The Condor years: how Pinochet and his allies brought terrorism to three continents / John Dinges

Behind the covert, international anti-terrorist network responsible for South America's worst human rights abuses. President Nixon had decided that an Allende regime was not acceptable to the United States. The President asked the agency to prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him. —1970 CIA internal memo Operation Condor, set up by Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, was a secret alliance among six Southern Cone intelligence agencies that waged an international dirty war against internal enemies. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people were tortured and murdered as the operation, with funding and operational support from the CIA, ranged across national borders to destroy "subversion." Award-winning journalist John Dinges, who was himself interrogated at a secret Chilean torture camp, draws on hundreds of interviews and newly opened secret police files to prove the extent of cooperation between Operation Condor and the United States government. Revolutionaries, spies and military officers—many speaking out for the first time—retell the brutal struggle between Condor and its enemies, alongside the suspenseful present-day narrative of the lawyers and judges whose relentless efforts to end the impunity of Condor's perpetrators led to Pinochet's arrest and changed international human rights law forever. Draws On Hundreds Of Interviews, Recently Opened Police Files, And The Author's Own Experiences To Identify A Link Between Operation Condor And The U.s. Government, Describing The Alliance Among Six Intelligence Agencies That Led To The Torture And Murder Of Thousands Of People. The Condor Years Is The Underground History Of The International Dirty Wars By U.s. Allies In South America. For Much Of A Decade, Six Allied Governments Engaged In Secret Warfare Intended To Wipe Out Their Enemies, Kidnapping And Murdering Up To 30,000 People. At The Initiative Of Chilean President General Augusto Pinochet, And With Encouragement From The Cia, They Set Up A Multinational Terrorist Organization, Operation Condor, To Pursue Those Who Escaped To Other Latin American Countries, Europe, And The United States. John Dinges, Using Newly-available U.s. Documents And The Dictatorships' Own Files, Tells This Gripping Story From The Point Of View Of Those Who Have Tried To Keep It Secret. He Dispassionately Lays Bare The True Extent Of U.s. Complicity In The Crimes Of The Dictators Who Called The United States The Leader. Revolutionaries, Intelligence Operatives, And U.s. Officials - Many Speaking For The First Time - Recount The Brutal Struggle Between Condor And Its Enemies.--jacket. The First War On Terrorism -- Meeting In Santiago -- Tilting At Windmills -- Revolution In The Counterrevolution -- Agents In Argentina -- Mission In Paraguay -- The Condor System -- The Old Man Doesn't Want To Die -- Death In Argentina -- Green Light, Red Light -- A Preventable Assassination -- Kissinger And Argentina's Terrorist Problem -- Ed Koch And Condor's Endgame -- The Pursuit Of Justice And U.s. Accountability. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [255]-259) And Index. A “compelling and shocking account” of a brutal campaign of repression in Latin America, based on interviews and previously secret documents (The Miami Herald). Throughout the 1970s, six Latin American governments, led by Chile, formed a military alliance called Operation Condor to carry out kidnappings, torture, and political assassinations across three continents. It was an early “war on terror” initially encouraged by the CIA—which later backfired on the United States. Hailed by Foreign Affairs as “remarkable” and “a major contribution to the historical record,” The Condor Years uncovers the unsettling facts about the secret US relationship with the dictators who created this terrorist organization. Written by award-winning journalist John Dinges and updated to include later developments in the prosecution of Pinochet, the book is a chilling yet dispassionately told history of one of Latin America’s darkest eras. Dinges, himself interrogated in a Chilean torture camp, interviewed participants on both sides and examined thousands of previously secret documents to take the reader inside this underground world of military operatives and diplomats, right-wing spies and left-wing revolutionaries. “Scrupulous, well-documented.” —The Washington Post “Nobody knows what went wrong inside Chile like John Dinges.” —Seymour Hersh Behind the covert, international anti-terrorist network responsible for South America's worst human rights abuses. __President Nixon had decided that an Allende regime was not acceptable to the United States. The President asked the agency to prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him.__—1970 CIA internal memo Operation Condor, set up by Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, was a secret alliance among six Southern Cone intelligence agencies that waged an international dirty war against internal enemies. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people were tortured and murdered as the operation, with funding and operational support from the CIA, ranged across national borders to destroy "subversion." Award-winning journalist John Dinges, who was himself interrogated at a secret Chilean torture camp, draws on hundreds of interviews and newly opened secret police files to prove the extent of cooperation between Operation Condor and the United States government. Revolutionaries, spies and military officers—many speaking out for the first time—retell the brutal struggle between Condor and its enemies, alongside the suspenseful present-day narrative of the lawyers and judges whose relentless efforts to end the impunity of Condor's perpetrators led to Pinochet's arrest and changed international human rights law forever. Throughout the 1970s, six Latin American governments led by Chile formed a military alliance called Operation Condor to carry out kidnappings, torture, and political assassinations across three continents. It was an early #x93;war on terror" initially encouraged by the CIA which later backfired on the United States. Hailed by Foreign Affairs as #x93;remarkable" and #x93;a major contribution to the historical record," The Condor Years uncovers the unsettling facts about the secret U.S. relationship with the dictators who created this terrorist organization. Written by award-winning journalist John Dinges and newly updated to include recent developments in the prosecution of Pinochet, the book is a chilling but dispassionately told history of one of Latin America's darkest eras. Dinges, himself interrogated in a Chilean torture camp, interviewed participants on both sides and examined thousands of previously secret documents to take the reader inside this underground world of military operatives and diplomats, right-wing spies and left-wing revolutionaries "The Condor Years is the underground history of the international Dirty Wars by U.S. allies in South America. For much of a decade, six allied governments engaged in secret warfare intended to wipe out their enemies, kidnapping and murdering up to 30,000 people. At the initiative of Chilean president General Augusto Pinochet, and with encouragement from the CIA, they set up a multinational terrorist organization, Operation Condor, to pursue those who escaped to other Latin American countries, Europe, and the United States. John Dinges, using newly-available U.S. documents and the dictatorships' own files, tells this gripping story from the point of view of those who have tried to keep it secret. He dispassionately lays bare the true extent of U.S. complicity in the crimes of the dictators who called the United States "the leader." Revolutionaries, intelligence operatives, and U.S. officials - many speaking for the first time - recount the brutal struggle between Condor and its enemies."--BOOK JACKET.