The Banzer Plan
| Project Name : | The Banzer Plan |
|---|---|
| Inception Date: | 1975 |
The Banzer Plan was a covert 1975 strategy developed by Bolivia’s military regime under General Hugo Banzer with reported CIA financial support and collaboration, aimed at discrediting liberation theology and suppressing left-wing dissent within the Catholic Church. The plan targeted progressive clergy, including figures like Archbishop Jorge Manrique Hurtado, using tactics such as infiltrating church groups, fabricating scandals, planting false evidence, and compiling dossiers on priests and nuns associated with social justice movements.
CIA involvement is documented through multiple sources indicating that the U.S. intelligence agency supported the Bolivian Interior Ministry—described in some reports as a "subsidiary of the CIA"—in formulating the plan. This included funding anti-Marxist religious groups, supporting propaganda campaigns, and aiding in the surveillance and expulsion of foreign missionaries deemed subversive. The CIA also provided technological and logistical support to regional anti-communist efforts, consistent with broader Cold War operations like Operation Condor.
Regional impact followed when the Banzer Plan was presented at the 1977 Third Congress of the Latin American Anti-Communist Confederation in Paraguay, where it was adopted or adapted by ten Latin American governments. It led to widespread repression, including censorship of church media, raids on parishes, and assassinations—exemplified by death squads in El Salvador distributing leaflets urging citizens to “Kill a Priest,” culminating in the murder of Archbishop Óscar Romero.
While declassified documents confirm U.S. backing of anti-communist regimes and intelligence sharing, direct proof of CIA authorship of the Banzer Plan remains circumstantial, though its alignment with U.S. Cold War policy in Latin America is well established.
