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prorebel actions soon thereafter. The defense minister and several general
officers resigned and were replaced by nominees more to the liking of
the “painted faces.” The Due Obedience Law followed, exonerating all
members of the armed force below the rank of colonel for their crimes
against humanity. By the end of 1988, there remained a mere 20 officers
being prosecuted for human rights violations.
Still, the Carapintada were not satisfied. In January 1988, Lieutenant
Colonel Rico led an infantry regiment in a second rebellion in the
province of Corrientes, but he and his associates were soon arrested.
Finally, in December 1988, another Carapintada commander led a third
rebellion. Colonel Mohammed Alí Seineldín had been an adviser to
the Panamanian national guard during Rico's uprisings. When Colonel
Seineldín returned to the commandos, he gained a reputation for his
pro-Peronist, anti-Radical views. He was also a devout Catholic who
would lead his troops in reciting the rosary at the end of each train-
ing day. Colonel Seineldín's rebellion involved more than 1,000 troops
and ended in a peaceful settlement forcing another general officer into
retirement and raising the pay of all soldiers. Then, the Carapintada
movement gained additional support from an unexpected quarter.
Within a month of Seineldín's military rebellion, in January 1989, a
group of 60 well-armed left-wing guerrillas attacked the army base of
La Tablada, just outside Buenos Aires. They easily seized control of La
Tablada but soon found themselves trapped inside by police and army
troops. After the day-long firefight, 28 guerrillas and 11 military person-
nel lay dead. Fourteen terrorists were captured, and the others managed
to escape. Public opinion rapidly turned against human rights activists,
and the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo hurt their own cause when they
refused to condemn the attack. President Alfonsín was now nearing the
end of his term without having given his nation the justice and national
conciliation he had sought. He left these tasks to his successor.
The new Peronist president, Carlos Saúl Menem, did indeed provide
resolution of the military and human rights problem, though he failed
to satisfy everyone. After first courting the Carapintada in his successful
campaign for the presidency, Menem decided that this political alliance
would be too risky. He did not promote the Carapintada officers, nor did
he appoint their nominees for the defense ministry and other military
commands. Finally, Menem disappointed the Carapintada with his inter-
nationalist foreign policy. He especially drew close to the United States,
for which Colonel Seineldín had a visceral dislike, and U.S. president
George H. W. Bush soon after made a state visit to Argentina. Menem also
proposed to renew diplomatic relations with Great Britain.
