Luis García Meza Tejada

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Luis García Meza Tejada
68th President of Bolivia
In office 17 July 1980 – 4 August 1981
Preceded by	Lidia Gueiler Tejada
Succeeded by	Celso Torrelio

Born	August 8, 1932 La Paz, Bolivia

Luis García Meza Tejada (b. August 8, 1932) is a notorious former Bolivian dictator. A native of La Paz, he was a career military officer who rose to the rank of general in the 1970s.

[edit] Dictator

He gained power in 1980 as the result of the so-called "Cocaine Coup" of July 17, 1980, which resulted in dozens of deaths. Of extremely conservative anti-communist persuasion, he endeavored to bring a Pinochet-style dictatorship that would last some 20 years. He immediately outlawed all political parties, exiled opposition leaders, repressed the unions, and muzzled the press. Interestingly, he was backed by former Nazi officer Klaus Barbie and Italian terrorist Stefano Delle Chiaie. Among other foreign collaborators were professional torturers allegedly imported from the notoriously repressive Argentine dictatorship of General Jorge Rafael Videla. Although García Meza's coup was opposed by the American administration of President Jimmy Carter, the general boasted that a more conservative and dictator-friendly administration would be soon coming to power in Washington.

The García Meza regime, while brief (its original form ended in 1981), became internationally known for its extreme brutality. The population was repressed in ways that made even the Banzer dictatorship seem benign. Indeed, some 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed by the Bolivian army and security forces in only 13 months. The administration's chief repressor was the Minister of Interior, Colonel Luis Arce Gómez, who cautioned that all Bolivians who may be opposed to the new order should "walk around with their written will under their arms." The most prominent victim of the dictatorship was the congressman, politician, and gifted orator Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz, murdered and "disappeared" soon after the coup. Quiroga had been the chief advocate of bringing to trial the former dictator, General Hugo Banzer (1971-78), for human right violations and economic mismanagement.

The García Meza government was apparently deeply involved in drug trafficking activities, and may have come to power financed directly by the drug cartels. This led to the complete isolation of the regime. The new, conservative U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, kept its distance and seemed to prefer better options. Eventually, the international outcry was sufficiently strong to force García Meza's resignation on August 3, 1981. He was succeeded by a less tainted but equally as repressive general, Celso Torrelio. All in all, the Bolivian military would sustain itself in power only for another year, and would then beat a hasty retreat to its barracks, embarrassed and tarnished by the excesses of the 1980-82 dictatorships (it has never returned to the Palacio Quemado). At that point, García Meza left the country, but was tried and convicted in absentia for the serious human rights violations incurred by his regime. In 1995, he was extradited to Bolivia from Brazil and, as of July 2006, is still serving a 30 year prison sentence. His main collaborator, the notorious Colonel Arce, was extradited to the United States, where he is currently serving a jail sentence for drug trafficking.

[edit] References

Mesa José de; Gisbert, Teresa; and Carlos D. Mesa, "Historia De Bolivia," 5th edition, pp. 681-689.
Prado Salmón, Gral. Gary. "Poder y Fuerzas Armadas, 1949-1982."