THE PEOPLE"S REVOLUTIONARY ARMY OF ARGENTINA

 


Ejecito Revoluciorio del Pueblo (ERP), the People's Revolutionary Army, the Armed Wing of the Workers Revolutionary Party of Argentina founded during the Dirty War

The People's Revolutionary Army (ERP) was Marxist Leninist guerilla organization in Argentina. It was the armed wing of the Workers' Revolutionary Party, founded in the military dictatorship of Juan Carlos Onganía. Rooted in Trotskyism, it shifted to Maoist ideology and adopted Che Guevara’s guerrilla warfare, inspired by the Cuban Revolution. Its goal was to overthrow the Argentine government and establish a socialist state. ERP was led by Mario Roberto Santucho till his death in 1976. Then by Enrique Gorriarán Merlo. The military junta killed left-wing opponents, civilians, trade unionists, students, and journalists. In 1973, ERP kidnapped Esso executive Victor Samuelson. In 1974, it attacked the Azul barracks and killed the commanding officer and his wife. In 1975, it attacked the  Monte Chingolo barracks, losing 63 fighters. The Argentine President Isabel Perón empowered the army to annihilate left-wing groups, and the ERP. The army used state terror tactics. In 1975, ERP attempted a rural insurgency in Tucumán, established a base with 100 fighters. It attacked the 29th Mountain Infantry Regiment in Formosa, hijacked an airliner, and seized arms. ERP killed Colonel Raúl Rafael Reyes in La Plata. By 1976, ERP was weakened. The army dismantled its rural base. ERP’s leaders were killed. Surviving members fled to Nicaragua to join the Sandinistas. In 1980, ERP killed Nicaraguan ex-dictator Anastasio Somoza in Paraguay. In 1989, it attacked La Tablada Regiment. ERP inflicted 16,000 casualties (military, police). The junta’s repression continued until 1983, when democracy was restored under Raúl Alfonsín. 

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