Historical Organization of ​ ​ ​ ​ American States ​ ​ Operation Condor ​ ​ Chairs: Cameron Krause, Grace Herdelin ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Hey everybody! My name’s Cameron and I will be one of your chairs at this year’s SJMUN conference! First I’d like to tell you all a little bit about myself. I graduated from Eastern High School in 2016 and am currently studying at Rutgers University with an intent to major in Accounting and Finance. I participated in Model UN each year in high school, an experience that culminated in my promotion to Secretary General of SJMUN 2015. At Rutgers, I am a staff member of the Institute for Domestic and International Affairs, the organization that works with Rutgers Model UN to run three conferences per year; this year, I am the director of SPECPOL at RUMUN 2017. This committee’s topic is extremely controversial in the morality behind such actions by both the U.S. government and the South American leaders. Nevertheless, I expect each and every one of you to really take on your role as a member of this historical event and to find solutions that will further your goals. Good luck everyone and I will see you at the conference! ​ ​ Hi, everyone! My name is Grace Herdelin and I am a freshman at Rutgers University New Brunswick in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program. I am majoring in Chemistry and am thinking of minoring in Anthropology or Mathematics. I am a member of the Conference Simulation Services team for RUMUN 2017 and intend to staff Rutgers Model Congress and Philadelphia Model United Nations, all organized by the Institute for Domestic and International Affairs. I graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School this past June where I was on the Model U.N. team for three years, was a Model U.N. officer, and was Secretary General of HadMUN 2017. I am very excited to be returning to SJMUN and am very grateful to the Secretariat for inviting me. I hope that you are all prepared for a day of difficult yet invigorating debate. Good luck! ​ ​ ​ ​ Committee Overview: Historical Organization of American States ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Summit The Organization of American States, founded on April 30 1948, is a continental organization for the purpose of regional solidarity and cooperation among its member states. Its four primary regional goals are democracy, human rights, security, and development within the region. As it stands, the 35 permanent member states are the nations within the American continent. The OAS also has 70 permanent observers from nations around the world. For the purposes of this debate, all observers will be given full voting powers on directives, as well as the ability to act independently of the organization within their own governments. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Topic Overview: Operation Condor ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Introduction Operation Condor stands as one of bloodiest events of the twentieth century involving covert efforts executed by the United States. Taking place throughout the 1970s, various South American countries began to undergo military coup d'etats, with Paraguay the first to experience such by General Alfredo Stroessner. Eventually, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina experienced the same fate, going through similar coups with various military leaders. These dictatorships began to collaborate in their efforts to suppress left-wing political dissidence in the form of Operation Condor, the means of which were kidnappings, disappearances, and murder. It was in the midst of this period of chaos that the United States decided to covertly support such operations in order to suppress communist, socialist, and anti-right sentiments held within these countries. With the Cold War in full effect by this point in world history, the U.S. was more than willing to support such endeavors if it meant less communist influence on the world stage. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Delegate Profiles ​ ​ Chilean General Augusto Pinochet was the military ruler of Chile between 1973 and 1990. His repressive government imprisoned, tortured, and kidnapped tens of thousands political and legal dissidents. He was one of the main proponents of Operation Condor, and under his rule the Chilean secret police force DINA carried out countless attacks against leftist subversives. As head of state, he can issue binding decrees to his citizens and command the Chilean army. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Paraguayan General Alfredo Stroessner was the first right-wing dictator to rise to ​ power in the Southern Cone, staging a coup in 1954 and ascending to the position of dictator. He was a staunch anti-communist and had close military and economic ties with the American government until the end of his rule in 1989. He kept his country in what he called a constant "state of siege" that overruled civil liberties and tortured and killed political opponents. As head of state, he can issue binding decrees to his citizens and command the Paraguayan army. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Bolivian General Hugo Banzer became dictator of Bolivia in 1971. He instituted harsh ​ restrictions on dissident speech and later banned all political activity outside of his appointed government. As head of state, he can issue binding decrees to his citizens and command the Bolivian army. ​ ​ Argentine General Jorge Rafael Videla was dictator of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. ​ His administration oversaw the Argentine Dirty War, an effort to rid the country of leftist political dissidence through police force. As head of state, he can issue binding decrees to his citizens and command the Argentine army. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Uruguayan President Aparicio Méndez was one of multiple officials in the ​ civilian-military administration that came to power in Uruguay after the 1973 coup of president Juan Maria Bordaberry, but Méndez was the one who was appointed to the position of President. Méndez sought and secured approval from the military but was more moderate in his take on fascism than other South American dictators. As head of state, he can issue binding decrees to his citizens and command the Uruguayan army. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel was an important figure in the 1964 military coup ​ ​ d'état that overthrew the leftist President João Goulart, and became Chief of the Military Staff of ​ ​ President Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco before ascending to the presidency in 1973. ​ Geisel adopted a more moderate stance with regards to political opposition, devising a national plan of gradual democratization. As head of state, he can issue binding decrees to his citizens and command the Uruguayan army. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was a key figure in providing United States aid ​ to the Southern Cone nations. He had extensive contact with Condor operatives, and even expressed explicit diplomatic support for some of the coups which took place during the 1970s and preceded Condor. Secretary Kissinger heads the US State Department and has jurisdiction over all diplomatic proceedings of the United States. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ DINA Chief Manuel Contreras was the chief of the Chilean secret police under General Pinochet. He led several operations both within Chile and internationally with the goal of kidnappings, forced disappearances, and murders of leftists. He also had close ties with the CIA, collaborating with US intelligence and receiving support, sometimes monetary. He, behind Pinochet, has control of DINA and as such the operative forces of Condor. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Father Gustavo Gutierrez was a Peruvian minister who founded the concept of liberation theology, a method of spiritual thinking which combatted state oppression and poverty through religious beliefs and biblical study. He was a figurehead of those oppressed by the governments of the Southern Cone. While not a head of state and with no de jure power in government, Father Gutierrez has abundant influence in the Catholic church and among most Southern Americans. ​ ​ Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro was a key figure in the overthrow of the right-wing ​ Batista government in Cuba in 1959. After the coup, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba’s Prime Minister. Castro was a Marxist-Leninist who converted Cuba into a socialist state, and as such openly supported the USSR in the Cold War while being the target of hostility from the United States. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ USSR Premier Leonid Brezhnev became leader of the USSR in 1964 and the first ​ secretary of the Communist party in the Soviet Union. His heavy-handed approach to the Cold War abided by the principle that the USSR could intervene in the domestic affairs of any Soviet bloc nation if Communist rule were threatened. During the Cold War, Brezhnev provided support to Latin American revolutionaries and maintained close ties with socialist Cuba. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov was the head of the KGB, the Soviet agency which acted as a security, intelligence, and secret police body throughout the Cold War. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Historical Context ​ ​ Several circumstances in Latin American history made the region conducive to the type of political strife, violence, and foreign intervention observed during Operation Condor. The most significant and deep-rooted causes lie in the way the region developed politically following the movements for independence from