Latin America has experienced since the 1980’s one of the most violent periods throughout its history. During military dictatorships in the Southern Cone and armed conflicts in northern South America as well as Central America, the people of these countries underwent strong state repression and violence. As a result, there were hundreds of thousands of missing and dead people as well as wide-spread violation of human rights. Transitional justice is a recent term that was first used in Argentina after the military dictatorship ended and with it came about the creation of the first Truth Commission, a model that was copied by several Latin American countries. This article analyzes how these Truth Commissions in Latin America have sought to clarify the facts which occurred during the systematic violation of human rights and have been a guide in the process of victim compensation.