THE LIVING THEATRE President Barrientos of Bolivia would have been 50 in May. but he was burned to death just over a month ago when his helicopter hit a "high tension cable" less than a mile from Arque trom where he'd just taken off. Not the most likeable threatening to re-establish a state of siege in the under the protext querilla threat. It was ostensibly a case of a very high high tension cable or a very low chopper He came to power on November 4th 1964 with he was ready, at the correct moment, to take the help of General Alfredo Ovando. Two years the help decided to be and was, elected left off President.
Also killed with him aides-de-camp, Capt. Leovigildo Orellana and Lt. Oscar Estivaris. But General Ovando wasn't with him; he was in Washington and was immediately recalled to clean up the mess.
The Vice-President, a lawyer named Salinas, made his debut as President almost munediately, that is, as soon as Ovando go back from Washington. crucifix and surrounded by the country's top army men, for both terrestial and celestia the lately deceased. As is usual in such the CIA interpreter emotionally charged dramas, the people played no part.
Alfredo Siles Salinas is described as right -of contre which in Bolivia means nothing. He's quite insignificant; the strong man is Barrientos comrade-in-arms, Ovando. His and Barrientos Movimento Nacionalista Revolutionario (MNR) COUL overthruwn the government which had heen in power for 12 years. Although the MR had long forgotien its ideals. it had nevertheless nationalised the mines and organised an agrarian reform which was equivalent to the liberation of the serfs in Europe, but was at least a reform. Barrientos swept to power calling himself, with rare good humour, a socialist? and repealed the reform.
He did nothing to enhance reputation and it was badly in need of some gloria? in '67 when suddenly, in less time than it takes to say "CIA' Regis Debray was captured and Che Guevara was killed almost on the Presidential doormat. Overnight, Barrientos became a sort of international playhey of the chamel house. Smiling and handsome. be appeared on world wide telly saying it was wrong for Guevara to "kill poor Barrientos of course, simply starved them to death or gassed them in their own mines.
Perhaps one should not expect much less from Suffice it to say that the performance of Force School, San Antonio, Texas where (incredibly) Barrientos went to school.
But this was by no means all Bolivia had to follow. A year and a half ago, Barrientos offer in the way of "gloria' - much more was to Ministerof the Interior, Antonio Arguedas, announced to the world with all the calmness of a hero of the Absurd, that, not only had he been a CIA agent for the past three years. but of politicians, he'd just delivered a speech that it was he who seat Guevara's diaries to Cuba. In the hysterical hush that followed this. of a continuing he went on to say that he was a Marxist and amplified it by saying that he was an ardent admirer of the dreaded Castro, AND, AND that the revolutionary struggle where Che had Having said all this, Arguedas took off for were his Chile and political asylum but found the CIA instead. They offered him a blank cheque to This silence and when he refused they buy locked him up incommunicado for eight days.
He was released and allowed to give a press conference after he had "They threatened there would Standing before a be a coup d'etat in Bolivia and threatened the twisting arms:
family if I exposed CLA nvolvement." He didn't, but was only allowed 136503L to answer questions that had been okayed by From there he flew to London, where nobody asked him anything except CIA agents with Home Office approval. and then back to Lima. Barrientos promised him a fair trial so he Imprisoned, but not Refore he had doomed returned Paz and statements with 'Ramparts', "Punio Final' of Chile. The Nes York Times.
published if and when I am silenced through physical elimination In Lima, wiere he ignored CIA threats and held a fee pres in ere i was Jus of his first contact with the CIA.
after the Barrientos coup, when he was Under Secretary pproached him, Col. Edward Fox blackmailed Interior.
Bolivia's him, alleging he was a member of the Bolivian P. (Fox now works in the U.S. Embass Madrid and clairus some sort of mental bloc economic aid to Bolivia and take measures against the govemment. Arguedas agreed to work for the CA and not only was he reinstated but was very soon a fully Ledged Minister of the Interior. So are great men made - CIA style.
We sew what happened in Guatamala and Dominica when the government was felt to be hadn'1-capitulated to the CIA it's likely that Bolivia would have awakened to a dawn sky full of C 124s and C 130 transport planes, a la Dominica yea: later. Arguedas HIS 4 nationalist and so naturally put the welfare - as he saw it — of Bolivia first, and the satisfaction of the CIA second. The CIA were, of course. interested in defending U.S. insestments in the Nationalism, and cared little of notting aboat it against Communism Bolivia or its government, at least, not so long as it behaved itself. This lack of responsibility led to Arguedas initial break with the CIA. A:
example of this total disinterestedness Arguedas cited the case of the gusanos (Cuban refugees) who were imported by the CIA to was fried by the military. The same struggle is track down Communists. He found out that they had set up their own "detention camp" quite out of the control of his Ministry, and they were torturing and killing suspeats there. But his hands were tied by the CIA.
He gave another example of when the Bolivian authorities uncovered an elaborate urban organisation complete with photographic influenced guerilla movement in the Santa Cruz area. But just as he was about to amounes this quite important coup to the press, the CIA came around and told him to belt up.
Tania as a traitor to the guerillas. IE was also handed round to papers not so local: "Welt am Sonntag, "The New York Times, and our very had also confirmed that it was not the Bolivian Diaries, but a CIA agent called "Hugo Murray, a arrests, and there have had been exumined in Washington.
Barrientos was not unaware of the difference in objectives either; he was later to confess that he hunting Che in Bolivia. "All those things which are now becoming known are a surprise to me. A Prosident cannot always he informed of every detail." We can elaborate on that as much as se like.
However, not only was there a split beeween the Bolivian goverument and the CIA, but also centre of it. In August last year, we find Ovardo ordering the Mililary Supreme Court -of Debray fatne indict Arguedas. Simultaneously, we find Salinas, at the civil Box Office: ROUND HOUSE Chalk Farm Road, LONDON NW1.
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NAME charges presenled Congressmen (nameless) against Arguedas 40212 Barrientos! The military side won.
This not only means a split amounting to a chasm between the molitary and civil, hut also that they were lined up for a head-on collision. We never learned what happened when they collided any Inure than we learned what happened WHER Barnientos appealed Congress to reinstate the death penalty for COUP THAT FLOPPED Debray's benefit, except that it didn't work: he now going on over Arguedas - still not tried alter two years or at least it was until Barriontos was killed Barzientos was obviously trying to carry out a face lifting job on his regime by shifting the emphasis from "military to civilian, but instead of this resulting in a coalition and superficially civilian rule, it ended in an open On the one hand his continued efforts for civil justice can be seen as plain mistrust of the Army. Yet his timid agricultural reforms to a story to plant in the local press describing broak hyph the Right on imh acto the i initial opinion of him. So he succerded very well in pleasing neither side. knowing It had been invented by the CiA. le to the surface last December when we suddenly A hint of this violent nationalist discontent came find Barrienios denying that thorod been ar mont after Guevaru's murder, and only aller it adventurers". For fon, no dour. Bur if this wasn't plausible it grew ever less so when th former Chief of the Army Staff H.Q., Co Joaquin Malpartida, sought refuge in the didn't know the CIA were Brazilian Embassy and confided that he and General Bidegain had atrempted an unsuccessful coup. So things rested until Barrentos sudder death put Ovando, thinly disguised as Salinas, directly in power. This man is a classic example of the U.S. indoctrinated latin American Army chief who genuinely believes that any conce-sion to the people is not only un-American and hence unti-Bolivian, but also a slap in the face for the Virgin Mary and an open siding with the Red Menace. Now we may expect a speedy trial for Arguedas, a tightening of security, more direct intervention" by Green Berets and ClA, and a more concentrated opposition to Inti Peredo's guerillas.
As Eduardo Galeano, a Drugayar newspaperman said: "It is obvings that the US is not wiling to risk another Cuba in South America." But it will come whether they like it er not.
Nicholas Gaffiney Tel: 01-485 8073 5/- 10:- 20/- 40/10:- 15/- .25 - 60......a is per ticket .onl...
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ARGUEDAS TAKES A TRIP
4th-28th JUNE '69 less than agreeable to the U.S. If Arguedas level, convening Congress to discuss a list of
19 Be he toco for s proteited bleed ingling in the midle, trying to keep a fist an for a projected Chinese
COLLISION DRAWS NEAR
between the military and civil arts of che government itself. And again Arguedas was ar