Office of Public Safety
Encyclopedia
The Office of Public Safety (OPS) 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 (US Agency for International Development), and was close to the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). Police-training teams were sent to South Vietnam
, Iran
, Taiwan
, Brazil
, Uruguay
and Greece
. Courses were held in French, Spanish and English. According to a 1973 document revealed in the Family jewels CIA documents, around 700 police officers were trained a year, including in handling of explosives. It was dissolved in 1974.
's (USAID) Office of Public Safety (OPS) provided Latin American police forces with millions of dollars worth of weapons and trained thousands of Latin American police officers. In the late 1960s, such programs came under media and congressional scrutiny because the U.S.-provided equipment and personnel were linked to cases of torture, murder and "disappearances" in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
In Washington, D.C., the Office of Public Safety had remained immune to public embarrassment as it went about two of its chief functions: allowing the CIA to plant men with the local police in sensitive places around the world; and after careful observation on their home territory, bringing to the United States prime candidates for enrollment as CIA employees. The OPS's director in Washington, Byron Engle, was close to the CIA.
In 1966, US senator J. William Fulbright
started criticizing the OPS's methods. Then, informed by Brazilian opposition members, US senator James G. Abourezk set about to disclose the OPS's program. John A. Hannah
, head of the USAID and former president of Michigan State University, unsuccessfully tried to support the OPS by sending a letter to deputy Otto Passman
.
In 1974, Congress banned the provision by the U.S. of training or assistance to foreign police with a statute known as Section 660 of the Foreign Assistance Act
(FAA).
The OPS had formed a million policemen in the Third World
. Ten thousands of them had undertaken training courses in the US. $150 million worth in material had been sent to foreign police forces.
Most of the OPS's missions were transferred to others agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, while the US Department of Defense continued to transfer equipment to security forces in foreign countries. OPS officer Jack Goin went on to found a private security firm, Public Safety Services, Inc., in Washington.
, including the making of bombs and incendiary devices.
officers to Venezuela
in 1962 to train local police officers and assist them in repression against the Armed Forces of National Liberation
(AFNL).
since 1964 , supplying the police with equipment, arms and training. These operations involved courses on explosives, assassination, and riot control
. Between 1969 and 1973, at least 19 Uruguayan police officers were trained in CIA and OPS schools in Washington DC and in Los Fresnos, Texas
to be taught the handling of explosives. On several occasions, the pupils were not police officers, but individuals affiliated with the Uruguayan right-wing. By 1970, the OPS had trained a thousand police officers in riot control.
USAID agent, Dan Mitrione
, who had previously trained the Brazil
ian police in interrogation
and torture
methods, arrived in Uruguay in 1969 to work for the OPS. Torture was already in use by the Uruguayan police at this point, although it became systematic under Mitrione's direction. In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper in 1970, the former Uruguayan Chief of Police Intelligence, Alejandro Otero, declared that US officers, in particular Mitrione, had instituted torture as a systemic method. According to A. J. Langguth's Hidden Terrors (Pantheon Books, 1978, p. 286), older police officers were replaced "when the CIA and the U.S. police advisers had turned to harsher measures and sterner men."
While having been previously been complicit in torture, Otero stopped supporting Mitrione after a friend and Tupamaros
sympathizer had been tortured in Mitrione's presence. Otero also claimed to oppose torture as he thought it led to the radicalization of the conflict.
In July 1970, the Tupamaros kidnapped Mitrione, questioning 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".
CIA officer William Cantrell was based in Montevideo
as an OPS member. He assisted in the creation of the National Directorate of Information and Intelligence (Dirección Nacional de Información e Inteligencia - DNII), to which he supplied equipment, including devices that could be used in torture. After the 1971 elections during which the left-wing Frente Amplio
was defeated, the Uruguayan government launched a DNII-led joint military and police force that was tasked with conducting counter-revolutionary operations against the Tupamaros. According to former police officers, death squads were run from the DNII.
After being released from prison for crimes related to the Tupamaros insurgent activity, the leader of the Tupamaros, Raul Sendic
, revealed that Mitrione had not been suspected of teaching torture techniques to the police. Rather, Mitrione was suspected to have trained police in riot control and was targeted for kidnapping as retaliation for the deaths of student protestors. Further, Sendic claimed "that a breakdown in communication led to the death of Mr. Mitrione", and that his murder was accidental mishandling of a negotiations deadline.
Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
, established in 1957 by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
to train police forces of US allies. It was officially part of USAID (US Agency for International Development), and was close to 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...
(CIA). Police-training teams were sent to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, 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...
, 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...
and Greece
Greek military junta of 1967-1974
The Greek military junta of 1967–1974, alternatively "The Regime of the Colonels" , or in Greece "The Junta", and "The Seven Years" are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974...
. Courses were held in French, Spanish and English. According to a 1973 document revealed in the Family jewels CIA documents, around 700 police officers were trained a year, including in handling of explosives. It was dissolved in 1974.
Creation and dissolution of the OPS
The United States has a long history of providing police aid to Latin American countries. In the 1960s the U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
's (USAID) Office of Public Safety (OPS) provided Latin American police forces with millions of dollars worth of weapons and trained thousands of Latin American police officers. In the late 1960s, such programs came under media and congressional scrutiny because the U.S.-provided equipment and personnel were linked to cases of torture, murder and "disappearances" in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
In Washington, D.C., the Office of Public Safety had remained immune to public embarrassment as it went about two of its chief functions: allowing the CIA to plant men with the local police in sensitive places around the world; and after careful observation on their home territory, bringing to the United States prime candidates for enrollment as CIA employees. The OPS's director in Washington, Byron Engle, was close to the CIA.
In 1966, US senator J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
started criticizing the OPS's methods. Then, informed by Brazilian opposition members, US senator James G. Abourezk set about to disclose the OPS's program. John A. Hannah
John A. Hannah
John Alfred Hannah was president of Michigan State College for 28 years, making him the longest serving of MSU's presidents. He is credited with transforming the school from a little-known, regional agricultural college into a large national research institution...
, head of the USAID and former president of Michigan State University, unsuccessfully tried to support the OPS by sending a letter to deputy Otto Passman
Otto Passman
Otto Ernest Passman was a conservative Democratic congressman from Monroe in northeastern Louisiana, who served from 1947 to 1977. He is primarily remembered for his detailed knowledge and mostly opposition to foreign aid...
.
In 1974, Congress banned the provision by the U.S. of training or assistance to foreign police with a statute known as Section 660 of the Foreign Assistance Act
Foreign Assistance Act
The Foreign Assistance Act is a United States Act of Congress. The Act reorganized the structure of existing U.S. foreign assistance programs, separated military from non-military aid, and created a new agency, the United States Agency for International Development to administer those...
(FAA).
The OPS had formed a million policemen in the Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
. Ten thousands of them had undertaken training courses in the US. $150 million worth in material had been sent to foreign police forces.
Most of the OPS's missions were transferred to others agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency and the 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...
, while the US Department of Defense continued to transfer equipment to security forces in foreign countries. OPS officer Jack Goin went on to found a private security firm, Public Safety Services, Inc., in Washington.
International Police Academy
Operated by the OPS, the International Police Academy was instituted in 1963, training police officers from various countries around the World in the United States. Its first class included sixty-eight police officers from seventeen different nations. Until the early 1970s, selected candidates could also receive training from CIA officers at the U.S. Border Patrol academy in Los Fresnos, TexasLos Fresnos, Texas
Los Fresnos is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,512 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas....
, including the making of bombs and incendiary devices.
Operations
The head of the OPS, Byron Engle, sent Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officers to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
in 1962 to train local police officers and assist them in repression against the Armed Forces of National Liberation
Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (Venezuela)
The Armed Forces of National Liberation was a Venezuelan guerrilla group formed to foment revolution against the democratically elected government of Rómulo Betancourt.-Background:...
(AFNL).
Uruguay
The OPS had operated in UruguayUruguay
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...
since 1964 , supplying the police with equipment, arms and training. These operations involved courses on explosives, assassination, and riot control
Riot control
Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
. Between 1969 and 1973, at least 19 Uruguayan police officers were trained in CIA and OPS schools in Washington DC and in Los Fresnos, Texas
Los Fresnos, Texas
Los Fresnos is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,512 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas....
to be taught the handling of explosives. On several occasions, the pupils were not police officers, but individuals affiliated with the Uruguayan right-wing. By 1970, the OPS had trained a thousand police officers in riot control.
USAID agent, Dan Mitrione
Dan Mitrione
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.- Career :...
, who had previously trained the 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 in interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
methods, arrived in Uruguay in 1969 to work for the OPS. Torture was already in use by the Uruguayan police at this point, although it became systematic under Mitrione's direction. In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper in 1970, the former Uruguayan Chief of Police Intelligence, Alejandro Otero, declared that US officers, in particular Mitrione, had instituted torture as a systemic method. According to A. J. Langguth's Hidden Terrors (Pantheon Books, 1978, p. 286), older police officers were replaced "when the CIA and the U.S. police advisers had turned to harsher measures and sterner men."
While having been previously been complicit in torture, Otero stopped supporting Mitrione after a friend and 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...
sympathizer had been tortured in Mitrione's presence. Otero also claimed to oppose torture as he thought it led to the radicalization of the conflict.
In July 1970, the Tupamaros kidnapped Mitrione, questioning 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".
CIA officer William Cantrell was based in 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...
as an OPS member. He assisted in the creation of the National Directorate of Information and Intelligence (Dirección Nacional de Información e Inteligencia - DNII), to which he supplied equipment, including devices that could be used in torture. After the 1971 elections during which the left-wing 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:...
was defeated, the Uruguayan government launched a DNII-led joint military and police force that was tasked with conducting counter-revolutionary operations against the Tupamaros. According to former police officers, death squads were run from the DNII.
After being released from prison for crimes related to the Tupamaros insurgent activity, the leader of the Tupamaros, Raul 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 Mitrione had not been suspected of teaching torture techniques to the police. Rather, Mitrione was suspected to have trained police in riot control and was targeted for kidnapping as retaliation for the deaths of student protestors. Further, Sendic claimed "that a breakdown in communication led to the death of Mr. Mitrione", and that his murder was accidental mishandling of a negotiations deadline.
See also
- School of the Americas
- U.S. Army and CIA interrogation manuals
- Plan ColombiaPlan ColombiaThe term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and combating a left-wing insurgency by supporting different activities in Colombia....
- PIDEPIDEIn 1969, Marcello Caetano changed the name PIDE to DGS . The death of Salazar and the subsequent ascension of Caetano brought some attempts at democratization, in order to avoid popular insurgency against censorship, the ongoing colonial war and the general restriction of civil rights...
, Portuguese police force http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Torture/Hidden_Terrors_4.html
External links
- OPS-produced or OPS-funded publications available through USAID's Development Experience System (DEXS)
- William Blum, Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions since World War II, 2003 (chapter on Uruguay)
- A. J. Langguth's Hidden Terrors (Pantheon Books, 1978)
- Christian, Shirley (June 21), "Uruguayan Clears Up 'State of Siege' Killing", New York Times