Argentina arrests former dictator's top money man

[Judi Lynn]

Argentina arrests former dictator's top money man
Published on 5 May 2010 - 3:06am

Former economy minister Jose Martinez de Hoz, the economic brains behind the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, has been arrested after an amnesty law was lifted, a court official has said.

The arrest follows a Supreme Court ruling last week deeming unconstitutional a 1990 presidential pardon granted to Martinez de Hoz and former dictator Jorge Videla, who justice officials said Monday will face a new trial for kidnapping, torture and murder.

The 84-year-old Martinez de Hoz was arrested at his home in Buenos Aires and taken by ambulance to an area hospital after undergoing a medical examination, the court official added. Federal judge Norberto Oyarbide issued the arrest warrant and slapped a 500,000-dollar embargo on Martinez de Hoz's assets. Martinez de Hoz is charged with the five-month kidnapping in 1976 of a textile manufacturer and his son, Federico and Miguel Gutheim.

The government's National Human Rights Secretary Eduardo Luis Duhalde said the arrest of "the person responsible not only for the illegal activities but also of the economic plan that laid waste to Argentina (during the dictatorship) is a milestone."

More:
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/argentina-arrests-former-dictators-top-money-man