Langguth, A.J. Hidden Terrors. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. 345 pages.

This is a one-of-a-kind book about American foreign policy in Brazil and Uruguay in the 1960s and early 1970s. It is written from a personalized point of view, rather than as straight historical narrative or political- science analysis. Langguth uses biographical information and dialogue to recount the involvements of a number of American diplomats and covert operators in the affairs of the two countries. In Brazil, destabilization by the U.S. led to the 1964 coup against Goulart, followed by a reign of official terror and torture.

The book's main character and journalistic "hook" is Dan Mitrione, an employee of the Office of Public Safety (a division of the Agency for International Development), which provided foreign police with equipment and training to make them more effective in suppressing dissent. Mitrione was alleged to have conducted training in torture techniques in Brazil and Uruguay. In 1970 in Uruguay he was abducted and later executed by the flamboyant urban guerrillas known as the Tupamaros. His story was portrayed in the 1972 film "State of Siege" by Costa-Gavras. This was the final nail in the Office of Public Safety's coffin, as OPS was already known to have provided cover for CIA dirty work in Vietnam. It was finally abolished by Congress in the mid-1970s. -- William Blum
ISBN 0-394-73802-0

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