Editing Leopoldo Galtieri (section)

==Rise to power==
In 1975, after more than 25 years as a [[combat engineer]], Galtieri became commander of the Argentine engineering corps. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the [[1976 Argentine coup d'état|March 1976 coup d'état]] that overthrew President [[Isabel Perón]] and started the self-styled [[National Reorganisation Process]], the establishment of a right-wing [[military junta]] government in Argentina. This helped him rise through the ranks, becoming a [[major general]] in 1977, and [[commander-in-chief]] of the army in 1980 with the rank of [[lieutenant general]]. During the junta's rule, [[Argentine National Congress|Congress]] was suspended, [[trade union]]s, [[political parties]], and [[Provinces of Argentina|provincial]] governments were banned, and in what became known as the [[Dirty War]], between 9,000 and 30,000 people deemed left-wing subversives [[forced disappearance|disappeared]] from society with [[torture]] and [[mass execution]]s being commonplace. Argentina's economy had been in dire condition prior to the coup and recovered for a short time. An impending economic collapse was one of the main justifications for the overthrow of Perón and the civilian government.

In March 1981, Galtieri visited the [[United States]] and was warmly received, as the [[Reagan administration]] viewed the regime as a [[wikt:bulwark|bulwark]] against [[communism]]. National Security Advisor [[Richard V. Allen]] described him as a "majestic general". An adherent to the Argentine military's [[Cold War]]-era doctrine of "ideological frontiers", Galtieri secured his country's support for [[Contras|Contra]] rebel groups opposing the Socialist [[Sandinista]] government in [[Nicaragua]] during the [[Nicaraguan Revolution]]. In August, he sent advisers to help organize the [[Nicaraguan Democratic Force]] (FDN, for a time the principal Contra group), as well as training FDN leaders in Argentine bases. His support for this initiative allowed Galtieri to remove a number of rival generals.