Carlos Guillermo Suárez Mason (2 January 1924 – 21 June 2005) was an
Argentine military officer convicted for
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 ...
crimes during the 1976–1983
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 ...
. He was in charge of the
Batallón de Inteligencia 601.
Biography
Born 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 ...
, he enrolled at the
National War College
In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active.
History
The National ...
in 1944 and took an interest in national politics before his 1948 graduation. A magnetic and charismatic figure, he was involved at that time in several liaisons with prominent women, through whom he invariably furthered his interests; he took little or no interest, however, in the children reported at that time to have been fathered by him. Suárez Mason took part in a failed military coup against the populist President
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
in 1951. He was forced to retreat to
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
, and later collaborated with the
overthrow of Perón in 1955. He was received back in Buenos Aires with honours following the coup's success on 19 September.
[''La Nación'': Falleció ayer el ex general Suárez Mason]
Suárez Mason taught at the School of Higher War Studies, and rose in rank, becoming a
to the Argentine Embassy in
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
in 1971, and a director of military intelligence in 1972. He was attached to the ''
Operativo Independencia
Operativo Independencia ("Operation Independence") was a 1975 Argentine military operation in Tucumán Province to crush the People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), a Guevarist guerrilla group which tried to c ...
''
counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...
mission in 1975, and upon the
March 1976 coup
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 m ...
against 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 ...
, was appointed Commander of the First Army Corps, a unit whose principal duty was to garrison the capital.
[
During the subsequent dictatorship, Suárez Mason had purview over a number of the most notorious detention centers (among the over 300 such facilities that led to the disappearance of between 8,000 and 30,000 people. Those under his command included ''Automotores Orletti'', '' Pozo de Banfield'', ''La Cacha'', and ''El Olimpo''. He also supervised ]Policía Bonaerense
The Buenos Aires Provincial Police (, informally ''Policía Bonaerense'') is the police service responsible for policing the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina.
Organisation
It is one of the biggest police services of Argentina, responsible for ...
Chief Ramón Camps
Ramón Juan Alberto Camps (25 January 1927 – 22 August 1994) was an Argentina, Argentine general and the head of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police during the National Reorganization Process (1976–1983), or, the military dictatorship. Altho ...
, as well as Army Intelligence Battalion 601, which carried out numerous extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
s and kidnappings for ransom.[Andersen, Martin. ''Dossier secreto.'' Westview Press, 1993.]
He financed '' Cabildo'', a far-right Catholic
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 ...
publication known at the time for its espousal of antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and relaunched the previously banned publication. Suárez Mason earned a reputation as a hard-line figure in the regime, particularly after steps toward political liberalization began in 1979, and fell out of favor with the president, General Jorge Videla, after the latter's cancellation of '' Operation Soberanía'' (the aborted 1978 invasion of neighboring Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, at the height of the Beagle Conflict
The Beagle conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands that brought the countries to the brink of war ...
).[
Suárez Mason was relieved of his post at the First Army Corps in January 1980 and made Chairman of the Joint Military Chiefs. He oversaw Argentine tactical support for the July 1980 " Cocaine Coup" in ]Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, and later chaired the Latin American chapter of the World Anti-Communist League
The World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) is an international non-governmental organization of anti-communist politicians and groups. It was founded in 1954 as the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League (APACL) under the initiative of C ...
. He was appointed Director of the state oil concern, YPF, by President Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli (15 July 1926 12 January 2003) was an Argentine military officer who served as the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from December 1981 to June 1982. Galtieri ruled as a military dictator, military ruler d ...
in December 1981, and in 1983, at the end of his tenure, the company recorded a US$6 billion annual loss (the largest in the world at the time). Subsequent investigations revealed that large quantities of fuel had been pirated from YPF by Suárez Mason through ''Sol Petróleo'', a dummy corporation
A dummy corporation, dummy company, or false company is an entity created to serve as a Front organization, front or cover for one or more companies. It can have the appearance of being real (logo, website, and sometimes employing actual staff), bu ...
; the latter entity made Suárez Mason a wealthy man, and was used by him to divert funds to the Contras
In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: ''La contrarrevolución'', the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista Na ...
,[Méndez, Juan. ''Truth and Partial Justice in Argentina.'' Human Rights Watch, 1991.] as well as to the fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
organization, P2 (to which he belonged).[''Clarín'': Murió el represor Suárez Mason]
Following the 1983 return to democracy, an arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property.
Canada
Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...
was issued for Suárez Mason. He fled to the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with a false passport, however, and took up residence in Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. He was stripped of rank and ordered arrested by President 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 ...
on charges related to a putative 1985 plot to overthrow the democratic government.[ Pursuant to an ]Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
order, however, he was arrested in Foster City, California
Foster City is a master-planned city located in San Mateo County, California, United States. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley for its local industry and its proximity to Silicon Valley cities. There are many n ...
in January 1987, and on 9 May 1988, extradited to Buenos Aires to face charges of murdering 43 people and kidnapping a further 23, including newborn babies. Convicted for these crimes, he was pardoned by 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 1990, and fled to California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. He was again extradited in 1995, and was prosecuted by Luis Moreno Ocampo on charges of crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
for the kidnapping of minors.[ He was later placed under house arrest, and in 2000, was condemned to life imprisonment in absentia by Italian courts for the murder of eight ]Italian Argentine
Italian Argentines (; , or ''tanos'' in Rioplatense Spanish) are Argentine-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Argentina during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people ...
s.''Clarín'': Condenaron a prisión perpetua en Italia a Suárez Mason y Riveros
Although prisoners aged over 70 are usually kept under house arrest in Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Suárez Mason was reimprisoned in 2004 after abusing the terms of his detention. Suárez Mason developed upper gastrointestinal bleed
Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is gastrointestinal bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract, commonly defined as bleeding arising from the esophagus, stomach, or duodenum. Blood may be observed in vomit or in altered form as black ...
, and died at age 81 at the Military Hospital in Buenos Aires. He had been awaiting the hearing of charges related to 200 kidnappings, 30 murders and the sale of the babies of political prisoners during the military dictatorship of 1976-83 in which he was a central figure.[
]
References
* ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 23 June 2005
General Guillermo Suarez Mason: Hardest of the hard in the Argentine military dictatorship of 1976-83
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez Mason
1924 births
2005 deaths
People from Buenos Aires
Argentine people of Spanish descent
Argentine generals
Argentine anti-communists
Argentine people convicted of murder
Argentine people who died in prison custody
Freemasonry-related controversies
Operatives of the Dirty War
Prisoners who died in Argentine detention
Propaganda Due
People extradited from the United States
Foreign nationals imprisoned in the United States
People extradited to Argentina
Recipients of Argentine presidential pardons
Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery
People convicted of kidnapping
Argentine kidnappers
Argentine expatriates in Uruguay
Argentine expatriates in the United States