Editing Conference of American Armies (CAA) (section)

===CAA’s Connection to the CIA===
The CAA’s ties to the CIA stem from U.S. Army South’s leadership and the broader U.S. military-intelligence complex:

U.S. Army South as CIA Conduit: U.S. Army South, the CAA’s program manager, operated within the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which coordinated with the CIA on regional security. A 1970s CIA National Intelligence Survey on Brazil highlights U.S. interest in military elites, many trained at CAA events. The CAA’s conferences provided a platform for CIA-aligned strategies, though no records confirm direct CIA involvement in CAA planning.

SOA and CIA Training: The SOA, a key training hub for CAA member armies, was CIA-funded and taught counterinsurgency tactics used in Condor. A 1968 CIA report on Latin American militaries, cited by McSherry, notes the SOA’s role in disseminating U.S. doctrines, which CAA conferences reinforced through joint exercises.

[[Crypto AG]] and Intelligence Sharing: The CIA and West Germany’s BND owned Crypto AG, supplying rigged encryption machines to Condor nations, including Brazil, as revealed in a 2020 Washington Post report. While the CAA facilitated intelligence-sharing discussions, no evidence links it directly to Crypto AG’s deployment, though its members likely used these machines.

1964 Brazilian Coup Context: The CIA’s support for Brazil’s coup involved military officers trained at the CAA and SOA, such as Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco. The CAA’s anti-communist rhetoric, echoed in its early conferences, aligned with CIA objectives, but no declassified documents show CIA operatives directing CAA activities.