Operation Primicia ("Scoop") was a large guerrilla assault that took place on 5 October 1975, in Formosa, Argentina. It was the largest attack ever launched by the paramilitary group Montoneros, which attempted to seize the barracks of the 29th Forest Infantry Regiment. The incident escalated the Dirty War, which led to the 1976 Argentine coup d'état the following year.[1]
Overview
The attack was carried out in five phases. As a first step, Montoneros hijacked a flight of Aerolíneas Argentinas from the province of Corrientes (with 102 passengers and six crew). Then the airliner, a Boeing 737-200, was redirected to Formosa. The Formosa International Airport was captured at the same time by Montoneros gunmen already in the province. During this initial attack they fired a rocket propelled grenade at a police patrol vehicle, killing a police officer and wounding another. The group held 200 hostages at the airport. Then, they assaulted the 29th Infantry Regiment.[citation needed]
Montoneros attacked the Regiment facilities at 16:25, the time of the local siesta. Most military personnel were on leave: some of them had a day off, and others were sleeping at the military neighbourhood next to the regiment. Montoneros thought that the remaining soldiers, most of them just young conscripts, would join them, but they did not. Ten conscripts and two policemen died during the attack, and a total of 28 people died during the whole operation.[1] Montoneros expected to seize some 200 FN FAL assault rifles, but could only take 50.[3]
The late president Néstor Kirchner made a controversial change to the CONADEP report in 2006. He included the gunmen that died during the attacks as victims of state terrorism, allowing their relatives to receive state compensations.[1][5]
