The Feathers of Cóndor: Transnational State Terrorism, Exiles and Civilian
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The feathers of Cóndor: transnational State Terrorism, exiles and civilian anticommunism in South America Fernando Antonio López PhD thesis Supervisors: Dr Peter Ross – Mr Günter Minnerup University of New South Wales (UNSW) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences School of Humanities 2014 PLEASE TYPE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: López First name: Fernando Other name/s: Antonio Abbreviation for degree as given in the University 1240 – History: Doctor of Philosophy calendar: (Research) School: Humanities and Languages Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences Title: The feathers of Cóndor: transnational State terrorism, exiles, and civilian anticommunism in South America Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) On 25 November 1975, representatives of five South American intelligence services held a secret meeting in the city of Santiago Chile. At the end of the gathering, the participating delegations agreed to launch Operation Cóndor under the pretext of coordinating counterinsurgency activities, sharing information to combat leftist guerrillas and stoping an alleged advance of Marxism in the region. Cóndor, however, went much further than mere exchanges of information between neighbours. It was a plan to transnationalize State Terrorism beyond South America. This dissertation identifies the reasons why the South American military regimes chose this strategic path at a time when most revolutionary movements in the region were defeated and in the process of leaving the armed struggle and resuming the political path. One of Cóndor’s most intriguing features was the level of cooperation achieved by these governments considering the distrust, animosity and historical rivalries between these countries’ armed forces. The thesis explores these differences and goes further than previous lines of inquire, which have focused predominantly on the conflict between the Latin American leftist guerrillas and the armed forces, to study the contribution made by other actors such as civilian anticommunist figures and organizations, and the activities conducted by political active exiles and their supporters in numerous countries. This broader approach confirms that the South American dictatorships launched the Cóndor Plan to systematically eliminate any kind of opposition, especially key figures and groups involved in the denunciation of the regimes’ human rights violations. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). …………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……… ……….……………………...… ……… ……… ….… Signature Witness Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS Originality Statement ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date …………………………………………….............. Word count: 91,656 Précis On 25 November 1975, representatives of five South American intelligence services held a secret meeting in the city of Santiago, Chile. At the end of the gathering, the participating delegations agreed to launch Operation Cóndor under the pretext of coordinating counterinsurgency activities, sharing information to combat leftist guerrillas and stoping an alleged advance of Marxism in the region. Cóndor, however, went much further than mere exchanges of information between neighbours. It was a plan to transnationalize State terrorism beyond South America. This dissertation identifies the reasons why the South American military regimes chose this strategic path at a time when most revolutionary movements in the region were defeated and in the process of leaving the armed struggle and resuming the political path. One of Cóndor’s most intriguing features was the level of cooperation achieved by these governments considering the distrust, animosity and historical rivalries between these countries’ armed forces. The thesis explores these differences and goes further than previous lines of inquire, which have focused predominantly on the conflict between Latin American leftist guerrillas and the armed forces, to study the contribution made by other actors such as civilian anticommunist figures and organizations, and the activities conducted by politically active exiles and their supporters in numerous countries. This broader approach confirms that the South American dictatorships launched the Cóndor Plan to systematically eliminate any kind of opposition, especially key figures and groups involved in the denunciation of the regimes’ human rights violations. Acknowledgments It would have been impossible to complete this dissertation without the support of the people that helped me all these years in the United States, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Australia. I would like to acknowledge the help and assistance provided by the staff of the National Security Archive (NSA) at the George Washington University, in Washington D.C., and the staff at the National Archives (NARA), in Maryland. The volumes of material made available to me, as well as the staff’s friendly advice and guidance were priceless. In Asunción, Paraguay, I need to acknowledge the valuable help and warmth support provided by all the staff at the Centro de Documentación y Archivo (CDYA). I also want to extend a special thank you to Dr Martin Almada and his family for their kindness, valuable recommendations and for sharing their amazing stories with me. In Montevideo, Uruguay, I want to thank the support provided by the staff of the CEIL-CEIU at the Faculty of Humanities of the Universidad de la República (UDELAR), and Drs Álvaro Rico and Clara Aldrighi. Their openness and willingness to facilitate material and suggest alternatives when it was not possible to meet my requests were outstanding. A similar token of appreciation for the same type of cooperation must go to Mr Álvaro Corbacho and his assistant Mariela from the Historical archive of the Foreign Relations Ministry. To all of them I will for ever be in debt. In Australia I must acknowledge the enormous support provided by my wife la negrita Graciela and her family. Without their understanding and cooperation, which at times required numerous sacrifices and large logistic exercises, it would have been impossible to complete this investigation. But more importantly, I want to thank my two supervisors, Dr Peter Ross and Mr Günter Minnerup. Their patience, understanding, and support during all these years have been incredible. Their hard work and high ethical standards have always been an inspiration and pushed me to go further, reaching goals that I never thought possible. Finally, I want to dedicate this humble work to my mother for always being there for me and my brothers, and for working hard to give us an education. Gracias vieja! Table of Contents THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES ...................................................... 2 Thesis/Dissertation Sheet ............................................................................................ 2 THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS ........................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter I ........................................................................................................................ 39 From distrust and suspicion to mutual cooperation: the genesis of the Cóndor partnership ..................................................................................................................... 39 Historical antagonisms .............................................................................................. 41 Reasons for cooperation ...........................................................................................