César Augusto Guzzetti (6 September 1925 – 1988) was an officer in the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with t ...

who rose the rank of vice admiral. After the 1976 coup d'état that overthrew the government of

Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...

, Guzzetti became the first foreign minister of the

military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

presided by Lieutenant General

Jorge Rafael Videla Jorge Rafael Videla (; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and dictator, Commander in Chief of the Army, member of the Military Junta, and ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 29 March 1976 to 29 March 1981. H ...

. Guzzetti was appointed as foreign minister on 30 March 1976. In October of that year he met with

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the preside ...

, the

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's ...

, who expressed support for the new military government of Argentina and its efforts to root out leftist insurgents ("

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 ...

"). On 7 May 1977, operatives of the leftist guerrilla group

Montoneros Montoneros ( es, link=no, Movimiento Peronista Montonero-MPM) was an Argentine left-wing Peronist guerrilla organization, active throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The name is an allusion to the 19th-century cavalry militias called Montone ...

ambushed Guzzetti in a hospital waiting room in Buenos Aires, shot him in the head, and left him for dead. Guzzetti received extensive medical treatment and survived, but he was left mute and quadriplegic. On 27 May he was replaced as foreign minister by another vice admiral, .

References

External links

*
The Dirty War in Argentina
''

National Security Archives The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-governmental, Nonprofit organization, non-profit research and archival institution located on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 to check rising gov ...

'' 1925 births 1988 deaths Foreign ministers of Argentina Argentine Navy admirals {{Argentina-mil-bio-stub