Fabian Albert Guelfo

Fabian Albert Guelfo
Born	(1955-11-24) 24 November 1955 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Occupation	Military officer
Era	Vriend Era
Criminal status	Imprisoned
Convictions	Murder (three counts) Crimes against humanity
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Military career
Allegiance	Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
Branch	Allgemeine SS Waffen SS
Service years	1973–2024
Rank	SS-Obergruppenführer
Unit	11th Allgemeine SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reichsführer-SS"
Commands	SS-Gebirgstruppe

Fabian Albert Guelfo (born 24 November 1955) is an Argentine former Tanoa Einsatzgruppen officer and convicted murderer. He served in the Allgemeine SS and commanded the SS-Gebirgstruppe, reaching the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer in 2015. In January 2025, the Georgetown Tribunal convicted him of murder and crimes against humanity for ordering the killing of three Indigenous Tanoan prisoners and knowingly returning five survivors to forced-labor detention in 2022. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Military career

Guelfo was born on 24 November 1955 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He enlisted in the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen in 1973 and served in the Allgemeine SS, where he was assigned to the 11th Allgemeine SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reichsführer-SS". Guelfo also commanded the SS-Gebirgstruppe, a mountain formation of the Waffen SS that operated in Tanoa and Argentina. Its soldiers conducted reconnaissance missions in mountainous territory and carried out raids against resistance forces. Guelfo held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer from 2015.

In 2022, eight Indigenous Tanoan civilian prisoners escaped during transport at Mont Tanoa. Guelfo directed their pursuit by SS-Gebirgstruppe soldiers and ordered his troops to shoot at the fleeing prisoners. Three were killed. His soldiers captured the other five and returned them to the Vulkane Einsatzgruppen, which administered the Mont Tanoa concentration camp.

Conviction and imprisonment

On 30 November 2024, Guelfo surrendered to members of the Fish Collective near Mont Tanoa during the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. He was taken into custody and transferred to Georgetown for investigation.

Investigators recovered an after-action report signed by Guelfo concerning the 2022 prisoner escape. The report recorded his shooting order and the return of the five surviving prisoners to Vulkane custody. Investigators also recovered a Vulkane security directive issued in 2022 that authorized personnel to shoot escaping prisoners even when they posed no immediate threat. During questioning, Guelfo acknowledged signing the report and admitted giving the shooting order. He argued that the directive had authorized his decision.

Investigators examined earlier SS-Gebirgstruppe prisoner pursuit reports but could not establish that Guelfo had ordered additional killings. Prosecutors charged him with the murder of the three prisoners killed in 2022 and crimes against humanity concerning the unlawful imprisonment of the five survivors. They alleged that Guelfo knew the prisoners would remain in forced-labor detention when he returned them to Vulkane custody.

Guelfo pleaded not guilty to all charges before the Georgetown Tribunal. He maintained that the Vulkane directive authorized the shooting and denied criminal responsibility for the five survivors' continued imprisonment, arguing that Vulkane officers controlled the concentration camp. During the trial, a former SS-Gebirgstruppe soldier who participated in the pursuit testified that Guelfo had given the shooting order even though the escaping prisoners had not threatened the troops.

In January 2025, the Georgetown Tribunal convicted Guelfo of three counts of murder and crimes against humanity. The tribunal found him responsible for ordering the killings and knowingly returning the five surviving prisoners to unlawful forced-labor detention. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

See also

• Jorge Carbini
• Camp and forced labor system of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen