Why were former military junta leaders tried after Argentina returned to democracy in 1983?

Following the restoration of democracy in 1983, the new administration led by President Raúl Alfonsín initiated the prosecution of former military junta leaders to address the systematic human rights abuses committed during the period known as the Dirty War.1

During this military regime (1976–1983), the government orchestrated a campaign of state terror that resulted in the imprisonment, torture, and death of an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 citizens, as well as the enforced disappearance of countless others. Upon taking office, Alfonsín sought to hold the perpetrators accountable by reversing legislation that had granted them amnesty and announcing plans to prosecute key figures, including former presidents Jorge Rafael Videla, Roberto Viola, and Leopoldo Galtieri.231

These trials were a critical step in transitional justice, aiming to establish accountability for state-sponsored violence. Although the process faced significant challenges—including the later passage of amnesty laws under pressure from the military—the legal pursuit of these leaders continued in subsequent decades, eventually leading to the repeal of those amnesty laws and further convictions for crimes such as the abduction of children.415