Collection "50 Years After Operation Condor"

50 Years After Operation Condor: Documents for Memory and Justice

This collection brings together historical documents and key texts that help to understand the repressive context that existed in South America during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the prolonged and tireless pursuit of justice championed by the victims, their families, and civil society organisations. It also puts the spotlight on the struggles against authoritarianism, the resistance to dictatorships, and the sustained commitment to building Memory, Truth, and Justice.

The documents presented here were collected, digitised, and systematised thanks to a joint effort between researchers, social organisations, and institutions. In the current context of denialism and the resurgence of authoritarian discourses, it is essential to provide the public with free and open access to this documentation to strengthen critical thinking, democratise knowledge, and contribute to the symbolic reparation to the victims and society as a whole.

Starting in the early 1970s, the political repression which unfolded within each country took on a particularly sinister regional dimension with the creation of the so-called Operation Condor. In November 1975, military intelligence officers from the regimes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay met in Santiago, Chile, and established the “Condor System.” According to the Minutes of the Conclusions of the First Inter-American Meeting on National Intelligence, the name “Condor” was unanimously approved following a motion presented by the Uruguayan delegation, in recognition of the host country.

This transnational network of repressive cooperation allowed the dictatorships to coordinate clandestine operations to locate, monitor, kidnap, torture, and assassinate exiled individuals who continued to denounce the regimes in power from abroad. The relatives of disappeared individuals and refugees were also targeted, even if they were not politically active, and were identified as threats by the repressive apparatuses.

1. What was Operation Condor?

Operation Condor was a secret network of transnational repression that was formally set up in late 1975 to facilitate the crossborder repression of political opponents and dissidents living in exile, primarily in South America but also beyond.

2. Which countries participated in it?

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay were the five countries that officially signed the agreement creating Operation Condor at its founding meeting, held in Santiago, Chile, between late November and early December 1975. Brazil joined in mid-1976, whilst Peru and Ecuador did so between late 1977 and early 1978.

3. When did it operate?

The Condor founding agreement was signed by military intelligence representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay on 28th November 1975. This is the formal start date of Operation Condor. However, these countries had previously collaborated in transnational repression in more informal and ad hoc ways at least since 1969. Operation Condor, as a multilateral forum for transnational repression, stopped working in late 1978, although informal and bilateral operations continued until February 1981.

4. How many victims were there and who were they?

Due to Condor’s top secret nature, there are no official lists of victims. However, recent research has indicated that there must have been at least 805 victims of transnational repression in South America between August 1969 and February 1981. The victims came from diverse backgrounds: most of them (40%) were political and social activists; 36% were members of revolutionary armed groups; 13% did not have any affiliation; and 5% were individuals with official refugee status. Victims came from all seven South American countries that were members of Operation Condor but three groups stand out: Uruguayans account for approximately half of the victims (48%), followed by Argentines (23%), and Chileans (14%).

5. Where were the crimes committed?

Victims of Operation Condor were persecuted in 13 countries: eight in Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay), four in Europe (France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal), and the USA. Nevertheless, most operations were perpetrated within a single country, Argentina, where 70% of the crimes were committed. Only 2% of the victims were targeted outside of South America.

Note N° 74/1972 [Embassy in Chile requests the designation of a military official in light of the arrival of Uruguayans engaged in seditious activities] 26/1/1972

Title: Note N° 74/1972 [Embassy in Chile requests the designation of a military official in light of the arrival of Uruguayans engaged in seditious activities]

Note N° 74/1972, dated 26 January 1972, sent from the Uruguayan Embassy in Chile to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr José A. Mora Otero, expressing the need to appoint Military, Naval, and Air Attachés before the Government of Chile, considering the arrival in that country of Uruguayan citizens involved in subversive activities.

Location: Department of the Historical and Diplomatic Archive – Section: Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in Chile / Series: Confidential Documents / Year 1972 / Box 77 / Folder 9.

Note A6-1/972 (1310) 14/6/1972

Title: Note A6-1/972 (1310)

Note A6-1/972 (1310), dated 14 June 1972, sent from the Uruguayan Embassy in the Republic of Argentina to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr José A. Mora Otero, reporting information gathered by the Argentine Government which would demonstrate the existing connections between the Tupamaros movement of Uruguay and Argentine terrorist groups, as well as those from other countries on the continent. Attached is a press clipping entitled “Conexiones de tupamaros en nuestro país” (Tupamaros Connections in Our Country) (La Nación, 14 June 1973, 2 pages).

Location: Department of the Historical and Diplomatic Archive » Section: Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in Argentina » Series: Subversive Activities » Year 1972 » Box 1A » Folder A 6-1/ 3 sheets.

Télex C299/24 [Request for instructions to Juan Carlos Blanco regarding exiles in Argentina] 28/6/1973

Title: Télex C299/24 [Request for instructions to Juan Carlos Blanco regarding exiles in Argentina]

Telex C299/24, dated 28 June 1973, sent from the Uruguayan Embassy in the Republic of Argentina to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Juan Carlos Blanco, requesting directives on how to proceed when Uruguayan citizens, who have been granted political asylum from the Argentine government, come to the Uruguayan Consular offices in Argentina, as well as regarding citizens who are wanted in Uruguay.

Location: Department of the Historical and Diplomatic Archive – Section: Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in Argentina / Series: Confidential Documents / Year 1973 / Box 1 / Folder A.

Note Verbale H12-1/1973 (2105) 21/8/1973

Title: Note Verbale H12-1/1973 (2105)

Note Verbale H12-1/1973 (2105), dated 21 August 1973, sent from the Uruguayan Embassy in the Republic of Argentina to the Directorate-General of Policy of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, seeking information on the status of Uruguayan citizens Zelmar Michelini and Enrique Erro in order to confirm whether they are political asylees. If so, it further requests the dates of the resolutions granting them political asylum in Argentine territory.

Location: Department of the Historical and Diplomatic Archive » Section: Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in Argentina » Series: Citizens Zelmar Michelini – Enrique Erro » Year 1973 » Box 1 Confidential » Folder H 7-1

Telex C-460/3 28/8/1973

Title: Telex C-460/3

Telex C-460/3, dated 28 August 1973 (Clear and Ciphered), sent from the Uruguayan Embassy in Argentina (URUBAIRES) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DIPLOMACIA), reporting that on 26 August Mr Zelmar Michelini had visited the Consular Section of the Embassy to request the renewal of his passport (issued on 3 April 1968). The Embassy requests “urgent instructions” to be conveyed to the Consular Section.

Location: Department of the Historical and Diplomatic Archive » Section: Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in Argentina » Series: Telexes Sent » Year 1973 » Box 1 Confidential Documents » Folder A