On 25 November 1975, representatives of five South American intelligence services held a secret meeting in the city of Santiago, Chile. At the end of the gathering, the participating delegations agreed to launch Operation Condor under the pretext of coordinating counterinsurgency activities, sharing information to combat leftist guerrillas and stopping an alleged advance of Marxism in the region. Condor, however, went much further than mere exchanges of information between neighbours. It was a plan to transnationalize state terrorism beyond South America. This book identifies the reasons why the South American military regimes chose this strategic path at a time when most revolutionary movements in the region were defeated, in the process of leaving behind armed struggle and resuming the political path. One of Condor’s most intriguing features was the level of cooperation achieved by these governments considering the distrust, animosity and historical rivalries between these countries’ armed forces. This book explores these differences and goes further than previous lines of inquiry, which have focused predominantly on the conflict between Latin American leftist guerrillas and the armed forces, to study the contribution made by other actors such as civilian anticommunist figures and organizations, and the activities conducted by politically active exiles and their supporters in numerous countries. This broader approach confirms that the South American dictatorships launched the Condor Plan to systematically eliminate any kind of opposition, especially key figures and groups involved in the denunciation of the regimes’ human rights violations.

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This book presents new aspects of the U.S. Cuba policy during Gerald R. Ford’s presidency (August 9, 1974‒January 20, 1977). Based in governmental and other sources from the U.S. and Cuba, the book examines how the Ford administration broke with Nixon’s hostile policy when the diplomatic and economic isolation of Cuba was ended in the OAS, even when the U.S. economic blockade prevailed. In line with the detente policy towards the USSR, the Ford administration strived to normalize the relations with Cuba through secret discussions. However, the Cuban involvement in the Angolan civil war ended this process of normalization, and the U.S. returned to a confrontational policy. Within this framework, counterrevolutionary groups in the U.S. could act, more or less with impunity, towards Cuba, but also against Cuban and third-country targets both within and outside the U.S. The book describes the oscillating Cuba policy that was the hallmark of the Ford administration. The Cuban perspective adopted will complement and enrich the knowledge of the U.S. policy toward Cuba during Gerald Ford’s presidency. It is of relevance to everyone interested in the issue and especially for students and researchers within the disciplines of History and Political Science.

The 1973 coups d’état in Uruguay and Chile were significantly different from other military coups in Latin America. These two dictatorial regimes began a new era in the subcontinent. They became staunch bearers of a National Security State doctrine and introduced radical new economic policies. More tellingly, they gave birth to extreme models of society built on the foundations of what can arguably be considered ideological genocides, relying on both rudimentary and sophisticated methods of repression and authoritarianism to establish neoliberal systems that have lasted until today. 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the fall of democratic rule in those countries. After four decades, the governments of Uruguay and Chile continue to show deficiencies in bringing the perpetrators of severe human rights violations to face justice. 40 Years are Nothing: History and Memory of the 1973 coups d’état in Uruguay and Chile is inspired by the strong memories that these coups still create. The range of topics addressed in the contributions gathered here demonstrate that the 1973 coups continue to be key points of interest for researchers across the globe and that the study of these topics is far from exhausted.