Uruguayans held a “silent march” yesterday to remember the victims of the US-backed dictatorship.

The military junta ruled from 1973-1985, but the authoritarian period began in 1968. For a country of just 3 million people, hundreds of thousands were exiled, over 200 were executed, and 197 disappeared.

As one of the Cold War era dictatorships, the junta had the full support of the US government and coordinated with the other military juntas in the region to capture each other's dissidents across borders.

Henry Kissinger had even helped rig the elections before the 1973 coup to ensure that the left-wing “Broad Front” party wouldn't be able to win.

Those responsible for human rights abuses were protected by an amnesty law up until 2011 when leftist President Pepe Mujica eliminated it.

Mujica was one of the hundreds who were imprisoned and tortured during this period due to his membership of the “Tupamaros” socialist guerilla movement that resisted the military regime.

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