Former Argentine junta leader Reynaldo Bignone has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes committed under Operation Condor - a conspiracy between South America's dictators in the 1970s.Bignone and 14 other military officers were found guilty by a court in Argentina after a three-year trial.
Many left-wing activists were kidnapped and killed in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia.
Human rights activists have hailed the ruling.
Judges at the court in Buenos Aires announced the sentencing of Bignone, Argentina's last dictator, on Friday.
Former Uruguayan Col Manuel Cordero - the only non-Argentine defendant - was jailed for 25 years.
The judges are continuing to deliberate the sentencing of the rest of the former military officers.
Since the trial started in 2013, five defendants, including Jorge Rafael Videla, the head of Argentina's junta during its first three years, have died.
"This ruling, about the co-ordination of military dictatorships in the Americas to commit atrocities, sets a powerful precedent to ensure that these grave human rights violations do not ever take place again in the region," Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director for Human Rights Watch, said.
Many left-wing activists were kidnapped and killed in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia.
Human rights activists have hailed the ruling.
Judges at the court in Buenos Aires announced the sentencing of Bignone, Argentina's last dictator, on Friday.
Former Uruguayan Col Manuel Cordero - the only non-Argentine defendant - was jailed for 25 years.
The judges are continuing to deliberate the sentencing of the rest of the former military officers.
Since the trial started in 2013, five defendants, including Jorge Rafael Videla, the head of Argentina's junta during its first three years, have died.
"This ruling, about the co-ordination of military dictatorships in the Americas to commit atrocities, sets a powerful precedent to ensure that these grave human rights violations do not ever take place again in the region," Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director for Human Rights Watch, said.
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