Dan Mitrione
Encyclopedia
Daniel A. Mitrione was an Italian-born
American police officer
, Federal Bureau of Investigation
agent and a United States government advisor for the Central Intelligence Agency
in Latin America
.
, from 1945 to 1947 and joined the FBI in 1959. In 1960 he was assigned to State Department's International Cooperation Administration
, going to South America
n countries to teach "advanced counterinsurgency techniques." A. J. Langguth, a former New York Times bureau chief in Saigon, claimed that Mitrione was among the US advisers teaching Brazil
ian police how much electric shock to apply to prisoners without killing them Langguth also claimed that older police officers were replaced "when the CIA and the U.S. police advisers had turned to harsher measures and sterner men." and that under the new head of the U.S. Public Safety program in Uruguay
, Dan Mitrione, the United States "introduced a system of nationwide identification cards, like those in Brazil… [and] torture had become routine at the Montevideo
[police] jefatura."
From 1960 to 1967, Mitrione worked with the Brazilian police, first in Belo Horizonte
then in Rio de Janeiro
. He returned to the US in 1967 to share his experiences and expertise on "counterguerilla warfare" at the Agency for International Development (USAID), in Washington D.C.. In 1969, Mitrione moved to Uruguay, again under USAID, to oversee the Office of Public Safety
.
Mitrione was also in the Dominican Republic
after the 1965 US intervention
.
, had its hands full with a collapsing economy, labor and student strikes, and the Tupamaros
, a left-wing urban guerilla group. On the other hand, Washington feared a possible victory during the elections of the Frente Amplio
, a left-wing coalition, on the model of the victory of the Unidad Popular government in Chile, led by Salvador Allende
, in 1970. The OPS had been helping the local police since 1965, providing them with weapons and training. It is claimed that torture had already been practised since the 1960s, but Dan Mitrione was reportedly the man who made it routine. He is quoted as having said once: "The precise pain, in the precise place, in the precise amount, for the desired effect." Former Uruguayan police officials and CIA operatives claimed Mitrione had taught torture techniques to Uruguayan police in the cellar of his Montevideo home, including the use of electrical shocks delivered to his victims' mouths and genitals. He also helped train foreign police agents in the United States in the context of the Cold War
. It has been alleged that he used homeless people for training purposes, who were allegedly executed once they had served their purpose.
As the use of torture allegations grew and the tensions in Uruguay escalated, Mitrione was eventually kidnapped by the Tupamaros
on July 31, 1970. They proceeded to interrogate him about his past and the intervention of the U.S. government in Latin American affairs. They also demanded the release of 150 political prisoners.
The Uruguayan government, with U.S. backing, refused, and Mitrione was later found dead in a car, shot twice in the head and with no other visible signs of maltreatment (beyond the fact that, during the kidnapping, Mitrione had been shot in one shoulder—for which he had evidently been treated while in captivity). Tom Golden, a career army intelligence operative detailed to the CIA and assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo was a personal friend of Mitrione. He disputed the torture training allegations in closed door testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee after Mitrione was killed by the Tupamaros. Golden worked closely with Uruguayan officials to try to secure the release of Mitrione and prevent his execution.
After being released from prison, the leader of the Tupamaros, Raúl Sendic
, revealed that they had not suspected Mitrione of teaching torture techniques to the police. He had trained police in riot control and was targeted for kidnapping as retaliation for the deaths of student protestors.
In addition, Mr. Sendic also revealed that Mitrione's death was a misfortune being that The Tupamaro leaders decided to keep Mr. Mitrione alive and hold him indefinitely instead of killing him, should the Government continue to refuse to their demands.
But on August 7, 1970, just a week after the kidnapping, the Uruguayan police raided the house where the tupamaro leadership was staying and captured Mr. Sendic and the others.
A short time later, he said, the replacement leadership, which also knew of the plan to keep Mr. Mitrione alive, was also captured.
"Those captured lost all contact with the others," he said, "and when the deadline came the group that was left with Mitrione did not know what to do. So they decided to carry out the threat."
In spite of Sendic's memories, told almost 17 years after the events and after being imprisoned for so many years, just a few days after Mitrione's funeral a senior Uruguayan police officer, Alejandro Otero, told the Jornal do Brasil
that Mitrione had been employed to teach the police to use "violent techniques of torture and repression".
Moreover, evidence of his secret activities would later emerge, mostly through Cuba
n double agent
Manuel Hevia Cosculluela.
In his book Hevia told that Dan Mitrione had built a soundproofed room in the cellar of his house in Montevideo, in which he assembled selected Uruguayan police officers to observe torture techniques demonstrations.
In his book Hevia does not say specifically what Mitrione's direct part in those demonstrations was but he later publicly stated that the OPS chief "personally tortured four beggars to death with electric shocks".
affirmed that Mitrione's "devoted service to the cause of peaceful progress in an orderly world will remain as an example for free men everywhere." His funeral was largely publicised by the U.S. media, and it was attended by, amongst others, David Eisenhower
and Richard Nixon
's secretary of state William Rogers
. Frank Sinatra
and Jerry Lewis
held a benefit concert
for his family in Richmond, Indiana.
by Costa-Gavras
is based on the story of Mitrione's kidnapping.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
American police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent and a United States government advisor for the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Career
Mitrione was a police officer in Richmond, IndianaRichmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
, from 1945 to 1947 and joined the FBI in 1959. In 1960 he was assigned to State Department's International Cooperation Administration
International Cooperation Administration
The International Cooperation Administration was established by the U.S. State Department Delegation of Authority 85, June 30, 1955, pursuant to EO 10610, May 9, 1955. The predecessor to this administration was the Foreign Operations Administration . Both oganizations coordinated foreign...
, going to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n countries to teach "advanced counterinsurgency techniques." A. J. Langguth, a former New York Times bureau chief in Saigon, claimed that Mitrione was among the US advisers teaching Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian police how much electric shock to apply to prisoners without killing them Langguth also claimed that older police officers were replaced "when the CIA and the U.S. police advisers had turned to harsher measures and sterner men." and that under the new head of the U.S. Public Safety program in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Dan Mitrione, the United States "introduced a system of nationwide identification cards, like those in Brazil… [and] torture had become routine at the Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
[police] jefatura."
From 1960 to 1967, Mitrione worked with the Brazilian police, first in Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
then in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. He returned to the US in 1967 to share his experiences and expertise on "counterguerilla warfare" at the Agency for International Development (USAID), in Washington D.C.. In 1969, Mitrione moved to Uruguay, again under USAID, to oversee the Office of Public Safety
Office of Public Safety
The Office of Public Safety was a US government agency, established in 1957 by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower to train police forces of US allies. It was officially part of USAID , and was close to the Central Intelligence Agency . Police-training teams were sent to South Vietnam, Iran, Taiwan,...
.
Mitrione was also in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
after the 1965 US intervention
Operation Power Pack
The second United States occupation of the Dominican Republic began when the United States Marines Corps entered Santo Domingo on April 28, 1965. They were later joined by most of the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division and its parent XVIIIth Airborne Corps...
.
Uruguayan posting and death
In this period the Uruguayan government, led by the Colorado PartyColorado Party (Uruguay)
The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....
, had its hands full with a collapsing economy, labor and student strikes, and the Tupamaros
Tupamaros
Tupamaros, also known as the MLN-T , was an urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of social politics...
, a left-wing urban guerilla group. On the other hand, Washington feared a possible victory during the elections of the Frente Amplio
Broad Front (Uruguay)
The Broad Front is a Uruguayan left-wing coalition of political parties. It is led by Jorge Brovetto. Frente Amplio has close ties with PIT-CNT trade union and the cooperative housing movement.-History:...
, a left-wing coalition, on the model of the victory of the Unidad Popular government in Chile, led by Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
, in 1970. The OPS had been helping the local police since 1965, providing them with weapons and training. It is claimed that torture had already been practised since the 1960s, but Dan Mitrione was reportedly the man who made it routine. He is quoted as having said once: "The precise pain, in the precise place, in the precise amount, for the desired effect." Former Uruguayan police officials and CIA operatives claimed Mitrione had taught torture techniques to Uruguayan police in the cellar of his Montevideo home, including the use of electrical shocks delivered to his victims' mouths and genitals. He also helped train foreign police agents in the United States in the context of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. It has been alleged that he used homeless people for training purposes, who were allegedly executed once they had served their purpose.
As the use of torture allegations grew and the tensions in Uruguay escalated, Mitrione was eventually kidnapped by the Tupamaros
Tupamaros
Tupamaros, also known as the MLN-T , was an urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of social politics...
on July 31, 1970. They proceeded to interrogate him about his past and the intervention of the U.S. government in Latin American affairs. They also demanded the release of 150 political prisoners.
The Uruguayan government, with U.S. backing, refused, and Mitrione was later found dead in a car, shot twice in the head and with no other visible signs of maltreatment (beyond the fact that, during the kidnapping, Mitrione had been shot in one shoulder—for which he had evidently been treated while in captivity). Tom Golden, a career army intelligence operative detailed to the CIA and assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo was a personal friend of Mitrione. He disputed the torture training allegations in closed door testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee after Mitrione was killed by the Tupamaros. Golden worked closely with Uruguayan officials to try to secure the release of Mitrione and prevent his execution.
After being released from prison, the leader of the Tupamaros, Raúl Sendic
Raúl Sendic
Raúl Sendic Antonaccio was a prominent Uruguayan Marxist and founder of the Tupamaros.Born in a rural area, near the village of Juan Jose Castro, in the Flores Department, Sendic worked with his father as a peasant on a crab apple farm until he finished high school and left his home to study in...
, revealed that they had not suspected Mitrione of teaching torture techniques to the police. He had trained police in riot control and was targeted for kidnapping as retaliation for the deaths of student protestors.
In addition, Mr. Sendic also revealed that Mitrione's death was a misfortune being that The Tupamaro leaders decided to keep Mr. Mitrione alive and hold him indefinitely instead of killing him, should the Government continue to refuse to their demands.
But on August 7, 1970, just a week after the kidnapping, the Uruguayan police raided the house where the tupamaro leadership was staying and captured Mr. Sendic and the others.
A short time later, he said, the replacement leadership, which also knew of the plan to keep Mr. Mitrione alive, was also captured.
"Those captured lost all contact with the others," he said, "and when the deadline came the group that was left with Mitrione did not know what to do. So they decided to carry out the threat."
In spite of Sendic's memories, told almost 17 years after the events and after being imprisoned for so many years, just a few days after Mitrione's funeral a senior Uruguayan police officer, Alejandro Otero, told the Jornal do Brasil
Jornal do Brasil
Jornal do Brasil, widely known as JB, is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest existent Brazilian paper, after the Diário de Pernambuco and O Estado de São Paulo....
that Mitrione had been employed to teach the police to use "violent techniques of torture and repression".
Moreover, evidence of his secret activities would later emerge, mostly through Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
Manuel Hevia Cosculluela.
In his book Hevia told that Dan Mitrione had built a soundproofed room in the cellar of his house in Montevideo, in which he assembled selected Uruguayan police officers to observe torture techniques demonstrations.
In his book Hevia does not say specifically what Mitrione's direct part in those demonstrations was but he later publicly stated that the OPS chief "personally tortured four beggars to death with electric shocks".
Commemoration
The Nixon Administration through spokesman Ron ZieglerRon Ziegler
Ronald Louis "Ron" Ziegler was White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President during United States President Richard Nixon's administration.-Early life:...
affirmed that Mitrione's "devoted service to the cause of peaceful progress in an orderly world will remain as an example for free men everywhere." His funeral was largely publicised by the U.S. media, and it was attended by, amongst others, David Eisenhower
David Eisenhower
Dwight David Eisenhower II is an American author, public policy fellow, and eponym of the U.S. Presidential retreat, Camp David. He is the grandson of the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D...
and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's secretary of state William Rogers
William Rogers
-Politics:*William P. Rogers , U.S. Attorney General under Dwight Eisenhower and Secretary of State under Richard Nixon*Will Rogers, Jr. , congressman from California from 1943 to 1944 and the son of the noted humorist by the same name*Will Rogers , congressman from Oklahoma, 1933–1942*William D...
. Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
held a benefit concert
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
for his family in Richmond, Indiana.
In fiction
The 1973 movie State of SiegeState of Siege
State of Siege is a 1972 French film directed by Costa Gavras starring Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori.-Summary:...
by Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras, is a Greek filmmaker, who lives and works in France, best known for films with overt political themes, most famously the fast-paced thriller, Z...
is based on the story of Mitrione's kidnapping.
See also
- History of UruguayHistory of UruguayThis is about the history of Uruguay.-Pre-Columbian times and colonization:The only documented inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrua, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní of Paraguay...
- History of Brazil (1964-1985)History of Brazil (1964-1985)The Brazilian military government was the authoritarian regime which ruled Brazil from March 31, 1964 to March 15, 1985. It began with the 1964 coup d'état led by the Armed Forces against the democratically elected government of left-wing President João Goulart and ended when José Sarney took...
- Office of Public SafetyOffice of Public SafetyThe Office of Public Safety was a US government agency, established in 1957 by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower to train police forces of US allies. It was officially part of USAID , and was close to the Central Intelligence Agency . Police-training teams were sent to South Vietnam, Iran, Taiwan,...
Further reading
- To Save Dan Mitrione Nixon Administration Urged Death Threats for Uruguayan Prisoners, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 324, National Security ArchiveNational Security ArchiveThe National Security Archive is a 501 non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located in the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1985 by Scott Armstrong, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of US...
, August 11, 2010 - The Mitrione Kidnapping in Uruguay 1974 RANDRANDRAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
study