Mohamed Alí Seineldín (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

:
محمد علي زين الدين
) (November 12, 1933 – September 2, 2009) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

army

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

who participated in two failed uprisings against the democratically elected governments of both

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (; 12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after the 7-yea ...

and President

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

in 1988 and 1990.

Early life

Seineldín was born in

Concepción del Uruguay Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina. It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore of the Uruguay River, some 320 kilometers north from Buenos Aires. Its population is about 80,000 inhabitants (). History The city ...

into a Lebanese Argentine family. He converted from Druzism to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

during his youth, and was consecrated to the

Virgin of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary (), also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General ...

(''Virgen del Rosario''). He remained a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

throughout his life, even devoting his men in the army to the Virgin of the Holy

Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

as well.

Falkland War

Seineldín rose to prominence in Argentina during the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

against the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he was in command of the 25th Infantry Regiment, part of the garrison occupying

Port Stanley Stanley (also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a population o ...

. He had a role in Operation Rosario, the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. The operation, conducted on April 2, 1982, secured the islands' capital, Port Stanley without significant bloodshed.

"Carapintada" activity

An ardent Christian

Argentine nationalist Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

, Seineldín became a member of the ''

Carapintadas The ' () were a group of mutineers in the Argentine Army, who took part in various uprisings between 1987 and 1990 during the presidencies of Raúl Alfonsín and Carlos Menem in Argentina. The rebellions, while at first thought to be an attempt at ...

'', or "painted faces," group within the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

. The ''Carapintadas'' demanded that the Argentine government halt legal proceedings against

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

s accused of

human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

during the

Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...

, which occurred during Argentina's

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

from 1976 to 1983. The low-ranking officers were charged with a wide range of crimes, including the execution of

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

fighters and their supporters. In 1987 and 1988, the ''Carapintadas'' rebelled against the elected government of President

, but both uprisings were quickly put down. In December 1988, members of the

Grupo Albatros The Grupo Albatros (''Albatross Group'') is a special operations service of the Prefectura Naval Argentina. Duties Located in the province of Buenos Aires, it conducts river and maritime operations in the lakes and rivers and anything clo ...

, led by Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín rebelled once again against the Alfonsín government and seized the

military barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

at Villa Martelli. The mutineers eventually surrendered and Seineldín was arrested. Seineldín led a second unsuccessful uprising against the government of President Carlos Menem beginning on December 3, 1990. The failed uprising resulted in 14 deaths, including five civilians. Seineldín was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1990 mutiny. However, he was pardoned by President

Eduardo Duhalde Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (; born 5 October 1941) is an Argentina, Argentine former peronist politician who served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. He also served as Vice President of Argentina, Vice President ...

in 2003. During his trial, he assumed full guilt and denounced how Menem's government was servile to the United States' imperialism in Latin America through the privatizations of strategic services and the suspension of scientific and military projects.

Death

Mohamed Alí Seineldín suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and died in a hospital in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on September 2, 2009, at the age of 75.

References

External links

''Mohamed Alí Seineldín, ex militar golpista''

''Coronel Seineldín-La defensa nacional''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seineldin, Mohamed Ali 1933 births 2009 deaths Argentine Army officers Argentine military personnel of the Falklands War Argentine nationalists Argentine people of Lebanese descent Argentine Druze people Argentine anti-communists Argentine Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Druzism Military personnel from Buenos Aires People from Uruguay Department Recipients of Argentine presidential pardons Carapintadas Prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom