translated from Spanish: “The Night of the Ties”: What was it and why is a July 7th commemorated?

Between the afternoon of July 6 and the early morning of the thirteenth of July 1977, 11 people were abducted in the coastal town of Mar del Plata, including many lawyers. The list includes the lawyers: Norberto Centeno, Salvador Manuel Arestín, Raúl Hugo Alaiz, Camilo Ricci, Carlos A. Bozzi and Tomás J. Fresneda. The other five people were José Verde and his wife, María de las Mercedes Argañaraz de Fresneda, who was transiting the fourth month of pregnancy, María Esther Vázquez de García and her husband, Néstor Enrique García Mantica.

Of all of them, only four of them managed to survive those terrible days, Dr Camilo Ricci, José Verde and his wife, and Dr Carlos. A. Bozzi. These simultaneous abductions of 6 lawyers in just two days, later gave the name to what was called : “The night of the ties” together with his accommodation in the facilities of the Air Base near the city of Mar del Plata.Thanks to the testimony of Martha García de Candeloro, one of the prisoners who was in “the cave”, it was known a few years ago how they arrived , brought by force, the group of lawyers. The witness, wife of another lawyer, who was kidnapped on June 13, 1977, by the same captors, a few days, thoroughly detailed those moments by testifying at the Trial for the Truth that it was transmitted in Marplatense CityIn that year the monopoly of repression in the city was in charge of the head of the Air Defense Artillery Group 601 , Cnell Alberto Pedro Barda, who had taken over the unit in February of the previous year. In the lower rank, like his chief operating officer, was Alfredo Manuel Arrillaga, also with the same degree of colonel. Ernesto Alejandro Agustoni, was the head of the Aéres de Mar del Plata Base, and was the only one who declared at the trial of the boards in 1985, and by which it was known that, at the request of Col Barda, the Aeronautics offered the army the use of the old radar for rest and scale of the different patrols of the forces. He said the offer was verbal, although he was informed to the respective authorities, and therefore assured that no member of the Air Force served on the radar. So he was not aware of the detainees on the premises. The loan according to the diaro of the “Final Judgment” of the publishing house Profile, ceased on October 3, 1977, when Commissor went on to retirement and Col Aldo C. Máspero succeeded Col Alberto P. Barda.The lawyers who were victims of these crimes were recognized as Labour, who had been militants of the government of Perón or the parties of the Left. 

For the release of one of the survivors, Carlos Bozzi, the kidnappers put him in the trunk of a car with which he was moved to another place where a confrontation broke out between the security forces and the heaps. In addition, several completely unarmed university students who were also in detention were also murdered. On 9 June 2010, former sub-officer of the Aéres Force Gregorio Rafael Molina was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal Criminal Court of Mar del Plata. For the crimes against humanity, among which was norberto Omar Centeno and Jorge Roberto Candeloro.July 7 is the date chosen to commemorate those who were arrested, kidnapped, persecuted, disappeared or killed in defense of the rule of law. Named: “Labor Lawyer’s Day victim of State Terrorism.” 

Original source in Spanish