Ex- Argentina junta leader jailed for ‘Operation Corridor’ crimes

Former Argentine junta leader, Reynaldo Bignone, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes committed under Operation Condor – a conspiracy between South America’s dictators in the 1970s.

Bignone and 14 other military officers were found guilty by a court in Argentina after a three-year trial, the BBC reports.

Many left-wing activists were kidnapped and killed in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Judges at the court in Buenos Aires announced the sentencing of Bignone, Argentina’s last dictator, on Friday.

Former Uruguayan, Col. Manuel Cordero – the only non-Argentine defendant – was jailed for 25 years.

 The judges are continuing to deliberate the sentencing of the rest of the former military officers.

Since the trial started in 2013, five defendants, including Jorge Rafael Videla, the head of Argentina’s junta during its first three years, have died.