Israel and The "Argentine Method"
Military regimes in the South American Southern Cone also provided material support and training to
the
Guatemalan government. Many of the repressive tactics used by the Guatemalan security forces
borrowed extensively from those employed during Operation Condor, especially those used by
Argentina during the Dirty War. The military junta in Argentina was a prominent source of both
material aid and inspiration to the
Guatemalan military, especially during the final two years of the
Lucas
government. Argentina's involvement with the Guatemalan government fit within the broader
context of Operation Charly, a CIA-backed covert operation aimed at providing intelligence training
and counterinsurgency assistance to the governments in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala as a
supplement to U.S. operations in the region. In October 1981, the Guatemalan government and the
Argentine military junta formalized secret accords which augmented Argentine participation in
government counterinsurgency operations. As part of the agreement, two-hundred Guatemalan
officers were dispatched to Buenos Aires to undergo advanced military intelligence training, which
included instruction in interrogation. Argentine involvement had initially began in 1980, when the
Videla regime dispatched army and naval officers to Guatemala to assist in counterinsurgency
activities, under contract from President Romeo Lucas Garcia. In addition to working with the regular
security forces, Argentine military advisors as well as a squadron of the notorious Batallón de
Inteligencia 601 (Argentina's elite special forces battalion) worked directly with the Lucas
government's paramilitary death squads, most notably the Ejercito Secreto Anticommunista (ESA).
Argentine military advisors also participated in the Guatemalan army's rural counteroffensive in 1981 during "Operation Ash 81". Argentina's collaboration with the governments in Central America came to an end during the Falklands War in 1982.
The Guatemalan military also maintained strong ties with
Israel, which began selling and delivering
weapons to the Guatemalan military during the Kjell Laugerud presidency. Military items delivered to
Guatemala by Israel between 1974 and 1982 included automatic weapons, light transport aircraft,
and armored cars. From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, Guatemalan troops were primarily
equipped with several different configurations of the 5.56×45mm NATO Galil assault rifle and limited
numbers of the 9mm Uzi submachine gun, both manufactured by Israel Military Industries (IMI). Israel was also the principle supplier of military hardware to Argentina from late-1978 onward after the United States
suspended aid to the
Argentine military junta. The government in Argentina also supplied quantities
of Israeli-manufactured weapons and hardware to the Guatemalan military on several occasions. In
addition to supplying arms to Guatemala (directly and indirectly through
Argentina), Israel also
provided intelligence and operational training to Guatemalan officers. Technical support was also
given to the Guatemalan counterinsurgency by the Israelis, including a computer system located in
an annex of the Presidential General Staff (EMP), behind the presidential palace in 1980. This
computer system incorporated a data analysis system developed during the "Dirty War" in
Argentina, and passed on by Argentine advisors, which was used to monitor electrical and water
usage to pinpoint the coordinates of guerrilla safe-houses. A total of thirty guerrilla safe-houses
were infiltrated in 1981. In 1981 the chief of staff of the Guatemalan army said that the "Israeli
soldier is the model for our soldiers". After the March 23, 1982 junior officers coup, Efraín Ríos Montt
told ABC News that his success was due to the fact that "our soldiers were trained by Israelis."
There was not much outcry in Israel at the time about its involvement in Guatemala, though the
support was not a secret. Despite public praise for Israel by Guatemalan authorities, many
Guatemalan officials were also critical of Israel. General Hector Gramajo stated in an interview,
"Maybe some Israeli's taught us intelligence but for reasons of business...The hawks (Israeli arms
merchants) took advantage of us, selling us equipment at triple the price."
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