LETELIER'S BACKGROUND
Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean Prime Minister of Defense, was killed on Sheridan Circle on Washington's Embassy Row by a remote control bomb in September 1976. Previous to this attack, firing squads had captured and murdered two important politicians from Uruguay. The terror was heightened when revolutionaries from Uruguay and Chile were found and assassinated. Moreover, the list of targeted attacks against Latin American legislators only continued to grow. The only denominators these individuals had in common was that they were against the anti-communist military regimes that had pervaded Latin America and were living abroad in exile. [1]
Namely, Letelier was Augusto Pinochet's, former President of Chile, main enemy in the United States. He had served under the Allende presidency as foreign minister, defense minister, and ambassador. He was directly associated with strikes against the Pinochet administration: laws passed in the U.S. Congress that designated human rights a requirement for aid and the nullification of crucial Dutch expenditures in Chile. [7]
One must question then would Pinochet have discarded the murder aimed at Washington if the U.S. ambassador made him aware that the United States had ascertained about Operation Condor and its international killing sprees?
More alarming, however, is that there is proof demonstrating that the American intelligence community withheld recon that could have been utilized to prevent the assassinations from happening in the United States. Specifically, one was directed at Paris, which steered right to the [Henry] Kissinger cable. The other initiative was uncovered by George Landau, U.S. ambassador to Paraguay. [8]
Namely, Letelier was Augusto Pinochet's, former President of Chile, main enemy in the United States. He had served under the Allende presidency as foreign minister, defense minister, and ambassador. He was directly associated with strikes against the Pinochet administration: laws passed in the U.S. Congress that designated human rights a requirement for aid and the nullification of crucial Dutch expenditures in Chile. [7]
One must question then would Pinochet have discarded the murder aimed at Washington if the U.S. ambassador made him aware that the United States had ascertained about Operation Condor and its international killing sprees?
More alarming, however, is that there is proof demonstrating that the American intelligence community withheld recon that could have been utilized to prevent the assassinations from happening in the United States. Specifically, one was directed at Paris, which steered right to the [Henry] Kissinger cable. The other initiative was uncovered by George Landau, U.S. ambassador to Paraguay. [8]
SCHERRER'S INVOLVEMENT
Scherrer made a memorable contribution to the FBI through the creation of the Operation Condor cable document that was released on September 28, 1976. Moreover, he outlined the covert information disclosed by a secret source abroad about Operation Condor. The cable denoted that Chile was the focal point of the operation and that the specific sects had been formed to oversee penalties and killings in opposition to insurgents that promoted extremist regimes. Precisely, this document presented the widely held belief that the murder of Orlando Letelier, the Chilean Ambassador to the United States, was done on behalf of Operation Condor. [4]
Notably, Scherrer revealing Phase III of Operation Condor in the cable document resulted in espionage and covert dealings being carried out differently in the sphere of foreign policy. Since the rise of military regimes in Latin America presented a danger to the preservation of democracy in the western hemisphere, the United States sought to use this as justification for intervening in Latin America. Because of this, American interference evolved through the oppressive methods of the FBI and CIA. Training guides used by the CIA and the army offer material evidence that the United States is accountable for teaching Latin American officers styles of torture. For instance, they provided knowledge on how to utilize drugs and hypnosis to activate psychological reversion, sensory privation to coax specific answers during questionings, the implementation of electroshock machines, and the usage of threats against family members to dismantle confidentiality. [5]
Consequently, several of these officers went back to their nations and arose as leading founders of the state terror and suppression that pervaded Latin America. This established the ideal setup for military leaders to oppress the very protests for democracy that the United States so ardently promoted abroad.
Notably, Scherrer revealing Phase III of Operation Condor in the cable document resulted in espionage and covert dealings being carried out differently in the sphere of foreign policy. Since the rise of military regimes in Latin America presented a danger to the preservation of democracy in the western hemisphere, the United States sought to use this as justification for intervening in Latin America. Because of this, American interference evolved through the oppressive methods of the FBI and CIA. Training guides used by the CIA and the army offer material evidence that the United States is accountable for teaching Latin American officers styles of torture. For instance, they provided knowledge on how to utilize drugs and hypnosis to activate psychological reversion, sensory privation to coax specific answers during questionings, the implementation of electroshock machines, and the usage of threats against family members to dismantle confidentiality. [5]
Consequently, several of these officers went back to their nations and arose as leading founders of the state terror and suppression that pervaded Latin America. This established the ideal setup for military leaders to oppress the very protests for democracy that the United States so ardently promoted abroad.
FBI cable, “[Condor: Chilbom]” Secret, September 28, 1976.
Description: "The Bureau’s legal attaché in Buenos Aires, Robert S. Scherrer, drafted his famous “Chilbom” cable eight days after the car bomb assassination of former Chilean ambassador, Orlando Letelier, and his colleague, Ronni Karpen Moffitt, in Washington D.C. Scherrer’s sources pointed the finger of responsibility at General Augusto Pinochet and the Chilean secret police, DINA. This cable suggests the assassination was part of a “phase three” mission of Operation Condor. The cable has now been declassified fully unredacted, identifying Scherrer’s source as an agent at Argentina’s presidential intelligence service, the Secretaria de Inteligencia del Estado, SIDE."
Source: Argentina Declassification Project, April 2019
Source: Argentina Declassification Project, April 2019
"USA: PINOCHET LINKED TO ASSASSINATION", YouTube video,
2:16, posted by "AP Archive," July 21, 2015.
2:16, posted by "AP Archive," July 21, 2015.
Footnotes
[1] John, Dinges. The Condor Years : How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents (New York: New Press, 2004), 1.
[2] Dinges, 7.
[3] Dinges, 8.
[4] Cable from Robert Scherrer on 28 September 1976 describing Operation Condor and its "phase 3" (on the National Security Archives site)
[5] J. Patrice, McSherry. “Tracking the Origins of a State Terror Network: Operation Condor.” Latin American perspectives 29, no. 1 (2002): 43-44.
[1] John, Dinges. The Condor Years : How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents (New York: New Press, 2004), 1.
[2] Dinges, 7.
[3] Dinges, 8.
[4] Cable from Robert Scherrer on 28 September 1976 describing Operation Condor and its "phase 3" (on the National Security Archives site)
[5] J. Patrice, McSherry. “Tracking the Origins of a State Terror Network: Operation Condor.” Latin American perspectives 29, no. 1 (2002): 43-44.