Alianza Americana Anticomunista
Encyclopedia
The Alianza Americana Anticomunista ("American Anticommunist Alliance", "AAA", "Triple A") was believed to be a paramilitary
far-right group mainly operating in Colombia
between 1978 and 1979.
Contemporary accusations and declassified U.S. Embassy documents have linked the creation and operation of this group to members of a Colombian National Army battalion employing the Triple A name as a label.
Embassy in Bogotá
, Colombia
details that then-General Jorge Robledo Pulido and members of the "Charry Solano" Battalion of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
(BINCI) were directly involved in the creation of AAA. The report describes a plan intended "to create the impression that the American Anti-communist Alliance has established itself in Colombia and is preparing to take violent action against local communists."
Headquarters, and later the Communist Party's newspaper Voz Proletaria. The bombing of the Communist Party HQ left no casualties according to the 1979 U.S. Embassy's report, which describes Triple A's contemporary activities as "more appropriately characterized as dirty tricks" than human rights abuses.
BINCI has been accused of participating in a number of other bombings, kidnapping
s and assassination
s against leftists
and abuses of guerrilla detainees between the years of 1978 and 1979. In an open letter published on November 29, 1980 by the Mexican
newspaper El Día, five individuals identified as former Colombian military detail a number of activities carried out by BINCI personnel operating as Triple A. Among those implicated in the operations of Triple A are then-Lieutenant Mario Montoya Uribe
, who would have participated in the bombing of Voz Proletaria, and then-Lieutenant Colonel Harold Bedoya, the commander of BINCI who would have given orders to several of the personnel involved.
A 1992 publication, El Terrorismo de Estado en Colombia (State Terrorism in Colombia), prepared by a coalition of human rights
groups that included Catholic
peace movement
Pax Christi International
, repeated the accusations found in the El Día article.
(DIA) concluded that there was no evidence to support the accusations regarding General Mario Montoya Uribe
's involvement in Triple A, citing the information as "a NGO
smear campaign
dating back 20 years." This denial took place before the National Security Archive's request and subsequent declassification of the 1979 Embassy document.
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
far-right group mainly operating in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
between 1978 and 1979.
Contemporary accusations and declassified U.S. Embassy documents have linked the creation and operation of this group to members of a Colombian National Army battalion employing the Triple A name as a label.
Foundation
A 1979 report from the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Embassy in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
details that then-General Jorge Robledo Pulido and members of the "Charry Solano" Battalion of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
BINCI
The Batallón Único de Inteligencia y Contrainteligencia of the Colombian National Army. The BINCI has also been referred to as the "Charry Solano battalion," after its original chief, Brigadier General Ricardo Charry Solano....
(BINCI) were directly involved in the creation of AAA. The report describes a plan intended "to create the impression that the American Anti-communist Alliance has established itself in Colombia and is preparing to take violent action against local communists."
Accusations and activities
In December 1978 the Anticommunist American Alliance bombed the Colombian Communist PartyColombian Communist Party
The Colombian Communist Party or PCC is the legal communist party of Colombia. It was founded in 1930, as the Colombian section of the Comintern...
Headquarters, and later the Communist Party's newspaper Voz Proletaria. The bombing of the Communist Party HQ left no casualties according to the 1979 U.S. Embassy's report, which describes Triple A's contemporary activities as "more appropriately characterized as dirty tricks" than human rights abuses.
BINCI has been accused of participating in a number of other bombings, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s and assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s against leftists
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
and abuses of guerrilla detainees between the years of 1978 and 1979. In an open letter published on November 29, 1980 by the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
newspaper El Día, five individuals identified as former Colombian military detail a number of activities carried out by BINCI personnel operating as Triple A. Among those implicated in the operations of Triple A are then-Lieutenant Mario Montoya Uribe
Mario Montoya Uribe
Mario Montoya Uribe was a Colombian military General and Commander of the Colombian National Army until his resignation on November 4, 2008 following a scandal involving the deaths of 11 civilians at the hands of the military. Montoya holds a graduate title in Top management from the Los Andes...
, who would have participated in the bombing of Voz Proletaria, and then-Lieutenant Colonel Harold Bedoya, the commander of BINCI who would have given orders to several of the personnel involved.
A 1992 publication, El Terrorismo de Estado en Colombia (State Terrorism in Colombia), prepared by a coalition of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
groups that included Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
Pax Christi International
Pax Christi
-History:Pax Christi was established in France in 1945 as a reconciliation work between the French and the Germans after the Second World War. In 2007, it existed in more than 60 countries...
, repeated the accusations found in the El Día article.
U.S. evaluation
In 1999 the Defence Intelligence AgencyDefense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
(DIA) concluded that there was no evidence to support the accusations regarding General Mario Montoya Uribe
Mario Montoya Uribe
Mario Montoya Uribe was a Colombian military General and Commander of the Colombian National Army until his resignation on November 4, 2008 following a scandal involving the deaths of 11 civilians at the hands of the military. Montoya holds a graduate title in Top management from the Los Andes...
's involvement in Triple A, citing the information as "a NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
dating back 20 years." This denial took place before the National Security Archive's request and subsequent declassification of the 1979 Embassy document.
See also
- Colombian Armed ConflictColombian Armed ConflictThe Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
- Colombian Ministry of Defense
- History of ColombiaHistory of ColombiaThis article deals with the history of Colombia, a country in South America.-Pre-Colombian period:Approximately 10,000 years BC hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá , and they traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River valley...
- Military of ColombiaMilitary of ColombiaThe Military Forces of Colombia are the armed forces of the Republic of Colombia.-Services:The Military of Colombia consists of:* National Army of Colombia * Colombian National Armada - Marines, Navy and Coast Guard attached* Colombian Air Force...
- Paramilitarism in ColombiaParamilitarism in ColombiaParamilitarism in Colombia refers to the origins and activities of far right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century.Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current...
- Politics of ColombiaPolitics of ColombiaThe Politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...