Rincón Bomba Massacre

The Rincón Bomba Massacre, also known as the Pilagá Massacre, La Bomba Massacre, Pilagá Genocide, or Rincón Bomba, was a genocide and crime against humanity committed by the Argentine state against indigenous peoples in 1947. The National Gendarmerie, with support from an Argentine Air Force aircraft and National Territories Police, targeted the Pilagá people in La Bomba Hamlet, near Las Lomitas, in what was then the (now Formosa Province), between October 10 and 30, 1947, during the first presidency of Juan Perón. The atrocities included executions, disappearances, torture, rape, kidnappings, and forced labor, with an estimated 750 to 1,000 deaths.

In 2019, the event was judicially recognized as a crime against humanity, and in 2020, it was classified as a genocide. The massacre was largely unaddressed by the state and mainstream Argentine society for decades, preserved only in the Pilagá people's oral memory. In 2005, the Pilagá People's Federation sued the Argentine state, securing judicial recognition and the state's obligation to commemorate the event and provide moral and material reparations.

Background

The Pilagá people are an indigenous group in present-day Argentina, historically inhabiting the southern and central Gran Chaco plain. They resisted Spanish colonization of the Americas and remained independent until the late 19th century, after the Spanish American wars of independence expelled Spanish forces from most of the Americas.

In the late 1860s, the Argentine state launched conquest campaigns against indigenous peoples in Patagonia and the Gran Chaco, known as the Conquest of the Desert. In 1917, President Hipólito Yrigoyen of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) declared the complete, though military and "pacification" operations persisted for decades. Defeated Gran Chaco peoples were subjected to forced labor in the of Chaco and Formosa, where residents lacked voting rights. Some scholars classify this dispossession as a genocide.

Notable atrocities include the Napalpí Massacre of 1924, where police under Governor , supervised by President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear (UCR), killed 500 to 1,000 Qom and Mocoví people.

The 1994 constitutional reform recognized indigenous peoples' pre-existence and rights to ancestral lands and culture, but many provinces have yet to return these territories, often held by large landowners or private companies.

In 1936, the , Misiones Province, targeted Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish immigrants labeled "stateless." Initially attributed to "communist elements" by police, investigations in the 21st century confirmed police responsibility.

Events

El Tabacal: mass layoffs and migration

In late April 1947, hundreds of Qom, Pilagá, Mocoví, Chorote, and Wichí families from the were hired by in Salta Province for the sugarcane harvest starting in May. Workers traveled hundreds of kilometers on foot. The company paid only 2.50 pesos per day instead of the agreed 6 pesos, prompting protests. In response, all contracted workers were dismissed.

This left the workers without resources, forcing a mass migration to Las Lomitas, a town in Formosa 450 kilometers from El Tabacal, where the 18th National Gendarmerie Squadron was stationed. They arrived in mid-May.

At the time, Formosa was governed by , a landowner appointed by President Perón in 1946, who faced opposition from locals and the Peronist press for alleged oligarchic ties.

Arrival in Las Lomitas

In mid-May, a large group settled in Rincón Bomba, or La Bomba, near Las Lomitas, in an area crossed by a dry ravine known locally as a "madrejón." Led by healer Tonkiet (Luciano Córdoba) and caciques Oñedie (Paulo "Pablito" Navarro) and Nola Lagadick, the group grew as more indigenous people arrived, drawn by Tonkiet's healing acts. Estimates of the population range from 1,000 to several thousand.

Initially, the local population and the Gendarmerie Squadron, led by Emilio Fernández Castellanos, showed support. However, tensions rose over time between the local "white" residents and the indigenous group.

The situation worsened as many suffered from malnutrition, with three deaths reported, including the mother of cacique Pablito. In September, Governor informed Minister of the Interior Ángel Borlenghi, who notified President Perón. Perón ordered three train cars of food, clothing, and medicine sent to Formosa. The cargo, under the responsibility of Miguel Ortiz of the National Directorate of Indigenous Affairs, arrived in late September, but two-thirds spoiled due to delays in delivery.

Escalation

Spoiled food caused mass poisoning, killing at least 50 people, mostly children and elders, in early October. Many believed the food was deliberately poisoned. Tonkiet's influence grew, with extended rituals intensifying local rejection, including opposition to burying the dead in the town cemetery.

Local press fueled fears of an indigenous "malón" (raid), prompting residents to demand action. Commander Fernández Castellanos responded by establishing a security cordon of about 100 gendarmes around the camp, with four machine gun nests, and confiscated the group's weapons.

A 1991 Gendarmerie publication included testimonies from four gendarmes, revealing prevalent racism:

The massacre

On October 10, gendarmes prepared to attack the Pilagá camp. Children working in the squadron’s kitchen were warned by gendarmes:

That afternoon, cacique Pablito requested a meeting with Fernández Castellanos, arranged by Gendarme Teófilo Ramón Cruz in an open field with 200–400 gendarmes present. At around 6:00 p.m., Pablito approached, followed by men, women, and children carrying portraits of Perón and Eva Perón.

Gunfire erupted from machine guns, carbines, and pistols. Fernández Castellanos ordered a ceasefire, unaware that second-in-command José M. Aliaga Pueyrredón had secretly deployed additional machine guns across the ravine. Survivor Ni’daciye recalled:

Victims included "grandmother Guamaena," "grandmother Neeto," "grandmother Pochaae," Sehent, Qetee (Susana), Lichee, Meto, and Quemana. Killings continued for weeks, with over 750 deaths from wounds, thirst, hunger, and further shootings. Rape was used as a weapon, targeting adults and children.

Survivors reported executions and burnings in Campo del Cielo, Pozo del Tigre, and other sites, with 400–500 killed, plus 200 disappeared and 50 poisoned. Naeron (Pedro) testified that his uncles were shot and burned at Pozo Pilagá. Ketae saw elders burned alive near Pozo del Tigre. A local witness reported two Pilagá couples shot and burned while alive. Seecho’le (Norma Navarrete) witnessed Aliaga Pueyrredón rape a 14-year-old girl in exchange for sparing her group.

From October 15 to 23, a Junkers Ju 52 aircraft (T-153) equipped with a 7.65mm Colt machine gun joined the repression, operating from Las Lomitas. The Northern Zone Gendarmerie Commander, Julio Cruz Villafañe, was aboard.

A 2005 investigation identified a 40-km "trail of death" from Rincón Bomba’s mass grave to La Felicidad Hamlet, kilometer 30, and Muñiz Colony. Captured survivors were sent to indigenous colonies in Francisco Muñiz and , subjected to forced labor under Gendarmerie oversight.

On October 16, Gendarmerie Director Natalio Faverio reported Ensign Leandro Santos Costa was wounded in an alleged indigenous attack, with fifteen indigenous deaths, but provided no names or burial details.

Cover-up

On October 11, a confidential Ministry of the Interior document reported an indigenous "uprising," followed by troop mobilization. National newspapers, including ''La Nación'', ''La Prensa'', and ', labeled it a "malón," alleging the Pilagá used firearms and killed a "Christian" woman. Only ''El Intransigente'' reported rumors of a Gendarmerie cover-up. The event was largely ignored until the 21st century.

Legal proceedings

In June 2005, the filed criminal and civil lawsuits against the Argentine state for crimes against humanity, genocide, and reparations. The criminal case closed due to the accused's deaths. The civil case succeeded in 2019 and 2020, with an appeal to the Supreme Court over land return and reparations amounts.

Lawsuit

On April 1, 2005, the Pilagá Federation demanded state acknowledgment of the 1947 events, including truth disclosure, a declaratory judgment, a public apology, victim commemorations, accurate historical records, and preventive policies.

Filed in December 2005 by lawyers Carlos Alberto Díaz and Julio C. García in Formosa Federal Court under Judge Mario Bruno Quinteros, the lawsuit cited the non-applicability of the statute of limitations for crimes against humanity. A forensic team found 27 bodies consistent with the reported events.

Testimonies

Eight survivors, children at the time, testified in the criminal case: Cristina Duarte (9), Norma Navarrete (15), Ambrocia Rosario González (27), Rogelia Giménez (7), Eduardo Alegría (Ayoche), Martin Pedro (Pilagá Naeron, 13), Ernesto Gómez (Kadeqakien, 14), and Pedro Palavecino (10 or 12). In the civil case, Clara Olmos testified in her native language with an interpreter. Forensic reports and Valeria Mapelman’s ''Octubre Pilagá'' were also considered.

Discovery of mass graves

In 2006, investigators found 27 bodies near Las Lomitas.

Perpetrators, suspects, and participants

The 13th National Gendarmerie Squadron, led by Emilio Fernández Castellanos with José M. Aliaga Pueyrredón as second-in-command, was responsible. A 1991 Gendarmerie publication named four participants: Néstor Leoncio Perloff, Edmundo Zalazar, Francisco Bagardi, and Isabelino Ezcurra.

Leandro Santos Costas, head of the Heavy Machine Gun Section, was charged in 2011 but died before trial. Carlos Smachetti, co-pilot of the Ju-52 T-153, was indicted in 2015 but died in 2017.

First-instance ruling

In 2019, Formosa Federal Court No. 1 ruled the massacre a crime against humanity, ordering state reparations.

Reparations included:
* Non-monetary:
# Publish the ruling on the Ministry of Justice and National Institute of Indigenous Affairs websites for three years.
# Publish in the Official Gazette.
# Designate October 10 as a commemorative date, coordinated with the Pilagá Federation.
# Erect a monument at the massacre site.
# Establish "Reparatory Educational Scholarships for the La Bomba Massacre" (12 university, 30 secondary).
* Monetary:
# Seventy-two minimum wages annually (approximately $18,750) for ten years to the Pilagá Federation.
# Six hundred thirty minimum wages annually (approximately $150,000) for ten years for community investments.

The Pilagá Federation appealed, citing insufficient reparations and lack of genocide classification.

Second-instance ruling

In 2020, the second-instance ruling classified the massacre as a crime against humanity and genocide but upheld the reparations amount, leading to a Supreme Court appeal.

Literature

* ''Octubre Pilagá: memorias y archivos de la masacre de La Bomba'' by Valeria Mapelman compiles victim testimonies, historical context, and archival evidence of the massacre and survivor confinement. The book builds on her 2005 documentary research.
* ''Historia de la crueldad argentina: Julio A. Roca y el genocidio de los pueblos originarios'' (2010), coordinated by Osvaldo Bayer, analyzes the Napalpí (1924) and La Bomba (1947) massacres.
* ''Rincón Bomba: lectura de una matanza'' (2009) by fictionalizes a soldier’s confession, blending indigenous mysticism with domestic and conspiratorial elements.
* ''Cicatrices del país'' by Pedro M. Barrios merges fiction and reality to depict Pilagá suffering and resistance.

Filmography

''Octubre pilagá, relatos sobre el silencio'' (80 min) and ''La historia en la memoria'' (18 min), both by Valeria Mapelman (2010), document victim and witness memories. The former won awards at the 2010 Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema and the Ícaro International Festival in Guatemala.''La historia en la memoria'', Valeria Mapelman
documentary (18 min)
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See also

* Napalpí Massacre
* Conquest of the Desert
* Indigenous peoples in Argentina

References

Bibliography

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