Emilio Eduardo Massera (19 October 1925 – 8 November 2010) was an Argentine Naval military officer and a leading participant in the Argentine coup d'état of 1976. In 1981, he was found to be a member of P2 (also known as ''Propaganda Due''), a clandestine

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

involved in Italy's strategy of tension. Many considered Massera to have masterminded the junta's

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 ...

against political opponents, which resulted in over 30,000 deaths and disappearances.

Biography

Emilio Massera was born in Paraná, Entre Ríos, to Paula Padula and Emilio Massera, grandson of immigrants from Switzerland. Massera entered Argentina's Naval Military School in 1942, obtaining his commission as a midshipman in 1946. In June 1955, as a Frigate Captain and one of the aids to the Minister or the Navy, he may have been involved in the

bombing of Plaza de Mayo On 16 June 1955, 30 aircraft from the Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force, Air Force bombed and strafed Plaza de Mayo, the main square of the Argentina, Argentine capital Buenos Aires. The attack targeted the adjacent Casa Rosada, the seat of ...

. After the ''

Revolución Libertadora The ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') as it named itself, was the civic-military dictatorship that ruled the Argentine Republic after overthrowing President Juan Domingo Perón, shutting down the National Congress of Ar ...

'' in 1955, Massera entered the Naval Information Service. During his career he occupied different positions within the Navy, including command of the sail training ship ARA ''Libertad'' and command of the Sea Fleet in 1973. On December 6th, 1973, Massera was designated General Commander of the Argentine Navy by Decree 552, signed by President Perón and Minister Angel F. Robledo (published on the Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina on December 13th), and, on August 23rd, 1974 he was promoted to full Admiral by Decree Nr. 612, signed by President María Estela Martínez de Perón and Minister José López Rega.. On June 15th, 1974, he, along with the commanders of the Army and the Air Force, accompanied then-Vice President Isabel Perón to Italy and Spain, where she met with Francisco Franco. Between 1976 and 1978 Admiral Massera was part, together with Jorge Rafael Videla and

Orlando Ramón Agosti Orlando Ramón Agosti (22 August 1924 – 6 October 1997) was an Argentine general, Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine Air Force from 1976 to 1979. With General Jorge Rafael Videla, he ruled Argentina as part of the military '' junta'' betwee ...

, of the

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

that deposed President

Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas; 4 February 1931) is an Argentine politician who served as the 41st president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the List of elected and appointed female heads of s ...

and ruled Argentina ''de facto'' during the

National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process ( PRN; often simply , "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as the ("last military junta"), ("last military dictatorship") ...

. In September 1978 Massera stepped down from the office of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and from his seat in the Military Junta. In 1981 he travelled to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania. After the end of the dictatorship in 1983, he was tried for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

violations and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

and the loss of his military grade. However, on 29 December 1990, he was

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

ed by then-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 ...

. Massera was free until 1998 when he was imprisoned again pending an investigation of several instances of kidnapping and suppression of the identity of minors during his term, as well as orders of torture, execution, confinement in illegal detention centres, and drowning of prisoners. He also explained the delivery of diplomatic passports to Licio Gelli, head of Propaganda Due, by stating that Gelli had "supported sin the struggle against subversion and the management of the image of Argentina abroad". Massera was an active participant in the lodge, promoting Gelli's appointment as an economic advisor to Argentina. In 2004 he suffered a cerebrovascular accident caused by a burst

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

, and he was admitted to the Military Hospital of Buenos Aires. As a result of the stroke, Eduardo Massera was declared legally irresponsible because of

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

on 17 March 2005, and the cases against him were suspended. Massera died on 8 November 2010 of a hemorrhagic stroke in the Hospital Naval of

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 ...

. The funeral was kept in secrecy to avoid escraches, and was attended by only 10 people, without any representation of the government or the armed forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massera, Emilio Eduardo 1925 births 2010 deaths Argentine Navy admirals Operatives of the Dirty War People from Paraná, Entre Ríos Argentine people of Swiss-Italian descent Argentine people convicted of crimes against humanity Prisoners and detainees of Argentina Recipients of Argentine presidential pardons Argentine anti-communists Argentine Freemasons Propaganda Due