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LatinNews Daily - 15 August 2016
US deports former Guatemala army officer facing human rights violation charges
Argentina: On 8 August the US government published previously classified documents relating to human rights abuses perpetrated under during Argentina’s last military dictatorship (1976–1983). The move came over four months after US President Barack Obama pledged to declassify the documents during a landmark visit to Buenos Aires in March. The release of the documents is the first of a number of releases scheduled to take place over the course of the next year under a detailed review of classified documents involving 14 US government agencies. Running to over 1,000 pages, the initial batch was formally presented by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri at a meeting in Buenos Aires on 4 August. The timing of the move is significant given that calls for such declassification were made during the tenure of Macri’s predecessor, Cristina Fernández (2007–2015), under whose leftist administration Argentina-US relations became strained, while President Obama was quick to endorse Macri when he won election for the centre-right Cambiemos coalition in November 2015. The declassification signals US aspirations to improve its relations with Argentina and win over support in a country where mention of the US still elicits hostility in relation to US support for Argentina’s last military dictatorship. The caution the US is taking in vetting the classified documents before releasing them, reflected by the near five-month lead-time in Obama making good on his pledge, is unsurprising given the US’s controversial involvement in Argentina. Whilst no particularly startling revelations have yet surfaced, the gesture could politically backfire if details emerge that could damage the US’s reputation and by implication, Macri, who has welcomed improved relations with the US.
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