Detention Centers in the Dirty War

During the Dirty War in Argentina from 1976–1983, detention centers caused an immense amount of fear for victims all throughout the country. The prisoners, after being kidnapped and interrogated, would be forced to survive while living amongst the worst of conditions in a variety of different centers. Once the kidnapped were forced into detention centers, they immediately became the disappeared (Spanish: los desaparecidos). Although all camps had their "unique" ways of torturing, every detention center incorporated a torture room that each victim had to encounter. However, the torture did not end here. They were humiliated and dehumanized by the hands of the leaders, losing their ability to talk, shower, eat, and sleep. The Dirty War and select detention centers were notorious for mass murders to remove all evidence of the torture that had transpired. At the end of the Dirty War and a change in government, prisoners were released on the street blindfolded. The identity of the torturers in all of the detention centers was kept clandestinely at all times.

Argentina was said to have hosted over 520 clandestine detention centers during the Dirty War. No two detention centers were the same in torture methods, leadership, or location. However, they did represent a similar theme of the fear of political opposition, punishing the prisoners that were suspected to be involved in socialism or other forms of political dissent. Much of this information comes from primary sources that have since been transferred into writings of secondary source authors. Included below are detention centers that were located solely in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Because of the clandestine attitude surrounding the camps while running, little information is known about the true nature of these prisons.

La Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA) is, arguably, the most known detention center during the Dirty War. This detention center, located in the heart of Buenos Aires—approximately two blocks from the 1978 World Cup Stadium—tortured around 5,000 people by the time it was shut down. By the time the Dirty War ended in 1983, only 150 of the victims survived. This particular torture center immediately split families upon their arrival, murdering the mothers as quickly as possible. From there, victims would travel to the basement that housed the majority of the torture to have their picture taken. Intense interrogations and torture plans made on an individual basis would ensue. Present day ESMA stands as a memorial for the human rights violations during this time.

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