Since the creation of the CIA in 1947, the organisation has been granted power to conduct covert operations abroad that benefit the security interests of the United States. Under these authorities, the Agency dedicated significant resources and attention to stopping the spread of communism in all of Latin America following the Cuban Revolution’s successful government takeover in 1959. As part of that effort, in the 1960s, countries in South America experienced an increase in CIA activities as the agency attempted to suppress communist groups. While some ‘high profile’ covert operations are widely known to the public, a large number of the operations conducted by the CIA in the region included lesser-known information gathering and reporting. This article provides a brief history of CIA activities in South America and documents some of the tactics conducted by the agency in the region.
Images Sourced From: Global Panorama, Picryl, Levan Ramishvili, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, Ed. Fundamentos
1 History of CIA Activities in South America
1.1 CIA Regime Change Operations in South America
1.1.1 Bolivia
In Bolivia, in 1964, the CIA covertly financed and provided support to the military coup against democratically elected president Víctor Paz Estenssoro. The CIA action was in response to the Bolivian government’s refusal to support Washington-implemented policies against Cuba. The military dictatorships that resulted from the coup lasted until 1978.
Declassified CIA documents detail how the Agency funded military general René Barrientos during the 1966 elections to legitimise his rule. The agency also financed his rival, Alfredo Ovando Candia, so he would allow Barrientos to win. Besides securing the elections for Barrientos, the CIA additionally manipulated international observers to make sure they would recognise the results. The Organisation of American States, headquarteded in Washington, designated the external observers.
Covert funding also went to the armed forces to ensure that Bolivia had a government aligned with Washington’s interests. Additionally, the funding was aimed at suppressing leftist movements in the country to prevent them from reaching power. According to the CIA, its expenditures in Bolivia in the years surrounding the regime change were USD $337,063 (1963), $545,342 (1964), $287,978 (1965), and $585,000 (1966).
1.1.2 Brazil
In 1961, newly-elected Brazilian president João Goulart pledged social and economic reforms, limited the profits of multinational corporations, nationalized a subsidiary of the U.S.-owned International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), and refused to sever diplomatic ties with Cuba and other socialist nations. As a result of Goulart’s stances, the United States, through the CIA, intervened in Brazil.
In 1962, the Agency financed pro-US legislators in the national parliamentary elections of Brazil serving as governmental opposition to Goulart. The Agency also financed propaganda aimed at bolstering opposition to Goulart to weaken his image. Furthermore, it funded the Brazilian Institute of Democratic Action’s spread of anti-communist materials to discredit the Cuban revolution. The end result was regime change and the initiation of a military dictatorship in 1964.
Prior to the coup, the CIA financed ‘soft power’ activities in Brazil to promote a positive view of the North American country within Brazilian society. This strategy included all-expenses-paid trips for Brazilian politicians and influential people to visit the United States.
The 1964 coup unfolded faster than the CIA had estimated. As a result of this, and due to a lack of resistance or civil war, the United States did not militarily assist the coup.
1.1.3 Chile
CIA’s activity in Chile is among the most well-known cases of the agency’s intervention in Latin America. In fact, knowledge of the CIA intervention came to light only one year after the fact, in 1974, after a New York Times investigation revealed how the agency had intervened in the country. By way of explanation, Henry Kissinger was recorded saying “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go Communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people.”
Salvador Allende, a self-proclaimed Chilean Marxist, was a political contender for the presidency in Chile during the 60s. Allende promised to nationalise the copper industry in Chile, of which U.S. companies owned the majority at that time. When the 1964 election came around, Allende was a strong contender for president. This sparked an interest in Washington, which financed anti-communist propaganda and support for Allende’s opponent. This proved effective, but Allende in 1970 again ran for president and won. His vistory happened despite repeated CIA efforts to influence the election outcome. In addition to traditional propaganda, the CIA conducted meetings with members of the Chilean military to lay plans for a coup that would launch if Allende became president.
From 1962 to 1973, the CIA had a budget of USD $11 million to spend in Chile for regime change. Within this budget, USD $8 million was earmarked to destabilise the socialist government of Allende and cause its downfall between 1970 and 1973. The destabilisation effort created the perfect conditions for the eventual 1973 military coup, in which Allende died. Furthermore, the coup resulted in 17 years of rule by a repressive military dictatorship.
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1.1.4 Ecuador
On 11 July 1963, the military overthrew the government of Arosemena Monroy in what the CIA called a near-bloodless coup. The military exiled Ecuador’s president, and vice president. The military, after they took control of the government, took steps towards dismantling and outlawing the Communist Party of Ecuador. In addition, they severed ties with Cuba, which was one of the main concerns of Washington.
Years prior, in 1960, Velasco Ibarra became president of Ecuador on a populist platform. He adopted an independent stance and refused to sever diplomatic ties with Cuba or dismiss left-wing politicians. However, the military deposed him in November 1961 and Arosemena Monroy assumed control of the country. The military, fearing a domestic leftist insurgency and discontent with Arosemena Monroy’s pro-Cuban rhetoric, overthrew his government.
While the Ecuadorian military directly carried out the overthrow, the CIA played a crucial role in creating the conditions that encouraged and facilitated this action. CIA’s Quito station flooded the country with anti-communist propaganda, which often directly targeted left-wing politicians. The Agency utilized friendly pre-existing newspapers and created new ones for messaging.
The Agency also infiltrated high levels of the Ecuadorian government and nearly all significant political organisations across the left-right spectrum. According to academics and historians, the CIA also created front organisations to further their objectives. This broad infiltration of societal organs allowed the Agency to manipulate internal affairs in the country. Former CIA officers have also reported they were instructed to participate in, or instigate leftist demonstrations or sometimes bombings. These actions aimed to encourage the military to take action and intervene against the government.
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2.3 Other CIA Activities in South America
2.3.1 Uruguay – Torture Training and Mob Control Equipment
Between 1964 and 1974, the CIA, alongside the Agency for International Development, developed the Office of Public Safety in Montevideo. In this Office, local police were trained in torture tactics aimed at surpressing rebel activities. Additionally, the CIA provided local police with equipment to be used in the repression of rebel groups. The equipment included improved communications systems, anti-riot trucks, grenade launchers, and tear gas grenades.
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2.3.2 Peru – Electorate and Intelligence Liaison Funding
During Peru’s 1962 election, the CIA covertly financed the APRA political party as “the principal opponent of communism and Castroism in peasant, labour, and student circles, and in the streets,” according to CIA declassified documents. However, the 1962 election was preempted by a military coup d’état against then-President Manuel Prado Ugarteche. [source, source, source]
Decades later, between 1990 and 2000, the CIA delivered a total of USD $10 million in cash to Vladimiro Montesinos, the former head of Peru’s National Intelligence Service, under a plan to fund the operations of the Peruvian Narcotics Intelligence Division, with some of the funds earmarked for counter-terrorism. Later investigations revealed that Montesinos pocketed an unspecified amount of that money and that the CIA knew about, and turned a blind eye to, his corruption. Peru’s justice system later sentenced Montesinos to jail for selling state secrets, organising death squads, having ties with narcotraffickers, and organising a complex corruption network.
3 Common Tactics Employed by the CIA in South America
3.1 Financial Aid and Leverage
Through the CIA, Washington provided financial aid to influence policy and support opposition candidates. For example, in Brazil, the agency offered large sums in foreign aid contingent on alignment with U.S. policy or gave money directly to opposition candidates. They also used aid as leverage to shape Bolivian policy. [source]
3.2 Propaganda Campaigns
The CIA engaged in widespread anti-communist propaganda, using various media like newspapers, radio, film, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, and wall paintings. This included creating “scare campaigns” to instill fear, especially in women, by using images of Soviet tanks or firing squads. They also used CIA-owned news agencies or radio stations to disseminate their propaganda. The campaigns sometimes distributed false or misleading information to discredit political opponents of favored candidates or to downplay human rights abuse by U.S.-backed groups. [source]
3.3 Infiltration
CIA operations infiltrated top levels of Latin American governments, nearly all significant political organizations, and even placed infiltrators in positions controlling the finances of targeted groups. This provided the CIA with access to sensitive information, such as communist party work programs or internal meeting details.
3.4 Covert Action
The CIA worked to destabilize governments perceived as threats to U.S. interests, even if they were not explicitly socialist. This involved setting the groundwork for military takeovers, sometimes by engaging in actions to provoke a military response. These actions included participating in left-wing demonstrations or bombing institutions valued by the military. [source]
4 Consequences of Regime Change Operations
According to a 2023 European Journal of Political Economy study that analysed the consequences of CIA-sponsored regime changes in Latin America, these interventions led to moderate declines in real per-capita income and large declines in democracy scores, rule of law, freedom of speech, and civil liberties. Specifically, they resulted in an average 10% reduction in per-capita income five years after the fact. Furthermore, they resulted in an average democracy score almost 200% lower than anticipated, up until some six years later. There were also significant decreases in freedom of expression (around 30%), civil liberties (around 25%), and rule of law (around 25%) compared to countries that did not experience such intervention.
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5 Conclusion
In the present-day, we are able to look back at the CIA activities in South America as a result of declassified documents, or scandals that have surfaced over time. Therefore, present-day activities, unless they lead to a scandal, are highly unlikely to be known, and any future activities are difficult to predict.
The activities conducted by the CIA in South America, in particular during the 1960s, were carried out as a result of Washington’s fear of communism spreading in the region. CIA today continues to carry out operations in support of the U.S. Government’s broader policies, but the present-day Agency is under much more congressional and presidential oversight compared with the institution in the 1960s. In fact, the 1980 Intelligence Oversight Act changed the way in which the CIA operates as a result of allegations of wrongdoings done by the U.S. intelligence community in the past. Therefore, current and future CIA operations in South America and worldwide are not carried out unilaterally nor without the request of the president and the congress. That said, as long as the U.S. has strategic and national security interests in South America, a continued CIA presence in the region is certain.