Terrorism: Bombings in Argentina

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SPANISH VOCABULARY – READ THIS BOOK

jewishvirtuallibrary.org reported in 1992 and 1994, two bombs devastated the Argentinian Jewish community and marked the arrival of Middle Eastern terrorism to South America.

The Israeli Embassy in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires was the site of the first explosion – a car bomb – on March 17, 1992. The attack killed 29 people and injured more than 250 others. Among the victims were Israeli diplomats, children, clergy from a church located across the street, and other passersby. The investigation of the case was assigned to Argentina’s Supreme Court and the Chief Justice Ricardo Levene was given the task of investigating and presenting his findings to the court. For over two years, however, the investigation languished and virtually no action was taken, despite the fact that Islamic Jihad had claimed responsibility for the explosion.

It was not until July 18, 1994, that the case received serious attention. On that date, the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed – 85 people were killed and over 100 people were injured. This time, Judge Jose Galeano was assigned to investigate the case but, like Judge Levene, he made little progress.

Later in 1994 came the first of several breakthroughs in the embassy bombing case. Six Lebanese citizens and one Brazilian, arrested for operating a drug cache, were found to be members of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist organization. The Argentine government immediately announced that the men were tied to the embassy bombing, however after several days the supposed suspects were released due to a lack of evidence. Read Article