Approved for Release 2018 09 17 C02218144 13526 3 3 b 1 25Yrs 9 ' EO 13526 3 5 c 1 7 AUG 1976 ----------- 3 5 c MEMORANDUM FOR Deputy Director of Central Intelligence FROM Raymond A Warren Chief Latin America Division VIA Deputy Director for Operations SUBJECT Potential Political and Security Ramifications of Operation Condor --- 'f o 1 1 Opera ti on Condor has been the subject of previous correspondence to you and other senior officials of the Agency it has also generated considerable correspondence I I in recent months and has 3 3 b 1 prompted discussions with senior officials of the Department of State as to what action the U S G could take in an attempt to assure that human rights were not violat d by the countries involved in Condor'' The most significant of the foregoing documents are attached for your review In additionj the following is a precis of t1Condor and an assessment of the possible adverse political ramifications for the Agency should ucondor engage in assassinations and other fla rant lations of human ri hts I 3 3 b 1 -r -13 - w- Ji- J I I 3 3 b 1 2 Initial reports on Condor the code name given to the program of cooperation among the intelligence services of Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Paraguay and Uruguay beginning in April 1976 indicated that the thrust of the program was to be intelligence exchange and that the target of this effort was to be the Revolutionary Coordinating Junta JCR The JCR is an international revolutionary coordinating body which was formed by the Argentine Peoples Revolutionary Army ERP and which includes in addition to Argentina terrorist organizations in Chile Uruguay Bolivia and Paragt 1 v W i HNiio G NOT CE 3 5 c Y 3- - SENSITIVE IN iLLL GE Ct 30tJRC S Approved for Release 2018 09 17 C02218144 ' ' Approved for Release 2018 09 17 C02218144 w T The JCR has received financial logistical and training support from Cuba in addition it has been the recipients of millions of dollars obtained by the ERP through the ransom of executives of U S firms in Argentina The JCR operates principally in the southern part of South America but it is known to have strong representation in Europe and is suspected of having been involved in the assassinations in Paris of Ger era Joaquin Z e n t e n o Anaya Bolivian Ambassador to France on 11 May 1976 and Colonel Ramon A T r a b a 1 Military Attache of the Uruguay Embassy in Paris on 19 December 1974 Zenteno was the military region commander in the area where Ernesto Che Guevara was captured and killed in 1967 Trabal had previously been active in the successful efforts by the Uruguayan security forces to suppress the Tupamaros a member organization of the JCR in Uruguay 3 I 1 I 3 3 b 1 lin icating that the efforts by the security services ot the southern cone countries to undertake a regional approach to meet a regional terrorist threat i e Condor would go well beyond the exchange of information -- to include lans to assassinate selected JCR leaders in 3 3 b 1 3 3 b 1 4 In an attempt to preempt potential political ramifications for the Agency should the ''Condor countries proceed with the European aspect of their plans we have taken the following action As soon as we learned of the ossible 3 3 b 1 3 3 b 1 n a 1t1on iscussions were held with senior officials 2 Approved for Release 2018 09 17 C02218144 Approved for Release 2018 09 17 C02218144 3 3 b 1 'W of the Department of State relating to the steps which could be taken to dissuade the South America countries from their planned course of action Accordingly agreement has been reached on the text of an EXDIS message from the Department of State to the U S Ambassadors in Buenos Aires Santiago and Montevideo instructing them to approach the highest levels of their host governments and express the serious concern of the U S Government to the alleged assassination plans envisioned within Operation Condor '' The host governments would be informed however that the U S takes no issue with Condor plans to collect and coordinate informati m in the southern cone area 3 3 b 1 5 The State Department approach described above could well have some adverse impact on the security of the 3 3 b 1 ------ ---------1 In azy case it is our 3 3 b 1 judgement that the potential repercussions must be accepted in order to counteract the negative aspects of Condor signed Raymond A Warren Raymond A Warren Attachments a s ' CONCUR 1 7 AUG 1976 Deputy Director for Operations Date 0 3 Approved for Release 2018 09 17 C02218144 This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu