The ashes of the notorious Argentine general who oversaw the brutal occupation of the Falklands have been scattered in secret on the islands after being smuggled over in a Tupperware box, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Islanders have reacted with fury after learning that the remains of Mario Menendez have been left on a battlefield where 23 British soldiers were killed, and also in the grounds of Government House in the capital, Port Stanley.
As military governor after the invasion in April 1982, Menendez held islanders prisoner and subjected them to beatings, leaving many in fear of their lives.
Jeremy Moore accepting the surrender of Argentine military chief in Malvinas, Mario Benjamín
He surrendered to British forces in June 1982 after a ten-week conflict which saw 255 British troops slain.
His ashes were taken to the Falklands by an Argentinian woman in December 2015, shortly after his death at the age of 85.
Some were scattered on Mount Longdon, site of a pivotal battle in which 23 British troops died before Argentine forces were defeated in a key setback for the regime of General Galtieri, who had laid claim to the islands Argentines call the Malvinas.
Menendez's remains were also left at Government House, the official residence he requisitioned from the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Sir Rex Hunt, and in the cemetery for the Argentine dead.
The Falklands War: British paratroopers carrying out emergency medical treatment on wounded comrades whilst under fire on Mount Longdon during the Falklands campaign
The story only recently emerged in the Argentine press and has now been confirmed by the Mail on Sunday.
The ashes of Menendez's son Benja, who fought in the war, have also been secretly scattered in the garden of a bed-and-breakfast on the Falklands after being smuggled in a packet of herbal tea in 2017. He had died at 59 from a heart attack.
Gen Menendez was hated by islanders and his compatriots alike.
In Argentina, he was branded a coward for surrendering to the British against the orders of military dictator Leopoldo Galtieri.
He was also accused of torturing political prisoners in Argentina and had been due to stand trial.
Last night, his daughter, Maria Jose Menendez admitted she had arranged for her father's and brother's ashes to be taken to the Falklands in secret, saying: ‘My father always talked about the 649 Argentinians who lost their lives on the islands.
