Photo By: Ben Norton, Victims of Operation Condor
The smell of rotten flesh is a sign of life. Maybe not to those in its vicinity. Maybe not to that which perished, but surely for the hovering figure gliding through the Andes. Ten and a half feet worth of breadth and an imposing four feet from claws to comb, the Andean Conor is an elegant hunter, vicious and effective. The Condor takes a dip from its home in the sky, diving directly to feast upon a dead carcass, this time, a seal. National Geographic describes condors as a “natural clean-up crew,” enjoying death and cleaning the landscape as they do so. Possibly, it was this characteristic of selective scavenging to “clean up” the environment that propelled Manuel Contreras, Augusto Pinochet’s spy chief, namely, his new endeavor: Operation Condor. Contreras pitched his idea to the Chilean dictator, Pinochet, and said that through this coalition, they could stop the spread of communism and centralize control. The operation was based on capturing and silencing any person or entity that threatened governmental power. The governments who took part in this movement were largely authoritarian, dictatorial, and avidly against communist ideologies as represented by the Soviet Union. Pinochet, an avid anti-communist regarded this idea as a breakthrough, a historical innovation, and the leaders of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, had a similar perspective. Representatives of the aforementioned countries all met to discuss their new plan, and Pinochet hosted the meeting personally, excited as a kid the night before Christmas. Although the coalition was formally documented for the first time in 1975, the countries involved had been aiding each other in surreptitious operations, sharing classified information as to the whereabouts of political dissidents, and sometimes even sending troops to allied countries to help establish a military monopoly.
However, this anti-communist and capitalist fervor was not simply a political ideology. It came backed up by decades of Cold War conflicts, and many of the proxy wars and tensions were based in Latin America. One of the most notable examples of the impact of the Cold War in Latin America was the Nicaraguan Civil war in which the CIA-backed Contras violently insured against a communist dictator who was supported by the Soviet Union. It is important to note that the Cold War was called cold for a reason. There were no direct confrontations between the Soviet Union and the United States, but there were subliminal activities that went under the radar, one of them being Operation Condor. This plan united eight different dictatorships and strengthened them, especially with the help of an invisible hand: The United States. The red fear swept over the United States during the Cold War. Communism started impersonating a big monster that was knocking on the White House doors. This great fear led to desperate actions in order to contain anything that seemed like communism, leftism, and socialism. Plans like the Marshall Plan enacted by the United States after the second World war funded non-communist countries in Europe to help them rebuild their nations. The Truman doctrine encompassed these ideas, and the “containment plan” was also put into action for fear that if communism took one more country, the whole world would fall to this political ideology. In summary, Operation Condor was founded based on fear. Fear from the United States and the threat of communism. Fear from military dictatorships in Latin America like Pinochet’s which relied on their anti-communist practices. Fear which resulted in the death of thousands. As for the operation itself, pieces of evidence have emerged slowly through classified documents, hidden testimonies, and forced confessions. Understanding the true extent of the operation is still not a reality, given that it was conducted under such secrecy that it is almost impossible to truly understand its structure. Nevertheless, there are things that have become apparent throughout history. One of the most heartbreaking being the abduction and redistribution of children. Most of the countries who supported Operation Condor tracked families and mothers-to-be who had demonstrated anger and rancor against the government. As soon as the children were born, they would be forcibly separated from their parents and taken to foster homes. Sometimes, the mothers would be killed after the child was taken away, but sometimes the families were merely left to grieve their child. The stolen children would then be adopted by government supporters who would raise the next generation of military commanders and government officials. This method of trying to tackle socialism was especially prominent in Argentina with the rise of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo—women who went to the streets of Buenos Aires to publicly condemn the loss of their children. Notwithstanding, the most common methods used by the participants of Operation Condor to centralize the dictatorships and eradicate socialism was through the persecution of political dissidents, or anyone who mildly disagreed with a government policy. Political activists, teachers, scholars, journalists, and anyone with the power to even slightly spread the socialist ideology disappeared. They were often kidnapped, killed, and tortured. It was not uncommon that the so-called rebels would be mounted onto planes, and their bodies would then be thrown from the heights into bodies of water, never to be seen again. Some of the allies within the operation would often cross national borders in order to kill those they considered dangerous. In a publication of FBI notes redacted by John Dinges and Salu Landau, the collaboration between Condor countries is shockingly evident. Amongst the notes that they collected, there was one which said “[Condor involves the formation of special teams from member countries who are to travel anywhere in the world to Carr out sanctions, [including] assassinations.”
The trials to uncover Operation Condor began in Rome more than 20 years ago. A judicial court sentenced a former Peruvian president and government officials of other involved countries, but the bulk of the findings was yet to be uncovered. Through court cases, buried government documents, and communication pages, bloody hands have appeared throughout many governments. The main role the United States played was funding and investing in the operations. It is important to clarify that they never directly participated in Operation Condor, but they were acutely aware of the seeming reign of terror asserting its power over Latin America. The Washington Post says “ [the CIA] was, in effect, supplying rigged communications gear to some of South America’s most brutal regimes and, as a result, in [a] unique position to know the extent of their atrocities.” This was a common occurrence during the Cold War, given that the United States was in no way interested in catalyzing an international-scale nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Instead, they used technology that did not directly incriminate them but did aid them in furthering their cause. Many of the troops that carried out the crimes for Operation Condor had weapons that came directly from the United States. People were aware that if one did not agree with the government, sure death or disappearance was to follow, but during the time Operation Condor was active, the public did not know that it was a systematic institution funded and encouraged by the government. International powers including countries in Europe were also well aware of the structural nature of the disappearances, but they forgot and forgave, preferring to not get involved. According to The Guardian, during Operation Condor’s peak, they covered 10% of the world’s populated land mass.
Eventually the dictatorships that headed this operation fell, and now Latin America is a largely democratic country. Nevertheless, the legacy of the atrocities is still evident. There are victims who survived Condor tortures and there are still thousands of people who were ripped apart from their life to be eternally thrown into oblivion. As new information and facts continue to rise up, there is little to do other than educate oneself on the true origins and foundations of the modern world. The 20th century was full of atrocities that are largely ignored and often fly under the radar. It was during this period of secret oppression that many were forced to suffer without the need to declare war. It is important to remember how human fear and impulses can lead to such suffering. It is important to remember the extent of the divisions political ideologies have causes. And as one remembers, hopefully, the mistakes of the past will never come to play again.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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