CONADEP In 1976, life changed dramatically in Argentina. On March 24, 1976, a military coup took place. In an attempt to wipe out all dissenting opinion, they began a campaign of terror where thousands of people literally disappeared. The testimonies of the survivors of torture and kidnapping are brutal to read. The methods used to torture them; including electrical prods and live burials left lasting scars, both physical and mental on these survivors. The patterns in these testimonies are all the same. The torturers were sadistic and brutal, and would stop at nothing to get the information they wanted. They tortured loved ones in front of their family members, they took whole families from their homes, and they killed thousands with no remorse.

The patterns are patterns of extreme violence, and the violence seems to stem from fear. They feared the recriminations of the left-wing dissidents, they feared their reaction to their dictatorship, and so, they tried to remove all those who disagreed with their administration and its methods. They used violence to gain their hold on the administration, so it makes sense they would use violence and fear to hold on to their power. They were trying to find out information about other dissidents and those who might oppose the government. The torturers themselves were often drunk, laughing and joking with each other, and they used the most inhumane methods. One survivor wrote, "These practices were carried out in a diabolical setting; the torturers, some drinking, others laughing, hitting and insulting, tried to extract from...

It has been said that when such severe methods are used, the victims will often say anything to stop the torture, so the methods may not work the way the torturers think they will. They may get information, but it could be just what the torturers want to hear, and have nothing to do with the truth.
The administration used terror to maintain control over the people. As the word spread about the disappearances and torture, more people kept to themselves and stopped demonstrating, and that is exactly what the administration wanted. The most serious accusations are those of the people who disappeared without a trace. One military official testified that officers put people on cargo planes or helicopters, took them out to sea, and dumped them into the ocean. The victims were heavily drugged and had no idea what awaited them. This pattern of violence and disregard for human life is frightening, and it continued until the coup was overthrown in 1983. That things like this could go on in modern times is frightening, but even more frightening is the fact that so few of the perpetrators have faced even a trial, let alone prison time. It is as if the government is just trying to sweep what happened under the rug and that people will forget.

Another pattern in the tortures and disappearances is how they affected the victims. They all say they have lasting memories of the events, and that they left lasting mental scars along with the physical scars. It…