Argentina and weapons of mass destruction
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The Argentine military government of 1976 started a nuclear weapons program in the 1980s, which was scrapped when democracy was restored in 1983. As of 2006, it is the first and only Spanish-speaking country in the world to have ever developed an offensive nuclear program.
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[edit] Missile systems
During the 1980s the Alacrán (English: Scorpion) and Cóndor 2 missiles were developed. While the Cóndor 2, with a range of around 1,000 kilometres, was officially scrapped during the Menem administration under pressure of the United States government, the current status of the Alacrán remains unknown.
[edit] Chemical weapons
Argentina acceded to the Geneva Protocol on 12 May 1969. Argentina has been active in non-proliferation efforts and in September 1991 signed with Brazil and Chile the Mendoza Declaration, which commits signatories not to use, develop, produce, acquire, stock, or transfer —directly or indirectly— chemical or biological weapons. Argentina ratified the Biological Weapons Convention in 1979 and the Chemical Weapons Convention on 2 October 1995.
[edit] Nuclear weapons
- See also: National Atomic Energy Commission
In the early 1990s, Argentina and Brazil established a bilateral inspection agency to verify both countries' pledges to use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes. On February 10, 1995, Argentina acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state and continues to use and investigate on nuclear physics for peaceful purposes.
[edit] Sources
- "The Nuclear Club: Membership has its kilotons", CBC News Online, April 12, 2006. Retrieved on April 2006.
- Nuclear Threat Initiative. Argentina. Retrieved on May 1, 2006.
