Anaya, Jorge Isaac

▪ 2009

      Argentine naval commander

born Sept. 27, 1926, Bahía Blanca, Arg.

died Jan. 9, 2008, Buenos Aires, Arg.

led the failed attempt to invade and control the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) during the 1982 Falkland Islands War with the U.K. The decision to invade the Falklands by Anaya and fellow military junta members Lieut. Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri and Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo (who were being criticized for economic mismanagement and human rights abuses) was based on the belief that the “recovery” of the islands would unite Argentines behind the government in a patriotic fervour. Within two months, however, Argentine forces surrendered to the British, and by 1983 civilian rule had been restored in Argentina. For his part in the war, Anaya was sentenced in 1986 to 12 years' imprisonment; he was pardoned, however, in 1989. Anaya again faced prosecution in 2006 for the more than 260 cases of torture, murders, and disappearances at the Navy Mechanics' School (ESMA) that occurred during his tenure as head of the navy; he never stood trial, however, owing to poor health.

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