealing for help after three days of rain and winter storm left them battling mud, water, freezing temperatures and increasing misery. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A seagull stands on Galata Tower, on January 9, 2013. Heavy snowfall blanketed Turkey's commercial hub Istanbul, a city of 15 million, paralyzing daily life, disrupting air traffic and land transport. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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The Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem's old city, as snow falls on January 10, 2013. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Men play with snow after a heavy snowstorm in Amman citadel, on January 10, 2013. Snowstorms and heavy rain have caused the closure of main streets in Jordan's capital Amman and other cities over the past two days. (Reuters/Ali Jarekji) # 

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A Palestinian man prepares to throw a snowball outside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A man walks through tombs covered by snow in Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) # 

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Jordanians walk past snow-covered cars and trees in Amman, on January 10, 2013. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A Palestinian youth throws a stone towards Israeli forces under snowfall during clashes which broke out after Israeli settlers from the nearby Esh Kodesh settlement cut Palestinian farmers' olive trees on January 10, 2013 in village of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus. Israeli settlers opened fire in the northern West Bank wounding two Palestinians in separate incidents, Palestinian security forces and witnesses said.(Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Jewish men pray at the Western Wall as snow falls in the old city of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Ultra-orthodox Jews enjoy the snow in the Mea Shearim religious neighborhood of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys the snow with his family in Jerusalem, on on January 10, 2013.(Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images) # 

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A Palestinian poses for a photograph on a snow-covered lion statue in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on January 10, 2013.(Reuters/Mohamad Torokman) # 

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Children play with snow in the Syrian capital of Damascus after a heavy snow fall, on on January 10, 2013. Snow carpeted Syria's war-torn cities but sparked no let-up in the fighting, instead heaping fresh misery on a civilian population already enduring a chronic shortage of heating fuel and daily power cuts. (Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A Palestinian youth walks on a snow covered hill while protecting his face from tear gas during clashes with Israeli forces after Israeli settlers from the nearby Esh Kodesh settlement cut Palestinian farmers' olive trees on January 10, 2013. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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The Syrian capital of Damascus under a blanket of fresh snow, on January 10, 2013. (Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A Palestinian man stands next to a snow sculpture in the shape of an M75 long-range Hamas rocket at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Syrian refugees sweep snow off a tent supplied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in al-Marj, in the eastern Lebanese Bekaa Valley, on January 9, 2013. Stormy weather sparked widespread flooding, prompting chaos on the roads and a nationwide school closure. The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is already totaling 156,000, according to UN figures, and 200,000 according to the Lebanese government estimates. (Hassan Jarah/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Ultra-orthodox Jews enjoy the snow in the Mea Shearim religious neighborhood of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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An Israeli jumps with a snowboard in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood, on January 10, 2013. The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut government offices, public transport and schools in Jerusalem and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon on Thursday.(Reuters/Baz Ratner) # 

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A picture taken from one of the highest buildings of Istanbul shows the city covered with snow, on January 9, 2013.(Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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A girl enjoys sliding on snow in the Ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood of Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) # 

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Palestinian children play in the snow in east Jerusalem, on January 10, 2013. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)