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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

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LATIN AMERICA

The actions of military governments in South ­America against real or perceived threats from subversive groups have led to numerous violati~ns of human rights over the years. Largely as the result of international opinion and publ.icity, there has been a slight improvement in the coun­tries that have been the chief targets - of crit i ­cism. The~e are Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The situation has also improved in Brazil, but violations of hum•n rights still oc­cur there.

Argentina

Violations by bot~ the left and right remain serious in Argentina, although the frequency and scale of abuses by security forces and rightist vigilantes have diminished somewhat since last summer. The government now is~ues public lists of those it detains; the completeness and accuracy of .the lists, however, is open to ques­tion.

International criticism of the human rights situation in Argen­tina has caused considerable irritation among gDvernment offi­cials, particularly those charged with stopping leftist guerrilla warfare. President Videla has indicated that he expects some worsening of relations with the US over human rights, but he ap­parently feels con)trained by hard-line factions within the armed forces. ·

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THE PRESIDE.NT'S DAILY BRIEF

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1 October 1979

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.THe: PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

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19 July 1978

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ARGENTINA: New foreign policy directions

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The Argentine Government, increas­ing ly irritated by US criticism of Argentina's huma n rights practices and US advice on how to develop a nu clear prog ra m, is see king to strengthen its ties with France and several Communist and Arab countries .

Argentina r ecently purchased 170 jet engines from the French , who - ­despite their own disagreeme nts with the Argentines over human rights--are apparently willing to sel l arms and may provide the mi li tary training previously given

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by the US. J~nta member Admiral Massera recent l y visited Romania and claims .to have · opened up new possibilities for bilateral trade . Foreign Minister Montes will travel to Romaniq this month and to the USSR later in t .he year. An Ar ­gentine eco~omic delegation is cur ­rently vtsiting Libya, Algeria, and Iraq.

The USSR , a r e 1 at i: v e.l y- minor t r ad­ing partner for Argentina, imports far more from the Argentines than it exports to them and would wel­come an opportunity to correct this imbalance. Moscow has ex­pressed strong interest in provid -ing turbines for Argentina's · massive Yacyr et a hydroelectric project, for which the Export­Import Bank turned down concessio n­ary financing on· human rights grounds.

The Argentines .are obviously pos­turing to some extent about strengthe~ing relations with Com­munist nations . Their conserva ­tive political bias and their fears regarding potentia l subver ­s i on probably preclude any close diplomatic alignment or the pur­chase of Soviet military equip­men t. Nevertheless, Argentine

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willingness to turn to the Commu ­nists on economic gro unds is l i kely t o increase if the US Congress . denies s up plier credits through the Export - Import Bank of approx ­i mat ely $800 mill ion fo r .us ex ports to Argentina. ·

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. THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

February 25. 19 77

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We have seen no spec i fic Ch ilea n react i o~. but the reg ime has been trying f or som e time to im prove it s human ri gh t s image. Ab uses continue but are fewer in number.

Argentine President Videla has sai4 t~dt he regrets having prob ­lems with the us over human rights but sees no alternative to continuing the fight agai~st subversion .

Nicaraguan President Somoza bel i eves emphasis on human rights is proper but that it is ha r d to see how you or anyone else can persuade o t her governments to change their practices--especially if th ey think strong meas ures are requir ed for their survival .

The Uru guayan government th in ks US legislation penalizing coun ­trie s that violate human rights is unfair, and that US officials have a distorte d view of conditions in Ur uguay . There is evi ­dence, nonethel ess , t ha t . t be gove r nment is considering ways to improve its huma n rights image .

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• Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016