CART: 0 item(s) $0.00Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America
| By J. Patrice McSherry |
Choice Outstanding Book of the Year 2006
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Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. | |||||||||||||||||
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"An important and timely read. It provides a unique and dark historical perspective on political "swings" in Latin America, and the story has particular significance and political weight today as Latin America once again garners international attention and anxiety from its perceived "turn to the left." The exhaustive documentation of US covert and extra-legal involvement in the manipulation and control of Latin American political and social transitions, all in the name of security', is presented with conviction and courage, leaving the reader with a simple and palpable warning about the consequences and legacies of "anti-subversive" fervour, the pursuit of militaristic "solutions" and contemporary policies of global interventionism."— Bulletin of Latin American Research
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This powerful study makes a compelling case about the key U.S. role in state terrorism in Latin America during the Cold War. Long hidden from public view, Operation Condor was a military network created in the 1970s to eliminate political opponents of Latin American regimes. Its key members were the anticommunist dictatorships of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil, later joined by Peru and Ecuador, with covert support from the U.S. government. Drawing on a wealth of testimonies, declassified files, and Latin American primary sources, J. Patrice McSherry examines Operation Condor from numerous vantage points: its secret structures, intelligence networks, covert operations against dissidents, political assassinations worldwide, commanders and operatives, links to the Pentagon and the CIA, and extension to Central America in the 1980s. The author convincingly shows how, using extralegal and terrorist methods, Operation Condor hunted down, seized, and executed political opponents across borders. McSherry argues that Condor functioned within, or parallel to, the structures of the larger inter-American military system led by the United States, and that declassified U.S. documents make clear that U.S. security officers saw Condor as a legitimate and useful "counterterror" organization. Revealing new details of Condor operations and fresh evidence of links to the U.S. security establishment, this controversial work offers an original analysis of the use of secret, parallel armies in Western counterinsurgency strategies. It will be a clarion call to all readers to consider the long-term consequences of clandestine operations in the name of "democracy."
-Based on a broad range of newly discovered primary sources and original research.
-Includes interviews with Condor victims as well as Latin American officers and U.S. officials.
-Unearths new details about Condor's history and operations.
About the Author
J. Patrice McSherry is professor of political science and director of the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Program at Long Island University.