Aginter Press

Aginter Press, also known under the name Central Order and Tradition (Portuguese: Ordem Central e Tradição), was an international anti-communist mercenary organization disguised as a pseudo-press agency and active between 1966 and 1974. Founded in Lisbon, Portugal in September 1966 under António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo, Aginter Press was directed by Captain Yves Guérin-Sérac, who had taken part in the foundation of the OAS in Madrid, a paramilitary and terrorist group which fought against Algerian insurgents towards the end of the Algerian War (1954–1962).[1][2] Aginter Press trained its members in covert action techniques, including bombings, silent assassinations, subversion techniques, clandestine communication and infiltration and counter-insurgency.

History

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The agency was probably established by the Estado Novo as a response to the Portuguese defeat in the anti-colonial war with India and the subsequent Annexation of Goa. The regime was determined to hold on to its remaining colonial possessions in Angola, Mozambique and East Timor, and feared communist subversion in the form of Soviet support to anti-colonial movements, pushing the regime closer towards NATO security doctrine regarding these movements. This agency is alleged to have carried out work for various right-wing authoritarian governments (including Salazar, Francoist Spain, the Suharto regime in Indonesia, the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, etc.) and the South African Apartheid regime. Its agents worked under the cover of reporters or photographers, which allowed them to travel freely.[3]

Aginter strategic document

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An Aginter Press document, titled "Our Political Activity," was discovered at the end of 1974 and described the use of pseudo-operations:[4]

Our belief is that the first phase of political activity ought to be to create the conditions favouring the installation of chaos in all of the regime's structures. .. In our view the first move we should make is to destroy the structure of the democratic state under the cover of Communist and pro-Soviet activities. .. Moreover, we have people who have infiltrated these groups and obviously we will have to tailor our actions to the ethos of the milieu — propaganda and action of a sort which will seem to have emanated from our Communist adversaries. .. [These operations] will create a feeling of hostility towards those who threaten the peace of each and every nation [i.e. Communists].

Members

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The group was headed by Yves Guérin-Sérac, a Catholic anti-communist activist, former officer of the French Armed Forces and veteran of the Indochina War (1945–54), the Korean War (1950–1953) and the Algerian War (1954–1962). The Italian neo-fascist Stefano Delle Chiaie was another founding member of Aginter Press.[5] Hired in June 1962 by Franco, Yves Guérin-Sérac then chose to go to Salazar's Portugal, which was according to him the last stronghold against Communism and atheism.[6]

When Aginter Press spread from Africa to Latin America in the mid sixties, it has been estimated that 60 per cent of Aginter personnel were recruited out of the OAS.[7]

Actions

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Beside Portugal itself, Aginter Press is alleged to have engaged itself against the independentist movements struggling against the Portuguese empire as well as in Italy. It is suspected of having assassinated General Humberto Delgado (1906–1965), founder of the Portuguese National Liberation Front, although this has been disputed since PIDE's officer Rosa Casaco has admitted he was involved in Delgado's assassination.

According to disputed sources, Aginter Press is alleged to have been responsible for the assassinations of anti-colonialist leader Amílcar Cabral (1924–1973), founder of the PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) and Eduardo Mondlane, leader of the liberation movement FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique), in 1969.[8][9]

1969 Piazza Fontana bombing

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Italian magistrate Guido Salvini, in charge of the investigations concerning the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing, explained to the Italian senators that:[10]

In these investigations data has emerged which confirmed the links between Aginter Press, Ordine Nuovo and Avanguardia Nazionale... It has emerged that Guido Giannettini [one of the neo-fascists responsible for the bombing] had contacts with Guérin-Sérac in Portugal ever since 1964. It has emerged that instructors of Aginter Press. .. came to Rome between 1967 and 1968 and instructed the militant members of Avanguardia Nazionale in the use of explosives.

Carnation Revolution: the end

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During the April 1974 Carnation Revolution which put an end to Salazar's Estado Novo, Yves Guérin-Sérac, João Da Silva and others associates quit Lisbon for Albufereta, Spanish site of the Paladin Group (founded by Otto Skorzeny), near Alicante (Southern Spain). They then escaped with forged French passports to Caracas, with the alleged "benediction of the Foccart networks."[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Willem Koomen, Joop Van Der Pligt (2015). The Psychology of Radicalization and Terrorism. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-1317677031.
  2. ^ Algérie: Géographie, économie, histoire et politique (Les Grands Articles d'Universalis): Universalis, Encyclopaedia (28 October 2015). (French Edition) (Kindle Locations 1157–1158). Encyclopaedia Universalis. Kindle Edition. Quote: "La dernière année de l’Algérie française est marquée, des deux côtés de la Méditerranée, par la folie meurtrière de l’O.A.S. dirigée par Salan. Plasticages en série, exécutions de personnalités jugées trop «libérales» et d’Algériens musulmans ..." Translation: "The last year of the French Algeria is marked, on both sides of the Mediterranean, by the murderous folly of the OAS led by Salan. Serial bombings, executions of personalities judged too 'liberal' and of Algerian Muslims ..."
  3. ^ a b Chairoff, Patrice, 1975. B... comme barbouzes - Une France parallèle celle des basses-œuvres du pouvoir, , Editions Alain Moreau. (investigative journalist who also worked on the Civic Action Service - SAC), pp. 253-255
  4. ^ (Ganser 2005, p. 118) quotes Stuart Christie, Stefano Delle Chiaie, p.32, as well as Lobster, October 1989, p.18
  5. ^ (Ganser 2005, p. 117)
  6. ^ (Ganser 2005, p. 117) quotes Paris Match of November 1974 (front page[permanent dead link‍] as well as Stuart Christie, Stefano delle Chiaie, London, 1984, p.27
  7. ^ Christie, Stuart. Stefano Delle Chiaie: Portrait of a 'Black' Terrorist . Anarchy Magazine, 1984. p. 39. “In the late sixties, when Aginter Press spread its attention from Africa to Latin America, it is estimated that about 60 per cent of Aginter personnel were recruited from the ranks of the OAS, while the remainder were recruited from neo-Nazi organisations in Western Europe such as the Frankfurt based Kampfbund Deutscher Soldateni.”
  8. ^ (Ganser 2005, p. 119) quotes Joao Paulo Guerra, "Gladio actuou em Portugal", in O Jornal, 16 November 1990 and Stuart Christie, Stefano delle Chiaie, London, 1984, p. 30.
  9. ^ Chronology Archived 2008-12-12 at the Wayback Machine, Parallel History Project on Cooperative Security, ETH Zurich.
  10. ^ (Ganser 2005, p. 120); quoting judge Guido Salvini hearing before the Italian Parliamentary Commission of investigation on terrorism in Italy, 9th session of 12 February 1997 (9ª Seduta - Mercoledi 12 Febbraio 1997, Presidenza del Presidente Pellegrino) (in Italian).

Bibliography

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