CORRECTED: U.S. arrests three accused of S.American war crimes

(U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement corrects the location of Barreiro’s arrest to The Plains, Virginia, in the fifth paragraph)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday announced the arrests of three former South American military officers suspected of war crimes, including the accused chief interrogator of Argentina's former military government.

The three suspects, who also include two former Peruvian Army officers accused in the 1985 killing of 69 villagers known as the Accomarca massacre, were arrested during the past week by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

They have been charged with violating U.S. immigration laws and face deportation to their respective countries, ICE said in a statement.

The suspects include Ernesto Guillermo Barreiro, a retired Argentine army major, who ICE said is accused by Argentine authorities in the torture and deaths of several people during Argentina's so-called Dirty War period from 1976 to 1983.

Immigration officials said Barreiro, who was arrested for visa fraud in The Plains, Virginia, served as chief interrogator at La Perla, a clandestine detention facility in Argentina.

A second suspect, Telmo Ricardo Hurtado-Hurtado, was arrested in Miami and charged with visa fraud.

An affidavit in the case described him as a former Peruvian army platoon commander responsible for the rape and murder of villagers in Accomarca, Peru, during a military search for Shining Path guerrillas.

Juan Manuel Rivera-Rondon, another former Peruvian army officer accused in the same massacre, was arrested in Baltimore on immigration charges.