ABSTRACT
Most governments in Latin America have had to deal with the threat from guerrillas and terrorists attempting to overthrow the established order. These typically right-wing regimes have employed conventional anti-terrorist techniques, but have themselves also resorted to terrorism to defeat their opponents. Against a background of state repression of the people, security forces have assassinated, tortured, and kidnapped those suspected of supporting the insurgents. In many cases, civilians have been simply picked up in the dead of night by government-sponsored death squads and executed on the flimsiest of pretexts.
