Operation Condor

international campaign

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July 15, 2026

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Operation Condor was a coordinated campaign of political repression and state-sponsored terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s involving several military dictatorships in South America. The primary goal was to eliminate exiled political dissidents. This joint effort by countries like Chile, Argentina, and others aimed to silence opposition through murder and other forms of political violence. A notable act of Operation Condor was the assassination of Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean ambassador, in Washington, D.C., by a car bomb planted by agents of the Chilean secret police. This operation highlights a dark period of human rights abuses in the region.1

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Francisco Morales Bermúdez
…later accused of participating in Operation Condor, in which several South American military governments coordinated their efforts to systematically eliminate left-wing opponents in the 1970s and ’80s. Italy began investigating the disappearance of a number of its citizens and unsuccessfully sought his extradition. In 2017 Morales was convicted in absentia…
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…later accused of participating in Operation Condor, in which several South American military governments coordinated their efforts to systematically eliminate left-wing opponents in the 1970s and ’80s. Italy began investigating the disappearance of a number of its citizens and unsuccessfully sought his extradition. In 2017 Morales was convicted in absentia…
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Augusto Pinochet
…leftists disappeared in 1975, and Operation Condor, in which several South American military governments coordinated their efforts to systematically eliminate opponents in the 1970s and ’80s. In January 2000 Pinochet was allowed to return home after a British court ruled that he was physically unfit to stand trial. Nevertheless, he…
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…leftists disappeared in 1975, and Operation Condor, in which several South American military governments coordinated their efforts to systematically eliminate opponents in the 1970s and ’80s. In January 2000 Pinochet was allowed to return home after a British court ruled that he was physically unfit to stand trial. Nevertheless, he…
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Alfredo Stroessner
His administration actively participated in Operation Condor, a clandestine campaign coordinated by several South American rulers to eliminate their opponents. It was responsible for numerous extralegal arrests, extraditions, and other human rights abuses. In addition, Stroessner allowed Paraguay to serve as a refuge for a number of international fugitives, including…
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His administration actively participated in Operation Condor, a clandestine campaign coordinated by several South American rulers to eliminate their opponents. It was responsible for numerous extralegal arrests, extraditions, and other human rights abuses. In addition, Stroessner allowed Paraguay to serve as a refuge for a number of international fugitives, including…
Read More