On March 24, 1976, the three branches of the armed forces (air force, navy and army) took the government by force.  The guerilla groups were the perfect excuse for the military dictatorship to declare a “war against terrorism” and to kidnap, torture, and execute anyone they felt opposed to their agenda. They established secret detention centers where “subversive” citizens were taken after being abducted where they were tortured extensively and often killed.  These people, the desaparecidos, the “disappeared,” are estimated to be around 30,000 people, not including those confirmed dead and those who survived the torture and were later released.  Family members spent weeks, months, and years trying in vain to get any kind of information about their disappeared loved ones from the government.