Carta Abierta de un Escritor a la Junta Militar
Encyclopedia
Around midday on March 25, 1977, the writer Rodolfo Walsh
mailed his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta (Carta Abierta de un Escritor a la Junta Militar) to the editing departments of Argentine
newspapers and to correspondents at foreign media organizations. It was his last published work, in which he denounced the plans the military government
had put in place on March 24, 1976. Soon afterwards, as he walked away from the mailbox, he was intercepted in the street by a group of soldiers belonging to the Navy School of Mechanics
.
Their objective was to capture him alive. They were unable to do so. When he saw the danger, Walsh resisted capture with his .22 calibre pistol, injuring one of his attackers, but was mortally wounded in a hail of machine gun bullets. He was picked up anyway. Since that day he has been a member of the list of disappeared Argentinians.
Rodolfo Walsh
Rodolfo Jorge Walsh was an Argentine writer, considered the founder of investigative journalism. He is most famous for his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta which he wrote the day before his murder, protesting that their economic policies were having an even greater effect on...
mailed his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta (Carta Abierta de un Escritor a la Junta Militar) to the editing departments of Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
newspapers and to correspondents at foreign media organizations. It was his last published work, in which he denounced the plans the military government
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
had put in place on March 24, 1976. Soon afterwards, as he walked away from the mailbox, he was intercepted in the street by a group of soldiers belonging to the Navy School of Mechanics
ESMA
The Navy Petty-Officers School of Mechanics , commonly referred to by its abbreviation ESMA, is a facility of the Argentine Navy that was employed as an illegal detention center during the dictatorial rule of the National Reorganization Process...
.
Their objective was to capture him alive. They were unable to do so. When he saw the danger, Walsh resisted capture with his .22 calibre pistol, injuring one of his attackers, but was mortally wounded in a hail of machine gun bullets. He was picked up anyway. Since that day he has been a member of the list of disappeared Argentinians.