The Argentine military overthrows President Isabel Perón and installs a junta associated with the "Dirty War".
The Chilean military under General Augusto Pinochet overthrows President Salvador Allende, beginning a 17-year military dictatorship.
The Sandinista National Liberation Front enters Managua after dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle flees, ending the Somoza family's rule.
Argentina seizes the Falkland Islands; Britain dispatches a task force and retakes the islands after a 74-day conflict.
Revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is captured and executed by the Bolivian army in La Higuera.
Chilean voters reject extending General Pinochet's rule, paving the way for a return to democracy.
A 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles in Cuba brings the world closest to nuclear war.