Brazilian Advanced War College

Background

The Brazilian Advanced War College, known in Portuguese as the Escola Superior de Guerra (ESG), is Brazil’s premier military institution for advanced strategic studies, focusing on national security, defense policy, and geopolitical strategy. Founded in 1949, it trains military officers and civilian leaders to address complex national and international challenges, emphasizing Brazil’s role in the Western Hemisphere and its alignment with Western, particularly U.S., interests during the Cold War.

While the ESG has played a significant role in shaping Brazil’s military and political elite, its connections to Operation Condor and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are indirect, rooted in its ideological alignment, training programs, and the broader context of U.S.-Brazilian military cooperation during the Cold War. Below is a detailed explanation of the ESG’s history, purpose, and its ties to Operation Condor and the CIA, with a critical analysis of the evidence and narratives.

Overview of the Brazilian Advanced War College (ESG)

History and Establishment

Founding: The ESG was established on August 20, 1949, by decree of President Eurico Gaspar Dutra, inspired by the U.S. National War College in Washington, D.C. Its creation responded to post-World War II geopolitical shifts, particularly the need to counter Soviet influence in Latin America during the emerging Cold War.

Mission: The ESG’s mission is to prepare senior military officers (from the Army, Navy, and Air Force) and select civilians (government officials, diplomats, and business leaders) for strategic leadership roles. It focuses on national security doctrine, defense planning, and fostering a unified vision of Brazil’s development and global role.

Structure: Located in Rio de Janeiro, the ESG operates under the Ministry of Defense and offers a one-year advanced course, the Curso Superior de Guerra, covering strategy, geopolitics, economics, and intelligence. It also conducts research, publishes studies, and hosts seminars to influence national policy.

Influence: The ESG has trained thousands of graduates, many of whom have held high-ranking positions in Brazil’s military governments (1964–1985), civilian administrations, and private sectors. Its alumni include presidents, ministers, and key figures in Brazil’s 1964 military coup.

Ideology and National Security Doctrine

Cold War Context: The ESG developed a National Security Doctrine (NSD) heavily influenced by U.S. anti-communist strategies. This doctrine viewed communism as an existential threat, emphasizing “internal security” against subversive ideologies, including leftist political movements, labor unions, and student activism.

Key Principles: The NSD prioritized economic development, national unity, and alignment with Western powers, particularly the U.S., to counter Soviet influence. It advocated for military intervention in politics to safeguard “national objectives,” a rationale used to justify the 1964 coup against President João Goulart.

Geopolitical Focus: The ESG promoted Brazil’s leadership in South America, advocating for regional cooperation to suppress leftist insurgencies, which aligned with the broader objectives of Operation Condor.

Training and U.S. Influence

U.S. Model: The ESG was modeled on the U.S. National War College, with early curricula and instructors influenced by U.S. military advisors who were present at the school. The U.S. provided training materials, funding, and exchange programs through bilateral military agreements, such as the 1952 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement.

School of the Americas: Many ESG instructors and graduates also trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) in Panama (later Fort Benning, Georgia), which taught counterinsurgency, psychological warfare, and interrogation techniques. The SOA’s alumni included key figures in Brazil’s military regime and Operation Condor. This school was a tool of the CIA to train forces they would use in Operation Condor.

Impact: This U.S. influence embedded anti-communist ideologies in the ESG’s teachings, fostering a mindset that prioritized internal security and regional coordination against perceived threats, setting the stage for Brazil’s participation in Condor.

Connections to Operation Condor

Operation Condor Overview

Operation Condor was a U.S.-backed, CIA conducted, campaign of political repression and state terror, formalized in November 1975, involving coups installing military dictatorships in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay (later joined by Ecuador and Peru). Coordinated by Chile’s DINA (Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional), Condor aimed to eliminate leftist activists, dissidents, and perceived subversives through cross-border intelligence sharing, kidnappings, torture, disappearances, and assassinations. It resulted in an estimated 60,000–80,000 deaths and 400,000 political prisoners across the region.

Brazil’s Role in Condor

Brazil was a formal member of Operation Condor, with its military regime (1964–1985) actively participating in intelligence coordination and repression. Key aspects include:

Initial Meetings: A declassified CIA document from June 23, 1976, notes that security officials from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia met in Buenos Aires in early 1974 to plan coordinated actions against “subversive targets,” with Brazil’s involvement formalized by May 1976.

Repression Activities: Brazil contributed to Condor’s intelligence-sharing network, Condortel, and its computerized database, which stored information on thousands of suspected dissidents. Brazilian military and police units abducted and transferred activists, such as Norberto Habegger (1978) and Mónica Pinus de Binstock (1980), to Argentina for detention and likely execution.

Alleged Poisonings: The 2013 documentary Dossiê Jango implicated a Condor-linked bacteriological warfare laboratory in Colonia Dignidad, Chile, in the poisoning of Brazil’s deposed president João Goulart (died 1976).

Limited Engagement: Brazil’s participation waned by 1977, as a CIA document from December 28, 1977, indicates Brazil withdrew its observers from Condor after attempting to assert leadership at a 1976 meeting in Santiago, facing resistance from other members.

ESG’s Connection to Condor

The ESG’s connection to Operation Condor is significant, rooted in its role as a training ground for Brazil’s military elite and its ideological alignment with Condor’s anti-communist objectives:

Training of Condor Operatives: ESG graduates were assigned to Condor units, the school trained many officers who led Brazil’s military regime during Condor’s peak (1975–1985). For example, General Ernesto Geisel (president, 1974–1979) and General João Figueiredo (president, 1979–1985), both ESG alumni, oversaw Brazil’s participation in Condor. The ESG’s emphasis on counterinsurgency and psychological warfare mirrored Condor’s tactics, as noted in CIA reports on Condor’s “non-violent activities” like propaganda campaigns.

Ideological Foundation: The ESG’s National Security Doctrine provided the intellectual framework for Brazil’s repressive policies, justifying the targeting of “subversives” as a national security imperative. This doctrine aligned with Condor’s goal of eradicating leftist movements, fostering a mindset among ESG-trained officers that supported cross-border repression.

Regional Cooperation: The ESG promoted hemispheric defense concepts, advocating for coordination among Latin American militaries, a principle reflected in Condor’s multinational structure. A 1968 statement by U.S. General Robert W. Porter, cited by historian J. Patrice McSherry, emphasized U.S. efforts to foster “inter-service and regional cooperation” in Latin America, with institutions like the ESG serving as hubs for such collaboration.

SOA Overlap: Many ESG instructors and graduates attended the SOA, where Condor operatives from other countries, such as Chile’s Manuel Contreras, also trained. The SOA’s curriculum, including torture and interrogation techniques, was disseminated to ESG-trained officers, potentially influencing Brazil’s Condor-related activities.

Connections to the CIA

CIA’s Role in Operation Condor

The CIA played a significant role in Operation Condor, providing technical support, intelligence, and tacit approval:

Coordination: Journalist A.J. Langguth (1978) states the CIA organized initial meetings between Argentine and Uruguayan security officials and acted as an intermediary for Argentine, Brazilian, and Uruguayan death squads.

Technical Support: The CIA supplied computers for Condor’s database and access to Condortel, a secure communications network based at a U.S. facility in the Panama Canal Zone co-located with School of Americas, enhancing Condor’s ability to track dissidents.

Knowledge and Complicity: A 2000 CIA report admitted awareness of Condor’s precursor activities by 1974, including assassinations. Declassified cables, such as one from September 1977, reveal CIA knowledge of European intelligence agencies exploring Condor-like tactics. Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State, was informed of Condor’s assassination plans in August 1976 but failed to act decisively, canceling a warning to Condor nations.

Crypto AG Connection: A 2020 Washington Post report revealed that the CIA and West Germany’s BND secretly owned Crypto AG, a Swiss cryptography firm supplying rigged machines to Condor countries, including Brazil, allowing U.S. decryption of their communications.

ESG’s Connection to the CIA

U.S. Training and Funding: The ESG received U.S. support through the 1952 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement, including training materials, advisors, and funding for officer exchanges. CIA-backed programs at the SOA, where ESG instructors trained, disseminated counterinsurgency tactics, as noted in 1960s U.S. Army manuals found in Paraguayan archives.

CIA’s Role in 1964 Coup: The CIA supported the 1964 coup against João Goulart, providing intelligence and contingency plans (Operation Brother Sam). ESG-trained officers, including Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, the first military president (1964–1967), were central to the coup, reflecting shared U.S.-ESG anti-communist goals. A CIA National Intelligence Survey on Brazil (1970s) underscores U.S. interest in Brazil’s military elite, many of whom were ESG alumni.

Condor Facilitation: The CIA’s technical support for Condor, such as computers and Condortel, involved Brazilian officers trained at the ESG or SOA. The ESG’s promotion of hemispheric defense aligned with CIA-backed initiatives, like the Conference of American Armies (CAA), which fostered Condor’s intelligence-sharing framework.