Uruguay sets an example for Brazil and dismisses military leadership after omission regarding crimes committed during the dictatorship.
In a clear example for Brazil, which commemorates the 1984 Military Coup, the president of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, dismissed on Monday (1) his Minister of Defense, Jorge Menéndez, and authorities from the country's military leadership accused of having remained silent in the face of a former officer's confession about crimes committed during the military dictatorship.
DW Brazil - Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez decided on Monday (April 1st) to dismiss his Defense Minister, Jorge Menéndez, and other high-ranking military officials accused of failing to act in the face of a former officer's confession about crimes committed during the military dictatorship.
The scandal was revealed this weekend by the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. According to the newspaper, former soldier José Nino Gavazzo confessed to the Army's Court of Honor that he threw the body of guerrilla fighter Roberto Gomensoro into a river in 1973. The activist is considered the first political disappearance of the Uruguayan dictatorship, which lasted from 1973 to 1985.
The confession, made last year, was ignored, and the court concluded that Gavazzo's actions "did not represent an affront to the honor" of the Army. The decision was ratified by the Executive Branch.
According to Observador, the Uruguayan president was reportedly very upset that he had not been informed of Gavazzo's confession, which was included in the minutes of the Court of Honor. Vázquez's signature appears on the court's decision ratification alongside that of the Deputy Minister of Defense, Daniel Montiel, who was acting as interim minister while Menéndez was on medical leave.
Read the full text at DW Brazil.