REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS HEARING HELD BEFORE SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS.

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06345473
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 100
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: March 15, 2018
• Case Number: F-2014-00722
• Publication Date: May 5, 1971

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ORIGINAL
Vol.
This document contains information affecting ti�
national defense of the United States within the meal
ing of the Espiorzir Laws, Title .18, U.S.C., Sectior
793 and 794. The transmission or the revelation of i�
contents in any manner to an unauthorized perso
is prohibited by law.
ljllttfridlftttra ritate
Report of Proceedings
Hearing held before
Senate Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs
of the
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS.
BRIEFING ON BRAZIL BY CIA
Wednesday, May, 5, 1971
Washington, D. C.
(Stenotype Tape, Master Sheets, Carbon and Waste
turned over to Committee for destruction.)
WARD & RUA,
410 FIRST STREET, S. E.
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20003
[phone]
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C ONTENTS
_ _ _ _
TESTIMONY OF
Richard E. Helms,
CIA; accompanied by
Milton 3rown,
Latin Amsrican Analyst: and
John Maury,
Congressional Affairs, CIA
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BRIEFING ON .;RAZII, BY RICHARD H. HELMS, CIA
Wednesday, May 5, 1971
United States Senate,
Subcommittl:e on Westrn Hy3,mispherg. Affairs
of the Committee on Foreign Relations,
Washington, D. C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 o'cloc
a.m., in S-116, The Capitol Building, Senator Frank Church
(Chairman of the Subcommitte) presiding.
Pr;:!sant: Senators Church (presiding), Fulbril,�
Sparkman, Symington, and Javits.
Also pres-:-It: Mr. Holt, Mr.Kuhl, and Mr. Dockery,
Profsssional Staff Memb,!rs; Milton Brown, Latin Aw-zrican
Analyst, CIA; :..md John Maury, Congres?icnal Affairs, CIA.
Senator Church. Why don't wa commence? I will ask you
to stand and be sworn. Do you solemnly swear that the testimon,
you will give this Subcommittee will be the truth, ele
truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. Helms. I do.
Sa.nator Church. I wonder if the other gentlemen in the
room would identify thimselves for the record.
Mr. Helms. This is Milton Brown, who is, works on Latin
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America in the agency to back me up if I get stuck and this
is John Maury, who deals with members of the Congress on
problems affecting the agency.
Senator Church. Very well. If you would like than to
proceed with your statement we will reserve the questions
until afterwards.
TESTIMONY OF
RICHARD E. HELMS, CIA; ACCOMPANIED BY MILTON 13R0',TN,
LATIN AMERICAN ANALYST, CIA; AND JOHN MAURY,
CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS, CIA
Mr. Helms. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have received from You a list of questions concerning
problems and issues in Brazil that are of interest to the
Committee. I propose to make a comprehensive statement about
the situation in Brazil, and in so doing will address your
questions.
A. I would like to begin by describing the origins and
present status of terrorism in Brazil, and the Government's
efforts to deal with this problem.
B. Then I will
(b)(1)
conclude with a brief survey of how the Brazilian Government
operates and what we believe to be the likely course of events
in that country over the next few years.
II. Introduction.
The Government of President Emilio Medici, who took
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office in October 1969, is firmly in control of Brazil.
A. Medici has the backing of all important sectors of
the military, and there is evidence that his administration
also has the approval of major sectors of the civilian
populace.
1. The only real internal threat to tha Medici
administration would come from the fracturing of military
unity, and this does not appear likely in the foreseeable
future.
B. The legal political opposition, in the form of the
Brazilian Democratic Movement, lacks significant popular
support, and is as much a part of the "system" as is the pro-
government party, the National Renewal Alliance.
C. Other sectors -- notably students and labor -- once
actively demonstrated their opposition to the military-
backed administrations that have governed Brazil since the April
1964 overthrow of leftist and extreme nationalist President
Goulart. They have, however, been quiescent since 1968.
1. Labor's inactivity is largely due to the strong
control the Labor Ministry has always had over unions,
particularly their finances.
2. Of all sectors of society, the students have mounted
the most vocal opposition to the post-1964 administrations.
a. These administrations have outlawed the traditionally
leftist-dominated student organizations such as the National
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Student Union, and arrested many student activists.
b. Despite these bans, Marxist student leaders
succeeded in organizing violent anti-government demonstrations
in 1967 and 1968.
c. Widespread arrests of student activists in 1968, .
along with threats of expulsion from school and possible
prison sentences for engaging in anti-government activity
appear, however, to have broken the back of the organized
student opposition.
III. The rise of terrorism.
Since 1968, urban terrorism became a major problem for
the governments of Arthur da Costa e Silva (March 1967-
October 1969) and President Medici, whose term ends in March
1974. This terrorism has not, however, threatened the
stability of the governments.
A. Brazilian history has been marked by sporadic
episodes of violence,but organized urban terrorism is a
recent phenomenon.
B. We estimate that the number of people engaging
in terrorism at any one time has never exceeded 1,000 -- a
tiny fraction of the 93 million Brazilians.
C. The most serious incidents have taken place in the
principal urban areas, mainly the country's largest cities
of Rio de Janeiry and Sao Paulo.
IV. The first important incident in the chain of
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terrorist actions was the bombing in July 1966 of the airport
in the Northern City of Recife in an attempt to assassinate
then4residential candidate Costa e Silva.
A. This bombing, which killed two government officials
and injured many others, was perpetrated by members of the
Popular Action movement.
B. Originally an organization of young people which ees
closely linked with the Catholic Church, Popular Action tee':
a sharp turn toward the extreme left and now has only the
sympathy of the miniscule radical sector in the church.
V. During the remainder of 1966 and throughout the next
two years, the wave of terrorist incidents, particularly
bombings, mounted.
A. Among the targets were the U.S. Information Agency
centers in Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Recife, the building housin
the U.S. Censulate General in Sao Paulo, the residence of ths
U.S. Air Attache in Rio de Janeiro, the Peace Corps office
in Rio de Janeiro, the Ministries of War and Finance, the
home of the foreign minister, the headquarters of ele Second
Army in Sao Paulo, and assorted police stations, railway
bridges, radio and television stations, banks, and office
buildings.
3. Several security officials were killed in 1968,
including a Sao Paulo prison guard machine-gunned with his
own weapon. It had been wrested from him while guarding
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susoected tnrrorists.
VI. The most publicized terrorist actions, however,
were the cold-blooded murders of two foreign military officers.
A. In July 1963 a West German officer studying in Brazil
was gunned down on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
B. Then, on October 12, 196C, U.S. Army Captain Charles
Chandler was machine-gunned to daath befor the .yes of his
wita and 9-year-old son as he backed his car out of his yarC
in Sao Paulo.
1. Laatlets left at the scene called him a "notorious
imperialist agent" resoonzible for war crimes in Vietnam,
and claimed ha was in Brazil to teach the security forces
counter-revolutionary tactics, including torture.
2. Chandler, a West Point graduate who had served one
year in Vietnam, had been in Brazil nearly two years on a
West Point alumni scholarship (specifically, a George Olmsted
scholarship). He was studying at the University of S ao Paulo
with emphasis on Brazilian culture and the Portuguese language:
ha was to have returned to the U.S. in November 1963 to continu
his studies at American University.
3. He was chosen as a target because, as the terrorists
noted, he had fought in Vietnam and supported the war in
interviews with Sao Paulo newspapers. On at least one occasion
he spoke to a Brazilian army group about Vietnam.
4. At the request of Ambassador Tuthill, U.S. AID Public
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Safety, Officer Peter Ellena was assigned in November 1968
as a central point of contact concerning the investigation of
the Chandler case, and the director general of the Federal
Police approved his liaison with the Sao Paulo police.
5. Ellena served in this capacity until February 1969
and assisted by having the FBI make ballistics tests and
providing an Identikit from which sketches were made for the
possible identification of the killers.
C. Chandler's murder was a severe shock to the
Brazilian military because he was a fellow military officer
and because he was an American. His death unquestionably
provided a major impetus to Brazil's campaign against
terrorism.
1. Within a few months police had arrested two of the
three terrorists who participated in the killing. Tv..e third
was killed when he resisted arrest.
VII. Chandler's killing was planned by the Popular
Revolutionary vanguard assisted by a member of the National
Liberating Action.
A. These two groups are the most important of the
terrorist organizations. They were founded by major figures of
the Moscow-line Brazilian Communist Party who left the party
in late 1967 because the leadership refused to endorse
violent opposition to the government.
1. Carlos Marighella, who founded National Liberating
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Action in early 1968, went on to become one of the most effec-
tive urban guerrilla leaders in Latin America.
a. He rose in the ranks of the Brazilian Communist
Party until he headed the apparatus in the State of Sao Paulo,
the largest and wealthiest unit of the party.
b. He antagonized the -op leadership, however, by advocat-
ing the use of violence against the government and proposing
ties with the Castro regime and the Havana-based Latin
American Solidarity Organization.
c. At a conference in Havana in August 1967,
Marighalla declared that the revolutionary movement in Brazil
would be directed against "the common enemy -- American
imperialism," and that the way to unify revolutionary movements
was through armed struggle.
d. His theories were incorporated into several books
and pamphlets, the most important being the June 1969 document
entitled the "Minimanual for the Urban Guerrilla." The Cubans
considered this pamphlet important enough to endorse and
reprint in Tricontinental, the magazine published by the Cuba-
based Asia, Africa, Latin America Peoples Solidarity
Organization.
e. Marighella stressed that terrorism "is an action the
urban guerrilla must execute with the greatest cold-bloodedness
calmness, and decision," and he emphasized the need for
killing and kidnapping agents of the repressive government and
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of "American imperialism."
, B. Marighella quickly put thase theories into practice
after formation of the National Liberating Action.
1. The rank and file of this organization, as well as
most of the other terrorist groups, has come largely from forme
student activists, intellectuals, and a few members of ne
radical clergy.
2. Tactical knowledge for the groups has often hE-=',11
supplied by cashiered military and police officers :7..TICeven
professional hoodlums and small-time labor racketeers.
3. Leadership has usually been provided by former party
officials like Marighella and his deputy, Camara Ferreira,
one of the foremost Marxist theoreticians.
VIII. The terrorist groups have attained self-
sufficiency chiefly by a wave of bank robberies and thefts
of arms and explosives from depots and stores, along with
some outside assistance.
A. Cuba and Communist China have provided specialized
training.
1. At least 150, and perhaps well over 200, Brazilians
have received guerrilla training in Cuba since 1961.
a. Of those trained since _1967, the largest number have
been members of Marighella's group or other outfits sponsored
by it.
b. Several of these other individuals have been people
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sent abroad in exchange for four kidnapped diplomats. These
are the Ambassadors of the united States, West Germany, and
Switzerland, and the Japanese Consul General in Sao Paulo.
The 70 exchanged for the Swiss Ambassador in January 1971 are
still in Chile. Most of those exchanged for the other three
diplomats have eventually gone on to Cuba.
2. The training in Communist China has been limited to
about 50 members of two Peking-line groups.
a. Members of the first group generally went in the
early 1960's, the others since 1967.
b. The recent training appears to be largely political
with an admixture of instruction in guerrilla warfare.
B. Brazilian leftist political exiles in Uruguay,
Chile, Algeria, France, and a few other countries have
provided refuge, funds, documentation, and assistance in travel
to terrorists who are forced to flee Brazil.
1. Algeria harbors the headquarters of the Brazilian
Information Front, an exile group engaged in writing and
disseminating propaganda against the Brazilian Government,
and officials of the Algerian Government give these people
support.
2. In Uruguay, the Tupamaro terrorist group has aided
the Brazilian political exiles and is also in contact with
most Brazilian terrorist groups.
3. There are 200 Brazilian exiles living permanently in
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Chile in addition to the 70 persons I have already mentioned,
who were. exchanged for the Swiss Ambassador.
a. Most of the Brazilian terrorist groups have
representatives in Chile, where they have assisted comrades
forced to leave Brazil, have published and disseminated
propaganda against the Brazilian Government, and are in touch
with a "Committee of Solidarity with the Brazilian Political
Exiles within the Chila-an Communist Party.
b. There have bean reports of guerrilla training camps
operated by thf... Ch ilean Novement of the Revolutionary
Left at which some Brazilians have been trained.
IX. Although the security forces had some success
against the terrorists in 1969, the subversives continued to
cause sorious problems, and by September 1969 they were ready
to carry out their boldest and most ambitious move -- the
kidnapping of a foreign diplomat.
A. Kidnapping of diplomats was in complete accord with
the guidelines of Marighella's "Minimanual", which describes
kidnapping as "capturing and holding in asecret place a
police agent, a north American spy, a political personality,
or a notorious and dangerous enmy of the revolutionary
movement."
3. Since the terrorists considered Ambassador C. Burke
Elbrick to bz.- the principal representative of the "U. S.
imperialism" in Brazil, he was the ideal target for the first
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abduction.
The original concpt for the Elbrick abduction came
from a group of radical students in Rio de Janeiry known as
the 'Dissidents of Guanabara."
D. These students, realizing their lack of preparation
for such an ambitious undertaking, called upon Marighella's
group in Sao Paulo.
1. Marighella's chief lieutenant, Camara Ferretire, thus
became the principal architect of the abduction, and in fact
did most of the interrogating of the Ambassador once he was
captured.
2. At least ten other of Marighella's man had some role
in the operation.
E. As ransom for Ambassador Elbrick, the abductors
demanded that the Brazilian Government release 15 prisoners
from jails in many parts of Brazil.
1. The justification for this demand can also he foun0
in the "Minimanual," which states that kidnapping is used to
force the exchange or the liberation of imprisoned revolutionar
comrades.
2. The only bond between most of the 15 prisoners flown
to Mexico by the Brazilian Government to gain the Ambassador's
freedom was their subversive -- and in some cases criminal --
activity and their ties to leftist extremist groups.
a. Some were student members of the banned National
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Students' Union, others were directly involved with the terrori
groups -- one had served as Marighella's personal bodyguard
-- while still another reportedly had a role in the Chandler
killing.
b. Once the prisoners were in Mexico, they lost no time
in announcing their intention to return to fight against
the Brazilian Government, declaring at a press conference that
"our promise to the Brazilian people still stands -- to
struggle against dictatorship, imperialism, and all forms of
economic exploitation and political repression."
c. All but two of the 15 prisoners soon left Mexico for
Cuba, where Fidel Castro personally gave them a red carpet
reception.
Government Countermeasures.
X. The Elbrick episode hit the Brazilian Government
and the security forces even harder than had the Chandler
murder.
A. It received international coverage and implied that
the government could not protect the official representative
of Brazil's traditional closest friend.
B. The security forces, angered and frustrated, became
determined to wipe out the terrorists who had so badly
embarrassed them.
1. One major problem they had to overcome -- and which
they still have not completely solved -- was jurisdictional
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disputes and lack of coordination among the numerous military
and civilian intelligence and security agencies.
a. In July 1969, the commander of the Second Army, who
is responsible for Sao Paulo State, claimed that the lack of
coordination among the security forces was such that only
ad hoc management by the army had kept things from totel
collapse.
b. He made an urgent recommendation, in line with the
army's desire to step up its internal security role, that the
commanders of each of the four armies assume full responsibili
for and control of all security elements -- and that all-out
war be declared on the terrorists immediately.
c. Most of the army's recommendations were implemented
with the formation in Sao Paulo in late 1969 of the first
Internal Defense Operational Command, made up of officers from
the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Federal and State Police, unde
the ultimate control of the local Army commander.
d. Each such command has two major sections: An
intelligence unit responsible for intelligence collection,
and an operations unit to raid suspected sites and arrest
alleged subversives.
e. These commands are eventually to be formed throughout
Brazil. The most important ones are those in Sao Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro, where the terrorist problem has been most
acute.
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2. The security forces were also hampered by a number
of long-standing shortcomings.
a. Historically, many high level police officials had
been political appointees, not career officers.
b. -The forces, particularly in the interior states,
often lack adquate numbers of personnel, and the rank and file
are poorly paid and motivated.
c. The traditional tendency has been to employ a
basically repressive rather than a preventive approach to law
enforcement.
C. The security forces' immediate goal was to catch
the Elbrick kidnappers, and they soon identified 18 persons
directly responsible and arrested four.
1. Eventually 11 persons were convicted and sentence to
prison terms, although seven of thelsewere tried in absentia.
XI. The security forces' campaign to wipe out subversion
scored a major triumph with the elimination of Carlos
Marighella in November 1969.
A. He was trapped and killed through information obtained
by Sao Paulo police from two friars of the Dominican Order,
who had acted in a support function for his group.
1. This success convinced police that they were correct
in their belief that some radical members of the Catholic
clergy -- particularly Dominicans -- had gone beyond vocal
criticism of the government.
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2. One radical member of the Catholic clergy has boasted
that as many as 1,000 priests (out of well over 15,000) have
become convinced that force is the only way to achieve the
needed radical social reforms, and that these priests are
willing to work with any ideological or political group in
combatting the dictatorship.
3. So far only about 30 have been arrested.
XII. The security forces continued to round up subversiv
and learn more about the makeup and operations of the terroris
organizations, but there were still groups able to carry out
spectacular operations -- especially kidnappings -- that
gained international publicity.
A. One of the main purposes for continued kidnapping
may have been to demonstrate that the security forces' campaign
had not destroyed the terrorists.
B. In any case, a second foreign diplomat the Japanese
Consul General in Sao Paulo, was kidnapped in March 1970, by
members of the group that killed Chandler. By this time,
Carlos Lamarca, now the country's most hunted man, was the
leader of the group.
1. Lamarca always was an exception; he entered the Army
in 1955 and was one of the few soldiers of lower class origins
to become an officer, rising to the rank of Captain.
2. He made up in enthusiasm, stamina, determination,
and courage what hn lacked in intellectual sophistication,
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voluntaering for every tough assignment.
3. 1141 became an expert marksman, and instructed-bank
mployzas in stopping :obbsriss.
4. In fact, Lamarca had joined tho terrorists in mid-
1963, and was perpetrating many of the bank robberies he was
assigned to halt, as well as bombings of military installation
his unit was assigned to guard.
5. Lamarca learned his superiors were becoming SUSDiCiOUS
of him, and in January 1969 he and two companions raided his
regiment and stole 69 weapons, including machineguns and hand
grenades, and left the Army for good.
6. Lamarca quickly rose to the leadership of his
terrorist group, and in July 1969 supervised its biggest haul
-- stealing a largE sum of money in cash from the mistress
of th:., latn governor of San Paulo State, Adh.amar de Barros.
C. As in the lbrick case, the terrorists claimed that
tha kidnapping of the Japanese diplomat was done "to obtain
tht- fr,:..idom and ensure the physical integrity of some politica
detains who are in the prisons of Sao Paulo.'
1. Three of the five prisoners flown to Mexico as
ransom for the diplomat were known terrorists who had recently
been trained in Cuba.
D. The first foreign diplomat to frustrate a terrorist
kidnapping attempt was the U.S. Consul in the Southern City o
Porto Alegre, a man by the name of Curtis Cutter.
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On April 4, 1970, Cutter and his wife were returning
hom,4 from a party when a Volkswagen cut in front of his car
and armed men wearing masks jumped out.
a. As the men began advancing toward him, Cutter
accelerated h is heavy station wagon, knocked the Volkswagen
out of the way, and ran over one of the terrorists. Another,
however,fired at Cutter as he drove off at high speed, hitting
him in the back.
2. A police investigation revealed that Cutter had long
been the prime target of the local chief of Lamarca's group.
3. The terrorists had intended to demand the release of
50 prisoners in return for Cutter, and to claim that Cutter
had confessed to being a CIA agent, which is patently not
true. Severe
4. Several arrests in connection with this abortive
kidnapping helped the police round up more terrorists in other
parts of Brazil.
E. Nevertheless, the West German Ambassador, Ehrenfried
Von Holleben, was kidnapped from his car in Rio de Janeiro
on June 11, 1970, by armed men who killed one of the security
guards accompanying him.
1. This was a joint operation by Lamarca's group and
the National Liberating Action, now headed by Marighella's
successor, Camara Ferreira.
a. These two terrorist leaders also drew 110 the list of
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40 prisoners to be ransomed for the diplomat, who were flown
by the government to Algeria. About two-thirds of them subse-
quently went to Cuba via clandestine means.
F. In late October 1970, the terrorists suffered a severe
loss when Camara Ferreira was killed by Sao Paulo police, but
they went ahead with a fourth kidnapping on December 7, 1970.
1. The victim was the Swiss Ambassador, Enrico Bucher,
who was taken from his car in Rio de Janeiro by several men
. who fatally shot his driver.
2. The operation was carried out by Lamarca's group,
which demanded the release of 70 prisoners, and widespread
publicity for the terrorists; communiques and political
manifestoes.
3. The Brazilian Government took a much harder line in
this case than in previous ones, dismissing out of hand all
demands except for the release of prisoners, and making the
terrorists submit several lists of prisoners before the
authoritiss found 70 they were willing to release. These were
flown to Chile on January 14, 1971, and they remain there.
a. The government also established several categories
of persons it was not willing to release, including anyone
involved in murders of kidnappings, anyone serving long
prison sentences, or individuals who did not want to be
exchanged.
XIII. Statements by terrorist leaders themselves and
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the decline in
drop in the capabilities
year.
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subversives during
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marked
the past
(b)(1)
group--
problems
most important one --was having
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surviving
as an organization.
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B. In
September 1970, an activist of National Liberating
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Action said that his organization and the other revolutionary
13
groups were in a state of virtual collapse.
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1. The deaths of Marighella and Camara Ferreira have,
15
in fact, left their group without a single well-known leader.
16
C. In any case, the number of major terrorist operations
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has declined sharply during the last several months.
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1. Thera have been no more kidnappings since the abduction
19
of the Swiss Ambassador, and the latest aircraft hijacking
�
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attempt -- which was frustrated when police shot out the
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tires and sprayed the plane with loam -- was last July.
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2. There are still bank robberies and similar acts,
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but their rate has slowed since
early 1970.
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XIV. Security officials
(b)(1)
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repression has thinned the terrorists'
ranks to the point that
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the subversives might attempt -- indeed might be forced -- to
unit previously autonomous groups.
A. Recent reporting indicates that some of the organiza-
tions have discussed the formation of a Brazilian Revolutiona
Front.
B. Lamarca has been involved in these discussions, but
he opposed bringing in his group because the others who would
compose the front wanted to halt operations temporarily in ord
to recuperate from their losses.
C.
(b
)(1
1. Lamarca opposed the adoption of this tactic but was
outvoted.
2. A prominent Sao Paulo industrialist, Henning Boilesen,
was shot to death on April 15th this year by persons who left
a warning that Boilesen wasthe first on a list of those who
aided the Brazilian Government and U.S. imperialism and who
were scheduled to die.
a. Sao Paulo authorities have subseauently trapped and
killed two men involved in the Boilesen murder.
3. If the Boilesen killing does signify a return to
operations by the other terrorist groups, it could remove
Lamarca's objection to joining a joint terrorist front.
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D. In short, the terrorists are suffering from their
defeats at the hands of security forces and disorganization
caused by the loss of many top leaders, but are still capable
of individual killings and kidnappings, even though the cost
to them may ba very high.
The nature of government countermeasures.
XV. The activities of the terrorists I have described,
and especially their Communist support, have convinced the
government -- and particularly the security forces -- that
eradication of these terrorists amounts to a "holy war".
A. Harsh treatment of prisoners is nothing new in
Brazil.
1. In some regions, particularly the Northeast, violence
is viewed as a traditional -- and often quite respectable --
means of punishment for deviation from the local social or
nolicical norms.
a. In many rural areas, beatings, and, in extreme
cases, shootings by pnlic,P and even local landowners have long
been a favorito: method for kooping the lower classes in line,
and ev.sn now often substitute for imprisonmont.
b. As long as such troa_mont does not result in any
deaths, the rural populaco: remains indifferent, since they
know it is the traditional punishment for getting caught.
B. But the. rise of terrorism, particularly in the urban
centers of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo, has hardened the
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attitudes of military officers as well as civilian security
officials. They haw,t crams to feel that the institutions
responsible for preserving order were not prepared either
mentally or any othur way to deal with urban terrorism.
1. They claim that Brazil is in the first stage of a
Communist-inspired and supported war of surversinn.
2. The security forces also stress that since the
outbreak of urban terrorism, more than 50 of their number
have been killed and over 300 wounded, some of them defending
foreign diplomats.
3. Security officials feel that the murders, kidnappings
and bombings of U.S. and Brazilian public and private estab-
lishments, are intended to convince the Brazilian public and
the world of the inability of the government to maintain
order.
� 4. Many authorities are particularly angry about
having been ordered to release and fly abroad 130 prisoners --
many of them dangerous terrorists who had killed policemen --
in exchange for the safe return of abducted diplomats.
XVI. The security forces are not beyond using torture,
a practice some officials have privately justified in certain
cases on pragmatic grounds.
A. Government officials claim that torture is not used
if the individual supplies the desired information, but that
it has enabled them to get valuable information more quickly
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than any other method.
B. They insist that obtaining this information before
the terrorist groups know that one of their members has been
detailed enables the police to arrest other terrorists before
they can go into hiding.
1. The terrorists traditionally have tried to avoid
giving information for at least 24 hours, knowing that within
this time their absence will be detected and their comrades
alerted to go into hiding.
XVII. As best we can determine from available information
torture is almost entirely limited to those individuals
suspected of engaging in terrorism, of assisting others who
have done so, or of having important information that would
enable the police to apprehend terrorists.
A. There is no way to determine accurately the number
of persons who have been tortured.
B. The decision to use torture as an interrogation
method does not appear to have been a high-level one.
XVIII. Recently, the security forces appear to have
intentionally killed certain persons under detention.
A. In November 1970 Eduardo Leite, an important terrorist,
was killed because he had been mutilated during interrogation
to the point that his captors could not plausibly deny they
had tortured him.
1. In a few of the cases where prisoners died while in
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custody, the victims were persons who would have been of
great help to the terrorist groups had they been freed.
XIX. Protests against the harsh methods of the security
forces have come from within Brazil and from abroad. .
A. The subject has been aired extensively in the
foreign press, but censorship has limited the coverage by
domestic media.
B. Some international groups, such as the Organization
of American States, have officially inquired into the
subject.
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1. The :Brazilian government has furnished sore responses
to these inquiries, but has not permitted foreign citizens to
investigate the charges on the scene, considering that this wo ld
be interference in Brazil's domestic affairs.
C. A human rights commission established ..h7 the governme t
has looked into some charges. but its deliberations are secret
and no conclusions are made nUt,lic.
P. The potentially most damaging criticism of torture
has come from. Prelates of the Catholic Church. who have charge
that security forces have tortured priests on at least
three occasions.
1.* The security forces, however, claim that clergymen
involved in subversion should be treated like any other citize
2. Top government officials, including President nedici,
havegenreally succeeded in smoothing over difficulties with th
church hierarchy. but additional incidents between security
forces and priests seem inevitable.
a. There is a potential for friction, particularly
in Sao Paulo, where the new second army commander is determine
to wine out subversion, while the recently installed archbisho
Paulo Tr..s. has already PubliclY charged that th,, security for es
mistreated an Italian�born.Priest.
b. Rishon Arns reportedly is Prenaring a document
severely criticizing the government on the torture issue, whic,
he intends to submit to the powerful national council of Brazi:in
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Bishops. If it were an-roved an official nosition by that
body, real tension with the government could result.
X. There has also been considerable international
Publicity about the activities of -death squads ',and about the
alleged existence of larqe numbers of nolitical prisoners
in Brazil.
A .
According to the Brazilian nress, death sguads are
vigilante groups composed. primarily of active duty and retired
police officials who kill individuals in renrisal for the deat
of policemen, or other persons who these viailantes believe
merit death but whose crimes are not legally nunishahle bv
death.
1. Since 115R, these squads. operating mainly in Pio
de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, are said in the Brazilian newsnaners
havekilled over 1,010 nersOns allegedly involved in dope neddl
bookmaking. or other types of petty racketeering.
2. Although some individual members of the death squads
have killed nersons accused of terrorism, the death squads as
organizations are not known to have engaged in anti-terrorist
3. No police official has ever keen convicted for crimes
committed as a member of a death squad.
a. In Sao Paulo state more than 31 policemen are on
trial in civil courts for hillincs as members of death squads.
� 4. In a Poll bY the Pio de Janeiro newsnaner Jornal do
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Brazil, a majority of the persons interviewed considered the
death squads necessary, and considering the very high petty
crime rate, many citizens may consider them a public service.
B. The Brazilian government officially claims it holds
no political prisoners.
1. If the term "political prisoners" refers broadly to
ideological opponents of the government, there is in fact litt
evidence that the government is holding any significant number
2. If, on the other hand, the term refers to individuals
who advocate the violent overthrow of the government and
have engaged in subversive activity such as terrorism, or have
assisted others who did so, Brazilian officials say approximat ly
500 are in jail, and this figure would seem to be reasonably
accurate.
3. Large numbers of leftest intellectuals and other voca
opponents of the government were rounded up by security forces
in Operation Birdcage last November in an effort to head off
an expected wave of subversion.
a. President Medici reportedly approved the operation
against a small number of identified terrorists, but was
dismayed when aggressive local security chiefs turned it into
a mass arrest of many people.-- including some priests and wel
known intellectuals -- who had only the remotest connection
with subversives, or no such ties at all.
b. Medici ordered the release of all persons against who
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there was no strong evidence of active subversion.
XXI.
(b)(1)
A. Kubitschek visited Washington and discussed with
US government officials the seriousness of the communist
threat in Brazil, and gave assurances that immediately after
his inauguration he would designate a personal representative
to discuss the matter.
B. After taking office in late January 1956, he committe
himself to establishing a national intelligence organization
(b)(1)
1.
(b)(1)
a. Kubitschek had had first hand dealings with the
Brazilian communist party before being elected President, an4
wary of possible communist penetration of his administration,
wanted an effective federal instrument which could monitor
and report to him about communist activity in a professional
manner.
b. The Brazilian agency, by law, was to operate under
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1
the authority of the Brazilian national security council, and
2
its first
and subsequent chiefs have all been army officers.
C.
4
(b)(1)
6
7
1. During the Kubitschek
administration the effectiveness
8
of the service was severely limited because of lack of funds,
9
qualified
personnel, and overall interest.
10
2.
11
(b
)
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a.
15
(b)(1)
16
since thse officers from their parochial military backgrounds
17
had little understanding of sophisticated subversive methods us
ed
18
by the Soviets and local communists.
19
D. During the Quadros and Goulart administrations, the
20
Brazilian service became progressively weaker, while the Commun
ist
21
threat to Brazil became
stronger.
22
1. Under Goulart,
23
as extreme nationalists and (W(1
)
24
leftist officers gained(nationalists
and leftist officers gaine
25
strength in the Brazilian service.
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2. For the last nine months of the Goulart administratio
(b)(1)
XXII. After the overthrow of Goulart in March 1964, the
new government's head, Humberto Castello Branco, submitted
to Congress a measure reconstituting the national intelligence
service with a stronger mandate.
A.. In June 1964 the new service was created with nation
wide jurisdiction for coordination of intelligence activities,
with its own budget and provision for the recruitment of military
and civilian personnel, and with its director at the cabinet-
level.
B.
(b)(1)
the Soviets, communist dissident groups, and Castro's intelligence
service.
C. Considering the growing intelligence objectives,
which included a most active Soviet diplomatic mission with
a large number of known Soviet intelligence officials,
of the Brazilian services covering thiLIDX1)
important target.
D.
(b)(1)
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army officers would become more conversant with the real threat
of communist subversion,
1.
(b)(1)
(b)(1)
2.
(b)
XXIII .
A.
(1)
(b)(1)
B.
(b)(1)
1.
(b)(1)
2.
(b)(1)
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central file records system to elimainte the
persons being arrested and re-arrested because
of their case could not be located.
C. Although understanding of sophisticated
33
possibility of
the records
foreign
5
subversive techniques comes slowly in Brazil,
6
7
the process continues and is making progress.
8
XXIV.
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A.
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B.
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C.
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D.
E.
A.
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35
b)
D.
(b)
.
(b)
2.
(b)
XXVI.
(b)
A.
(b)(
B.
(b)(
1.
,(b)
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2.
XXVII.
(b)(1)
A.
(b)(1
B.
(b
)(1
(b)(1)
D.
Structure and Functioning of the Government
XXVIII. Mr. Chairman, I understand that the committee is
also interested in the structure of the Brazilian Government,
and the prospects for policy changes in the near term. Becaus
of the nature of the Brazilian government, of President Medici'
own personality, and of the military's suspicion of outsiders,
the problem of tracking the decision making process is a
difficult one. The executive branch, however, has always been
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37
dominant in Brazil, and especially since the 1964 "revolution.
A. President Medici himself is clearly the center of
the decision making process.
1. He has proved to be a capable administrator who has
carefully chosen his subordinates for their ability.
B. Ultimate authority in the Medici government, as with
its two predecessors, rests with the military.
1. Political decision making in Brazil has always
remained in the hands of a small elite, and the 1964 revolutio
established the primacy of the military officer corps within
the elite.
2. The officers who led that revolution removed certain
groups from the governing elite -- particularly the profession
politicians who they held responsible for political and econom
disorder.
3. The military is increasing its strength within the
Medici administration by bringing a limited number of active
duty and retired military officers into the upper levels of
some ministries and agencies at the federal and state levels.
C. The military's important role is in part due to its
power as an institution and in part to the President's
personal preference for having around him men whose capability
and reliability are unquestioned.
1. His closest advisers are military men, many of whom
had served under him earlier, and the role played by these men
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and the organizations they head is extremely important. The
three most important such officers -- who are almost the only
people with daily access to President Medici -- are:
-- The director of the National Intelligence Service
-- The chief of the Presidential military household
-- The minister of the army
2. As director of the intelligence service from 1967
to 1969, Medici became thoroughly familiar with its organizati
functions, and personnel.
a. He now relies heavily on it to keep him informed
on developments on many external and domestic subjects.
D. The day to day operations of the executive branch are
largely in the hands of capable young colonels.
1. Most of these work within the national intelligence
service, the presidential military household, and the national
security council staff.
2. This national security council staff, like its US
counterpart, deals with issues affecting national security.
a. Practically every important policy issue that is to g
before the President, from minerals exploration to Brazil's
position on the nonproliferation treaty, receives an in-depth
study from the national security standpoint by the council
secretariat.
E. Military officers also head a number of important
autonomous executive agencies such as the state petroleum
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enterprise and the important superintendency for the developme t
of the northeast.
F. Although the active-duty officers play an important
role in the government, they do not dominate it to the exclusi n
of other groups. The capinet includes some retired military
men, most of whom had already developed experience in civilian
capacities at the time they were appointed ministers.
1. Generally these men have been delegated a large measu e
of responsibility and authority in their respective fields.
2. Some of them, notably the education minister and the
transportation minidter are'prominent public figures with
their own political followings.
G. Medici has left the direction of the economy largely
in the hands of civilian experts.
1. Under the finance minister, Delfim Neto, who is
probably the most influential civilian in the administration,
the impressive economic growth has continued, combined with
improved financial stability that was initiated by the two
previous military-backed administrations.
H. The Brazilian congress acts mainly as a sounding
board for initiatives proposed by the executive and as a forum
where some criticism of government policies can be voiced
within informal but generally accepted boundaries.
I. The state governments are largely extensions of the
federal executive, and in the October 1970 gubernatorial
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elections the candidates were hand-picked by President
Medici.
Prospects
XXIX. President Medici desires some greater degree of
civilian participation in government, but he has emphasized
that liberalization will be realized only to the degree that
it contributes to achieving the primary goals of economic
and social development.
A. In his one and a half years in office he has already
made strides toward reactivating civilian political institutio s.
B. The most important steps were reopening the federal
Congress and seven state legislatures that had been closed
down under President Arthur da Costa e Silva in December 1968,
and the holding of elections for Congress, all state governor-
ships, and over 1,000 municipal offices.
1. In the October 1970 gubernatorial balloting, the stat
legislatures elected the 21 pro-government National Renewal
Alliance candidates and one opposition Brazilian democratic
movement members, all handpicked by Medici.
2. In the November 1970 Congressional elections, the
government party was overwhelmingly victorious, and Medici
interpreted this result as broad public approval of his
administration.
a. The election was marked by widespread voter apathy
because of the low prestige of the legislative bodies, the lack
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of popular appeal of the two parties, and the inability of
the opposition to seize upon effective campaign issues.
C. The president has been sparing in his use of the
powers given him by the 17 institutional acts issued between
1964 and 1969 to cancel political rights and issue other
punishments.
1. The two predecessor military backed administrations
had already annulled the political rights of most effective
political opponents, including three former Presidents and
three federal Senators, so that no notable cases of cancellati
of political rights have yet occurred during Medici's term.
2. Some low level government employees and military men
have lost their jobs and been retired as punishments under Med
but these generally appear to involve cases of imcompetence
or corruption.
XXX. Medici's primary political goal appears to be, the
formation of a new class that will replace the traditional
politicians.
A. The new breed of politicians he is thinking of
could be broadly characterized as "technocrats" -- men with
demonstrated administrative and technical competence and
honesty, who can gain a measure of popular support.
B. This "technocrat" class dominated the selections made
by Medici for governors, and especially for states in the
underdeveloped and drought-prone northeast region.
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C. If the Medici administration does not encounter any
major obstacles during its term, a civilian "technocrat" --
possibly one who is also a retired officer, such as the educat on
minister -- could well succeed Medici in March 1974.
XXXI. There are several factors that could alter this
cautious course toward a measure of political liberalization
and greater civilian participation in the government.
A. Some elements within the military are convinced that
the Armed Forces must remain in control in order to prevent
a return to the political and social disorder that marked the
pre-1964 period.
1. These officers were largely responsible for pressurin
Medici's two predecessors into cancelling political rights
and closing Congress.
2. Medici and the Army Minister have kept this group of
officers in line thus far, but if a major crisis arose they
could again develop cohesion and become a significant
pressure group, although they probably would not be capable
of toppling the administration.
a. Vice President Rademaker, a retired Navy Admiral,
sympathizes with this group of officers.
3. A confrontation with the church could provoke serious
military unrest.
a. While a confrontation is not likely because both sides
recognize the potential danger to the unity of the nation's two
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most important institutions, the increasing outspokenness of
the clergy on social issues -- including torture -- means that
a clash cannot be ruled out.
b. Such a clash would almost certainly be strictly
verbal, but this would not decrease its seriousness.
4. The terrorist groups seem to have been smashed to the
point that they no longer pose a serious obstacle to the
government, although a wave of incidents such as killings,
kidnappings, or bombings could cause real concern and strength
the hands of the military advocates of strong repressive
measures for the foreseeable future.
a. Some use of torture by security forces is almost cert
to continue so long as terrorism is regarded as a threat.
XXXII. An increasing trend toward nationalism seems almo
certain to continue under Medici and whoever succeeds him.
A. The President recognizes that nationalism is a theme
that strikes a responsive chord in the military and civilian
populace alike, and is using it to gain support for his
administration.
1. He is generally trying to emphasize the positive
aspects of nationalism, such as pride in the world champion
soccer team and in the vast undertaking of opening up the
Amazon area.
2. A strong thre * jof nationalism also runs through many
of Medici's decisions with foreign policy implications.
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a. One of these was the extension last year of Brazil's
territorial waters claim from 12 to 200 miles.
b. Foreign Minister Mario Gibson Barboza has announced
a program of visiting many Latin American countries during
the next year in order to demonstrate Brazil's firm interest
in all aspects of hemisphere relations.
c. Nationalism is also evident in the administration's
informal policy of favoring domestic participation in enterpri es
over wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign companies, and in th
government's numerous initiatives to broaden foreign markets
for its products, particularly industrial goods.
d. As long as the economy continues to grow and gain in
strength and stability, the_emphasis is likely to remain on th
joint-venture approach rather than on any outright restriction
or exclusion of foreign investment.
B. There remain in the military, however, elements that
espouse a much more narrow nationalism than does Medici, and
in the future they could come to power.
1. Little is known of their size and influence, but ther
is no doubt that these ultra-nationalists exist and constitute
a factor which appears powerful enough to require constant
political attention from President Medici.
That concludes my prepared statement, Mr. Chairman. I hoe
it is responsive to the questions that were posed to me by the
committee.
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Senator Church. Most responsive review of the situation
in Brazil.
It is a little difficult to know where to begin with
questions. I will have a try at you and then defer to the oth
Senators who have come in and then I am sure Mr. Holt will hay-
some questions for you after which I may have some more.
In connection with the review you have given us of the
terrorist activities in Brazil I wondered what a Brazilian
could do under the present regime if he strongly believed
in things we believe in or say we do, someone who believe
that the government should be elected by the people, that
individual rights should be respected, civil liberties should
be protected, what outlet does he presently have to press such
views.
Mr. Helms. Well, as you will recall, Mr. Chairman,
before 1964, they did have national elections and they were
the usual means of expressing oneself in a democratic society.
There are still types of elects held in Brazil to this day.
The press is certainly censored but not entirely, so that
the bits and pieces of these complaints do bubble to the surfa e.
Senator Church. Let's suppose one is not satisfied with
that partial censorship and partial elections, limited rights,
but wanted to achieve some kind of free society again does he
have any alternative but to, if he believes strongly enough
in it, to put his own life in jeopardy, does he have any
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alternative but to resort to force against the present
government.
Mr. Helms. Well, I think probably not because it seems
clear that in Brazil since 1964, it has been decided by those
in control that they are only going to go at their own pace
in working toward any liberalization of the government, and
that if one gets too far out of line one is going to get in tr uble
and that is all there is too it.
Senator Church. The real core of the political process,'
regardless of what the labels may be that are attached, usuall
comes down to how the pie is sliced and Brazil has long been
noted for a great imbalance in the way the pie is sliced.
Vast numbers of people living in destitution, impoverish-
ment, very small numbers of people living with great wealth,
and a growing, though still small middle class. What is
this government doing about that core problem, namely, the
redistribution of wealth. Is this government undertaking
anything comparable to what is going on in Peru, sweeping
changes in the ownership of land or changes in taxation
that impose larger burdens on the rich, any of these internal
changes that really have to do with the core problem of how th
pie is sliced.
Mr. Helms. Well, this administration has several
programs.going. ,One of them is that they are insisting that
the wealthy pay taxes, and this had -- and also they have raise
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the wages of some of the labor groups, that is not to say that
the gaps has been closed but at least the trend is in that
direction and this has had a great deal to do in halting and
slowing down the inflation which as you will recall was
rampant in Brazil 8, 9 years ago when it was going
up something like 140 percent a year.
Also highways are being built now and I had just drawn
on this map up there in a rather free handed way where two
major highways are being built to open up the Amazon area of
Brazil. That is one purpose. The other purpose is to try to
relief that impoverished drought-prone area of the northeast
and along that road there are going to be several cities
built in order to move the population out of the northeast int
reas of the country where their chances of making a livelihood
are going to be definitely increased, so that this government
does have programs in mind which indeed should over a period
of time relieve some of these pressures. Now how fast this is
going to be is hard to say but at least for the first time
a major effort is being made to open up some part of Brazil
other than these coast line which has been the place of maxim
population traditionally and historically.
Senator Church. Previous governments though have been
interested in opening up this hinterland, have they not.
Wasn't this the purpose of establishing Brasilia?
Mr. Helms. Well that was the idea of establishing Brasil
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in the center of the country was sort of step one toward this
but the actual establishment of that city didn't do much
to accomplish the objectives that you are speaking about, but
the opening up of these highways and actually trying to move
population out of the impoverished areas into areas where
they can certainly make a better livelihood is probably the net
step in this process and in my opinion a much more meaningful
one.
Senator Church. How heavily are the rich being taxed
now in Brazil.
Mr. Helms. Well I am not sure exactly what the tax rate
is, for example compared to our own. I do know though that fo
almost the first time in Brazilian history they are being
obliged to pay. It isn't like France or other countries
where the rich have found a way of ducking these. This admin-
istration is seeing to it that they do pay up.
Senator Church. Is there any basic land reform program
under way that is meaningful, in the way of breaking up large
land holdings.
Mr. Helms. No, I don't believe so. I think
the emphasis in this government since they have such an enormo s
country and with such large areas that have never been occupie
by anybody except maybe indians there is plenty of land there
if they can move the population into this land without taking
it away from anybody else.
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Senator Church. Would you characterize the present
government as fundamentally revolutionary government in terms
of internal change in the economic order or primarily a status
quo government.
Mr. Helms. Well, if you will forgive me I am having a
lot of trouble with that term revolution because it means so
many different things to so many different people under certair
circumstances so let me if I may just put it this way.
Senator Church. The way I mean it, the way I define
it is fundamental and far reaching changes in the internal
order, internal economic order.
Mr. Helms. I would think if the government stayed on its
present program and saw it through and a subsequent govenrment
did it also it was going to change the government of Brazil
rather dramatically in a number of years.
Senator Church. This is the result of economic growth.
Mr. Helms. Yes, mainly.
Senator Church. Rather than structural changes.
Mr. Helms. I woudl think that is it, yes.
Senator Church. You mentioned in your statement that
traditionally in Brazil, particularly in the rural areas the
police have been noted for brutal methods, and then you mentior
the torture that has been practiced by the federal police in
attempting to cope with the terrorist activities; Has this
traditional brutality led to considerable public ill-feeling
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toward the police as such in Brazil and their methods.
Mr. Helms. Apparently not. I would like to just for a
moment, if I may, point out an interesting historical aspect
of the way the military have operated in Brazil. As you
know, there have never been any real roads in that country,
� that most transportation into the hinterland has been via the
rivers. This has meant that the military bases in the various
outlying and rural provinces have either had to be manned
by men and supplies flown in by airplane or else going on the
rivers.
Well interestingly enough over the years the military
has formed a very sound relationship with the rural population
because these military bases have had a means of, and have had
a campaign literally of not only getting into the rural countr
side but of sharing their salt and sugar and so forth, their
staples that are flown in from the big cities and as a result
have had a very comfortable relationship with the rural
community. So when some years back efforts were made to infil
trate agitators and various other types of individuals in thos
communities, as it has happened in Bolivia, in Cuba and variou
other places, the minute a stranger showed up somebody would
report that to the local military garrison and the police
would grab that fellow within a matter of almost hours on
that was the end of any trouble in the countryside so it is
not surprising that it turned out to be urban terrorism in that
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51
country rather than rural terrorism, and therefore, as far as
the people in the rural areas are concerned they see no partic
lar problem with this and so far as the cities are
concerned it is our best judgment that these repressive
techniques are objected to by those who have had friends, fami ies,
relationships of some sort with the people who were beaten
up on but so far as the major part of the population is
concerned it hasn't caused so much as a ripple and this is
as I testified in connection with the death squads there seems
to be a kind of cynical view among the population that maybe
this isn't all bad to get these rascals rounded up and they d
seem to worry too much about how roughly they are treated.
This is the sort of the net assessment in answer to your
question. In other words it is not a big thing.
Senator Church. The death squads as I understood your
testimony deal mainly with petty crimes and gambling and racke
eering.
Mr. Helms. That is right.
Senator Church. They are not engaged or connected with
the effort to reach the terrorists.
Mr. Helms. We can find no lreationship between these
two things at all, and when I was preparing this testimony,
and I was -- I spent a good deal of time trying to be sure
about my facts in the situation I put the term vigilante in
to the text because it was the only American term I could
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find to define the kind of activity these death squads involve
themselves in in other words they are self-appointed execution rs.
Senator Church. Well that of course was the parallel th
occurred to me, too in listening to your testimony.
These activities are largely in the cities, the death
squad activities rather than in the countryside.
Mr. Helms. Entirely.
Senator Church. How much -- how would you characterize
the public attitude in Brazil today toward the present
government. Is it or do you have any objective way of measuri g
that.
Mr. Helms. You know, Mr. Chairman, I don't think we real y
do have a very objective way of doing it. There are no
polls taken. One gets impressions about these things, but
honestly, I think from a sociological point of view it is very
hard to make a judgment on that and I might be very misleading.
Senator Church. Yes.
Mr. Helms. I would rather assume, and I think it is
better an assumption, that there is among many people a
considerable apathy about the situation, and I
would relate this to the fact that the economy is indeed better
in Brazil and people are living better, and when people are
living better as you well know there is less consternation with
the people who are running the government, and this
finance minister has apparently done an extremely skillful job
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not only collecting the taxes but organizing some wage
raises and keeping them in hand, and there has been a gain
in the GNP of something like 9 percent in the last
couple of years which is good by anybodys standard.
Senator Church. Can you make any assessment on the feeli
in Brazil, that is popular feeling, apart from official
feeling, toward the United STates, how that trend has gone.
Do you have any objective basis on which you could make a judg
ment as to that question.
Mr. Helms. Well, sir, there are certain indications
of this. You will recall that at the time of World War II
Brazil made available to the United States not only two
ports, Belem and Natal so that we could get our aircraft
staged through there on the way to Africa and Europe but also
some bases were set up in the hinterland of Brazil in case of
the real trouble in the war and so forth, and they also con-
tributed as you will recall a regimental combat team to our
forces in Italy, a team which didn't do too well at first but
when finally trained by the Americans turned out ot give quite
a good account of itself.
The officers from that regimental combat team through
the years have been very pro-American and also they have been
very influential in the Brazilian military and in the
Brazilian government so there has been a very friendly relatio
ship.
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Plus the fact that
(b)(1)
Brazilians basically like Americans.
I mean it isn't, you don't feel as though you are in all that
much of a foreign country. They are outgoing, and meet one
apparently socially with great ease.
There has been, I gather, something of a change in this
in �recent years which seems to be attributable to a variety
of things. For one thing the Brazilian military is apparently
disenchanted with the fact that we won't apparently sell
them with the kind of armament they want and they have been
obliged to go somewhere else. That is one aspect of it.
Another that it has been, I think probably something of
a feeling that maybe American business gets more than its
share out of Brazil.
This is not a big thing and as I testified here, business
relationships are very good there for American companies.
But it isn't quite as wartas it once was but on the
other hand it is still good, and to the extent that one can
measure it it isn't any particular danger if one wants to
put it that way.
Senator Church. But your answer is based really upon
official attitudes isn't it, the attitudes so far as you can
measure those who govern Brazil and the business
community.
Mr. Helms. That is the best we can do because short of
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actually going out and take some samples it is not possible.
Senator Church. You have not taken any polls to give you
a broader view.
Mr. Helms. There are none made that I am aware of.
But I think Ambassador Rountree is going to testify before
this committee is he not and he may have a better reading on
this than we have.
Senator Church. Well, let me turn to the other members
here of the committee. Senator Sparkman.
Senator Sparkman. I think you have done a very fine
job, Mr. Chairman, and Id, very little to add to it. I do
want to go a little further into the economy of the
country. You said just a minute ago that people were living
better. Now how -- for several years the inflation rate in
Brazil was terrific. Has that been brought under control.
Mr. Helms. Yes, Senator Sparkman. I think that within
the last two or three years they finally have got it down
now to where it increases but at what I think one would
have to conceive are reasonably acceptable limits and this has
been accomplished by taxing people and collecting the taxes.
It has also been accomplished by the fact that
riUS
inautry is increasing, not only what Americans have put in
there but Brazilian industries, their own funds and so forth
so when one takes the whole circle here the Brazilian economy
in the year 1971 has to be regarded as a relatively stable one
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and it is this stability, plus wage increases for public
workers and workers across the board, that has helped to bring
about a stop in inflation and to move things forward. Now
this does not, however, take care of the problem that the chai
was adverting to and that is there are still large numbers of
impoverished Brazilians up in the northeast and various
other parts of the country that are not benefiting from
this.
Most of this is along the coast there, Rio de Janeiro,
Sao Paulo, Recife and so forth where'the industrial process
is in full flower. But I think an increase of'nine percent
in the gross national product, which was the rate last year
is a significant indication of the stability of the economy
and the fact that it is moving foward and, therefore, more
people are benefiting from it.
Senator Sparkman. It is significant particularly if the
inflation has been brought under control or is being lowered.
You know, you speak of a lot of people not getting benefi
When I look at that map and I think of the size of Brazil,
it certainly is no wonder that there are a lot of people who
are left -- how far is it from Recife.
Mr. Helms. Yes, sir.
Senator Sparkman. Over to the westernmost point, how
many miles.
Mr. Helms. I think it is a couple of thousand miles.
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Mr. Maury. The scale is 800 right here.
Senator Sparkman. 800 it is probably more than a couple
of thousand.
Mr. Helms. It is probably more, 2400.
Senator Sparkman. At least that much.
Mr. Helms. And the remarkable thing about it is that the
country has really never been opened up. I mean there is
every evidence there are all kinds of raw materials and resources
and minerals and what have you, all kinds of things.
Senator Sparkman. Yes, sir, just one more question
and that is with reference to American industrial penetration
or, the location of American industry in Brazil, does it find
a friendly climate.
Mr. Helms. Yes, sir.
Senator Sparkman. And there has been no difficulty.
Mr., Helms. Almost none.
Senator Sparkman. I don't recall that there has been any
taking over of American property, has there.
Mr. Helms. There has not been. There is a small
movement now, I say a small movement, it is sort of a
general movement in Brazil toward joint venture arrangements,
not totally American owned in other words, but there has been
no effort thus far to nationalize anything or to take away
American properties.
Senator Sparkman. Well that joint venture is something wrich
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prevails in a good many Latin American countries.
Mr. Helms. That is right.
Senator Sparkman. In fact, a good many countries of
the world.
Well I want to say to you I think you have given us a won
derful presentation. I personally appreciate it,
Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Helms. Thank you, Senator Sparkman.
Senator Church. Thank you very much.
Has the present government of Brazil passed any laws
with respect to joint ventures, that is requiring foreign
investment to be made in this form. '
Mr. Helms. No, I think this is simply negotiation. It
is not required.
Senator Church. Senator Symington, have you some
questions?
Senator Symington. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I just have a couple. What did they do to the two
-people, they killed one of the people that killed the American
what did they do to the other two they captured.
Mr. Helms. Both of them were, the two that were captured
alive were, traded for foreign diplomats. So one is in Cuba,
I believe. The second one, after having been traded outside
the country came back, and I believe was killed when they were
attempting to capture him.
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run
government
their
Int_11_11 V 1 I GU
TOP
Senator Symington.
this Italian
is going
senate, not
(Laughter)
WI I�GIGOOG
who
ours.
. GU 101 LI�JI 1,1 ,,,LIL1,1.1,-P. 1.1 ..)
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They are pretty near just going to
took the plane from here, the Italian
to run him for the Senate pretty soon,
(b)(
Mr. Helms.
(b)(
Senator Symington.
1)
1)
(b)(1
Mr. Helms.
(b)(1)
Senator Symington. My fourth question, this Medici govern-
ment, that is a rough name to start off with, you appear to be
pretty solid about that government. You seem to think he is
doing all right.
Mr. Helms. Well, I think he is there to stay, let's put
it that way.
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Senator Symington. Was he an army man at any time?
Mr. Helms. He always has been an army man.
Senator Symington. He always has been an army man.
Mr. Helms. Yes, sir, he came up through the ranks
of the army.
Senator Symington. Final question on the same subject,
you say there could be a successor to him in 74, is that
because he is not permitted to run again?
Mr. Helms. Yes.
Senator Symington. I see. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I might ask one more question, which is how is Brasilia
doing. I went down there with Senator Fulbright a few years
ago and they were creating an artificial town. Is it
prospering?
Mr. Helms. It is gradually filling up but very slowly.
Senator Symington. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Church. I see both Senator Fulbright and Senator
Javits are reading over the statement. Would either of you
like to question the witness at this time.
Senator Javits. I would like to ask a question or two.
I am glad he is here and I have been down there and have
had the privilege of meeting all the presidents excepts the
last one who took office at the time of Castello Branco.
Do you know, Mr. Helms, whether or not any effort has been
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61
made to ascertain what level these elections really reach or
can you tell us the conclusion of your agency as to whether
they really mean a thing in democratic terms. They make a
big thing about the fact that people are elected to congress
and these elections are going to continue and therefore we
are wrong about the fact there is no democratic government in
Brazil.
Mr. Helms. Well, sir, I think that the way the elections
are conducted these days would by our stand not be what
we would call proper elections because the candidates that are
being run are hand-picked before hand.
I mean you have a choice but you don't have all that much
of a choice.
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Sianator Javits. The 1pvFil, as I understand it, goes tn
th;_- Congress, th- statt, governors an, no longer ,A.7!ctPd.
Hrams. Y, sir, th,y ar7 o1ectg is when the
Sat 11�oartm,an4:, Government spolu_sman comes up and says
th.. principal rctas.,-)n now wa are fighting and continuing the
war in Vi-Anam is to giv;.7, th-.:scg people a chanc.A at a free,
whal-. was thP. language Iv, us'-td yesterday, you were therP, a
I have got his statement, a new phrase in place of
s1f-dttrmination. I asked him why in the world do you keep
changing this terminology, you used to say self-determination,
now th,-.y dewloped a little nicer sounding phrase something
about free choice but that is like saying giving them a dictato
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ship by consent, I mean. What it means is ther is a certain
hypocritical aspect of our whole rhetoric that bothers me very
much and I think is bothering many people. Why not just let
them go on and have their dictatorship by consent?
Mr. Helms. I think, Senator Fulbright, the description
of tha Brazilian Government is itself a military dictatorship.
Senator Fulbright. Sure, why not and I am not complaining
about it. I doubt very seriously and I doubt that we could
give them any other kind of system to be better so I think
we ought to leave them alone. I am a neoisolationist so far as
that is concerned, to intervene in Brazil to give them the
kind of elections you have in New York or Chicago or anywhers
else --
(Laughter)
-- but what bothers ma is this ambivalence that appears and
continues to appear in our governmental policy which has nothin
to do with your responsibility and yet you come here and
I have not the slightest reason to question the way you hay.=
described it, but I have a terrible time about our policy,
why in the world if we are assisting this kind of government
here, we assist the one in Argentina, at least we are not doing
anything to upset it, it is a very similar one, is it not?
Mr. Helms. Yes.
Senator Fulbright. Vary similarone, well, Paraguay is
a little more ancient in its establishment, it is similar, is
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it not?
Mr. Helms. Yes.
Senator Fulbright. The one in Peru, is it not similar,
now what are we doing fighting to give the people of South
Vietnam a free election? That is the import of what these
people say was the other day the acting Secretary of State,
and it just absolutely leaves me dumbfounded is what in the
hell they use such rhetoric. Cannot we ever get some agree-
ment or what are we arguing over? You see what bothers me.
You accept it here, the Greeks, our Government is over there
giving them aid, I do not know, we are giving them a hundred
million dollars this year, that is a dictatorship by consent.
Mr. Helms. I would not say that.
Senator Fulbright. Well, take the election in Korea,there
was obviously no possibility of defeating Park. He has control
of the machinery, he has got everything in it going, he has
all the control of the money, they went through the routine,
I half way suspect to try to kid the American people, to justi
our continued aid, they have it coming up with a program of
750 million and it is easier, more palatable to get it through
the Congress if they say yes we have a free election, this
fellow was elected. He was not elected in the sense that the
Americans use the word elected, is that not true?
Mr. Helms. That is true.
Senator Fulbright. Is there no possibility, I mean, have
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we got to always fool the American people? I think this is
one of the reasons you get people, poor pathetic, bedraggled
kids, thay do not know what they are doing but they sense there
is something phony about our whole posture in this whole
business and sooner or later it gets to be extremely embarrassi
It is embarrassing to me now because I think I am a party to
a fraud, a continuing fraud, and yet I am not about to upset
Mr. Park. I am not trying to recommend our system to anybody,
but apparently the American people think we are taking the
word, just like the christians took the cross and the Moslems
took the sword, and we are doing it all over the world and
in Vietnam is what we come up with.
Can you think of any better reason than this idea that
their sealing and giving us the other day about we are continui
this fight, continuing this war to bring to South Vietnam
the chance for a free society.
Mr. Helms. I doubt that you are going to have a free
society in South Vietnam or any place in Asia for sometime.
Senator Fulbright. Then, what the hell are we fighting
for?
Mr. Helms. I thought the purpose of it was to give the
South Vietnamese Government a chance to exist as a viable
state, that is all.
Senator Fulbright. What do you think is going to happen
to them? I mean, viable state, that is not the way, what do
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you mean by a viable state? They are not going to disappear
from the face of the earth if we pulled out together. It
is just a question of what kind, who, what faction rules it,
is it not? Neither one of them is going to democratic in the
sense that New York is democratic, will it?
Mr. Halms. Certainly not.
Senator Fulbright. What difference does it make whether
it is Faction A or Faction B? I am serious about it. This get
ma puzzled to beat hell. I do not know why we are there, and
we raised this question, the Senator from New York is the best
lawyer we have in these parts.
Senator Javits. Free.
Senator Fulbright. There is a regime, a government
committed to law and order. And we have a constitution, he has
got a very important bill to bring us within the Constitution
I am unable to find in the Constitution the authority to
prosecute a war to bring a foreign country the right to a free
election or a free determination of which faction rules them.
It does seem to me there is the ultimate in disregard for the
fundamental law of the country which is the Constitution. Ther
is not anything in the Constitution to authorize us for us or
you to do what you are doing or for the President to do what
he is doing without any resolution, declaration of war or
anything to go abroad and to try to insure a foreign country to
have the. right to choose which faction it wants. The truth of
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the matter is we like Mr. Thieu and Mr. Bunk,i-r is committed
tohim so we ar�e really fighting to keep Mr. Thieu in offic.
you just forgt about the Rhetoric, that is the fact of the
matthr, but of course, this is not palatable to the American
public so w.7- have to continuo. to fool the American Public by
lot of high sounding language likedictatorship by consent.
Mr. Helms. Senator Javits, you got me in a jam.
Sna4-or Javits. Yr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent
it is th., witness' answer.
Senator Fulbright. You said w�s, that is what it is.
(Laughter)
It is like thso prot-:ctive reaction strikes. What is th.n
diffintalco in tha. and a bombing raid?
Mr. ilms. 'Ion,thst I know of.
S-7nrtor Fulbright. PuJ- really, how can we get off of
this kind or rigmarole that keeps going on and on and I do not
undorstand it. I am getting more and morn boggled in my mind
of what in tha hell do we do. We just act like we are trutha-
tized. We ar just going down this road without any reason. It
is uotorly unconstitutional. When h.F: said I am tIL--xr- to proto?ct
our tro:'ps rv,rybody moro- or lf,ss accepted it. I could seo
t'ato,tt is within his roasonabl construction of the
Constution.
not say that.
Laos was not
Dut othor morning th Under Secretary did
Of course, loo:,! cannot say it bcaus going into.
to protect anybody's troops except the CIA, they
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a-.,rr- trying 4.7.;> halp your troops mayb-.... but t:v.y did not put it
...311 that ground.
Er. Helms. Did not help much.
Samator Fulbright. I read in the paper that you are in
th heroin busin,,.ss this morning.
Mr. 11,Ams. In the papiNr?
Senator Fulbright. It was this morning's p:-.n21r, was it no?
Did not Jack Anderson ir this morning's column, say th:.:t
tha CIA Air America is one of the principal transpnrt3 of
heroin, I did not mean to bring this up this morning.
Mr. 111ms. It is all riaht,sir, but it is n tru.
Senator Fulbright. But it says, I think it is in tha
morning paper says you one of the principal, your Air
America is one of ths principal means --
Mr. Helms. Sir, there is el defense of that.
Simator Fulbright. What?
Mr. Helms. It just plain is not true.
Senator Fulbright. Steele is prPparing a report that will
allege Air America aircraft are being used to transport the
drug from Northern Laos to the Capital City of Vientiane. How
do you know it is not true?
Mr-Helms. I cannot prove the negative, Mr. Chairman,
but wa awakened to this problem many years ago, and -
Senator Fulbright. I do not want to belabor you on that.
That is bad and it has a terrible effect upon the people but
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it is not nearly as bad as getting us so confused we do not
know what we are doing in Vietnam and their way to and it
because we do not know what we are trying to achieve. If
you do not know what your objective is you never know when you
achieve it, do you, and Mr. Ky says it will take 15 to 20
years to achieve what his objective is, which means he would
like to have us continue to pay their bills for 15 to 20
years, whichis not very difficult to understand. He would
like us to leave and continue to pay his bills, is that not a
fair statement?
Mr. Helms. Nice work if you can get it.
(Laughter)
Senator Church. He has quite a record of success.
Senator Fulbright. I think it is deplorable and shameful
and all that, they kill people they do not like but every
dictatorship has always done that and they will continue to
do it, there is nothing we can do about it,is there?
Mr. Helms. Nothing that I am aware of.
Senator Fulbright. Nothing we can do about it. It is
interesting to know, it is depressing to know we are support-
ing people who have no respect whatever for human life but
that is the way the world is, and we are doing it all over
but I think we ought to minimize it. I must say I do not think
we ought to he a party, a principal to it. I think we ought
to let them go their way. There is nothing we can do about it
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in my opinion, about changing the government, nothing in my
opinion. If we tried we would fail or we would be as bad. You
have no good alternative. I do not either and I think that is
true of all these. I think the Greeks, what I object to is
not -- I do not p len to think ws ought to throw them out, I
do not think we. ought to be their principal ally, givn them
a lot of money so they make it impossible, almost, we do, for
the Greek people, if they had enough desire and willingness to
restore self-government, we really are allies with the Colonels
When we do what we do. I do not think we ought to be allies
with them, although I do not think we can go in and throw
,them out. This is for the Greek people and this, I assume
from thn Government's view, is neoisolationism. I do not
call it that.
Senator Church. There is the same question that arises
coming back to the matter of Brazil, we have given two billion
dollare to this government.
Senator Fulbright. I do not think we ought to do it any
more. We ought to cut it out.
Senator Church. To finance its programs, to strengthen
its fiscal position in the country, and the thing that seems
to me we forgot entirely in the process of administering
foreign policy and making these nice delicate judgments on
the question of internal threats and Communist subversion and
this sort of thing in playing the game of geopolitics, I think
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83
we have forgotten entirely how American policy has come to 1oo3
to the American people. That is the reason for the ferment in
this country, and we are going to have more and more of it.
When a foreign policy becomes so detached from the traditional
values we have stood for as a nation that we are pumping
vast sums of money into the support of governments that are
there and the ethics that we are taught to believe in then
young people begin to wonder what we are doing in the world.
and what we are standing for that matters and this is the root
source of the great disillusionment of the young people toward
the Government and toward the leaders in this country. And
that is a graver source of weakness for our own society and
its future than most any of these threats that we are so
consumed with abroad.
We have not given you a chance to ask any questions,
Pat. Have you some you would like to ask?
Mr. Holt. Just a few. You have already covered most of
what I have. Dut to follow up your colloquy with Senator Javit
about General Medici's probability of winning an election if
he had an election, do you think Kubichek might beat him or
come cicise if Kubichek were allowed to run?
Mr. Helms. I have no way of knowing. I really, I am. not
ducking the question, I just do nIt know.
Mr. Holt. This is, of course, a highly Speculative
subject we are talking about.
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Mr. .11F_1ms. Yes.
Mr. Holt. But I thought the record ought to show there
is a body of opinion in Brazil to that effect, whether it is
correct or not.
Mr. Helms.
Mr. Holt.
Mr. 11.1ms.
Mr. Holt.
Mr. Helms.
Mr. 1131t.
Mr. 11-..Ams.
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Mr. Holt. Do you s-se: any future for a futur for th4.
third party organiz4,7d in Brazil about a month ago?
Mr. H:Ams. I would think not.
Mr. Holt. On pags 4 you estimate that the number of Raopla
flgaging in.t.7irroriera at any time hns ni7.-vt7r 7,:c.ced.t7d 1,000.
Do you havz an astimat of how many there might be in theP-7,
tnrrorist group7 at. this tim?
Mr. Helms. but -- I_cannot possibly come up with
a figure, but I think the number is relatively small now. It
is way biAow a thousand.
Mr. Molt. You said Cuba and Communist China haw. provided
specialized training for the_trrorists. Have they provided
any othr kind of hslp, financial, material?
Mr. Helms. Well, oddly c:rough -- let rft.F answer that
clustion this way, w-f do not know of any particular financial
assistanc but .int,erastingly Timough, the terrorists thrcugh
vsrioue of thir raids and robbries and F2f- forth, hava
thmselvas quit a sizeable financial fund, so I
do not think th.y nand very- much help from otitsi&) or at least,
haw! not mteded it up ti. now.
Hr. Holt. You mntiond at somii point the cash tarrorists
gct from th,r:7 miStres of th late Adh,amar de Barros. I
think the Committee might b intennsted if you would -4,1aborats.
Mr. HAms. All right. I originally had in my testimony
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what tha, sum of money was that this fellow acquired when hf%
robb.,;d th;-: mistress of this 1.d.;:ir aid I took it out of the
testimony 113caus,.. it s.-s,led so implausible to ma that I thought
my cr_idibility with th* Committee might be damaged by the
figure. It is alleged to have been $2,400,00b in one trunk.
mr. Holt. What did they do with the trunk after they got
it?
Mr. Helms. So far as I know they took some of this
money and put it in the Cuban Embassy and then used it as a
drawing account. When they needed money they just used the
Cuban money as a bank. He would go down and pull out the money
they needed and then got a receipt for it and so forth, so
that was the way they protected it.
Mr. Holt. Was it the Cuban or the Algsrian Embassy?
Mr.Brown. It was Algerian.
Mr. Halms. Was it Algerian? I am sorry, my mistake.
Senator Fulbright. I have in the record that language
so it will be clear what I was talking about Mr. Irwin. I
have got his written prepared statement the other day. He
uses this kind of language. He says: "Or to bring out
our men in a way which would leave the South Vietnamese a
reasonable chance to determine their own future." That is the
first page. The last paragraph where it summed it up and
I want the record to show it because it makes it a little
clearer what we are talking about. "The Administration
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continues to believe that the policy of withdrawing our fore-.
as the South Vietnamese become more capable of assuming the
burden of their own defenses together with the President's
statement that all our forces will not be withdrawn until our
men are released provide the best prospect of bringing all our
men in prison or in the field out of Vietnam in a way to
give the South Vietnamese a reasonable chance to survive as
a free people."
Survive as a freepeople, and I was trying to interpret
this in the light of a free people. Is a free people a peonle
who are under a dictatorship by consent, are they free'
people?
Mr. Helms. Not in my definition of the word.
Senator Fulbright. In mine, either. I do not know what
this means and yet there is not the slightest chance in this
area there is likely to be a free election than there is in
3razil or in Argentina or in Koree, or in any of these other
places it strikes ma, and this strikes me as very confusing
to those of us who are supposed to be concerned with
policy making. What is the objective in South Vietnam, and
thnn if this means a free election as we use the term here,
that we actually do have a choice, that it is free, that
existing government does not control thG electoral process,
if that is the objective, and that is the way they use the
term,what in the world is the constitutional justification
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for waging a war without any authority from Congress or a trnat
or anything else on such a basis? It is clearly in violation
of the Constitution. It does not say anything aboutprotecting
th.7.: lives of our soldiers, and this is the latest statement
the othr morning from the Acting Secretary of State and I
asked him specifically when we started, are you speaking for
th.t Administration, which, of course, he said yes, he was,
and this is their policy. And you are a party to it. You are
going around here and you are doing all sorts of things suppor -
ing this illegal policy. You are an accomplice in an illegal,
unconstitutional act, are you not? This is a serious question.
If we are committed to law and order does not included abidin
by the fundamental law of the country which is the Constitution
It is no less affective than a police statute, is it, in your
opinion? Are we as committed to support the Constitution
as we are any statute passed by the Congress?
Mr. Helms. Yes, sir, I would think so. I am not a
constitutional lawyer, Senator Fulbright.
Senator Fulbright. No, but you have got experts on your
staff, you have got constitutional lawyers, historians,
scholars, generals, what in the world,you have got the greatest
aggregation of brains anywhere around.
Mr. Helms. Maybe I should go back and consult with them.
Senator Fulbright. Would you, I wish you would give me
a memoramdum on the constitutional basis for the waging, for
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the continuing to wage the war in order to give the people of
Vietnam an opportunity to be a free people. Would you have
a memorandum on that subject?
Mr. Helms. I do not think that is really my proper
function.
(Laughter)
Senator Church. The memorandum, I might say, Mr. Chairman
we have had from the Executive Branch on that subject, seems
to support the theory that the President has an inherent power
as Commander-in-Chief to conduct war at his pleasure.
Senator Fulbright. Well, at his pleasure. They originally
though, started out on the basis that Cambodia and Laos was
to protect our soldiers' lives in the field where he found
them. That is, I think a fairly acceptable, nobody raised any
fuss about it. I want one othFer question before
Mr. Helms.
I have to go,
(b)(1)
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Senator Fulbright. Do you have any reports from there
about what happened during the early days of the insurrection,
rebellion or whatever you want to call it?
Mr. Helms. Yes, sir, certainly.
Senator Fulbright. Have you any objection to making those
available to the Committee just the factual accounts of what
happened?
Mr. Halms. The reports. I would like to see in what form
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thy ars. I am not even sure about this. Why,is ther some
problam in connection with what occurred there?
Senator Fulbright. Yes. We had a hearing on this the othe
day, and we were trying to get what happened, th ':xtent,
the reason I am interested, I will give you this over-
simplified background. They had an election, a national
(11ction, and it was supoosed to be a frsn election, and
apparently Was too fre.:1 becausq, the election went against the
government in East Pakistan, this Awami League or whatever
it is, won.
Mr.Helms. Won overwhslmingly.
Senator Fulbright. So the gcw�rnment did not accent that,
is thlt not right? Thr.y sent in an army to in effect, to msss
th 1ad-,=rs and they arE- rported to have arrested the. leader
of th Leagu'l, and tt.1 hsv-a a lot of p-?op1=,..Now, is it
true or nt..-7 that they did, that th Army in going into Dacca a
oth-a� p]...c7, did kill a lot of opl= indiscriminetly.
-r. HA.ms. I do not think there is any doubt that a
lot r.,f popl wr,:t killed.
,Snator Fulbright. This is what I wanted, just thg facts
sf tht cas..t. Is th4r.re any reason that you would not care
to give us the report of the nature of the attack that was
brought by ths Army?
!hams. Would liwmorandum from ml in which I
ascribed th%: history of this thing and whnt nctually happrnd?
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Sanator Fulhright. That tnok place.
Mr. HeA.mT. Bcause I think, sir, thor snm
th iction and the ,,istablishrm-mt
c=stitutional cnwmtion, and that this businss of whai-
th thkr- trnps into East Pakistan came after
svral political manipulations took olac, that I think rather
thci stay for what subsaquntly happened, not the killing,
I am not talking about that, but I mean there is a question,
as I recall all this, that the gcvernmmt of Pakistan, in
.01.;:st Pakistan, was attc!mpting to work out some kind of an
arrangment about this constitutional convention, that this-
1.-ad:.,r in East Pakistan doc1in.2d to sit down with him. But
lt ma get this, I mean, lat-me put it down in a pice of
paper becaustl I am not all that clear about it.
Senator Fulbright. The Pakistani Ambassador, why I bring
this up today, called 1,.1 this morning and he said very
urgent that I s�=3, him. You know how they do, it is not, of
course, but he thinks it is, and it would be very useful.
Mr. Halms. Let me get you a memorandum.
Szmator Fulbright. If I could have what your factual
case is, I do not want your opinions or anything like that but
it is purely for my information because he is coming to see
me, I think it is tomorrow or the day after. He call.d up.
Mr. Helms. Would you tall me precisely, sir, so I know
what my deadline is?
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Senator Fulbright. Call my office and ask Kitty when
I agr ed to sea the Ambassador from Pakistan, I have forgotten
whether it is tomorrow or the next day, and the reason, I
guess, he said he wants to come to see me, I do not know
why, I imagine he wants to tell me the Pakistan Government
did not use American arms and they were fully within their
rights to invade and do the things in East Pakistan and maybe
they were. I am not asking you to make a judgment on political
rights but I am interested in what went on there.
Mr. Helms. I will get you a factual statement.
Senator Fulbright. How many people did they kill,if you
have an estimate?
Mr.Helms. We have no estimate on that because there is
something which has been extraordinarily difficult to follow
because, you know, there is such a large concentration in that
country and the people are all over.
Senator Fulbright. They excluded all foreign press?
Mr. Helms. That is right.
Senator Fulbright. So there was nobody to report it.
Mr. Helms. And they had most of the diplomats holed
up in their consultates in Dacca so there was nobody to
advise us.
Senator Fulbright. This is what makes it difficult, we
would like to know what you know about it.
Mr. Helms. You will have it, sir.
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Senator Church. Has it been any information from the Whi
House we are going to send troops in if we do not give the
people! of East Pakistan a reasonable chance for self-determine
tion?
Senator Fulbright. Well, this is another thing, here is
a situation where they had an election and they did not
accept it and Rahman, he said he was going to be separatist,
from what he did say he wanted local autonomy for local affair-
but would leave foreign and defense affairs for the government
in Islamabad, this is what I understand, a high degree of
state rights in this country, that he wanted a high degree o
states rights because he felt they had been imposed upon in
taxes and other ways and that they were not accentable to
Yahya, and this is a very rough estimate of what I understood.
But again, it is not my purpose certainly, to intervene. All
of this has a bearing upon what in the world are we doing in
South Vietnam, because 11,1re was an election, here was a
Laople in East Pakistan, which is a thousand miles from West
Pakistan, who said they would like a high degree of Autonomy,
they would like an opportunity,as the Secretary said, for a
degree of freedom, and so our Government says it is an internal
matter, we are not going to be involved having already given
the arms to Pakistan,which they used to impose their will on
East Pakistan. Does this not occur to you there is a little
bit of sort of schizophrenia in this policy that we are followi g
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in Vietnam compared to the other countries? Is there a spli:
personality or not?
Mr. Helms. Maybe one learns by experience.
Senator Pulbright. Have we not learned enough in South
Vietnam?
Mr. Helms. I have no way of knowing that.
'Senator Fulbright. Yes, you know, and you ought to be
helping us along with the President to show him the light.
Go ahead.
Senator Church. Have you any further questions?
Senator Fulbright. Thursday at 3:30. It is tomorrow.
Mr. Helms. I will have it at your office by lunch time
tomorrow.
Senator Fulbright. Basic facts.
Mr. Helms. I understand exactly what you want.
Senator Fulbright. As far as you know what happened.
Mr.Helms. I will do it.
Mr. Holt.
Mr. Helms.
Mr. Holt.
Mr. helms.
Mr. Holt.
The National Intelligence
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that you referred, to, is it purely a domestic operation or doos
it also concern itself with foreign intelligence?
Mr. Helms. It is a domestic operation. I believe in its
charter it is supposed to have some external abilities or
authorities but it does not amount to anything.
Mr. Holt. They are concerned with the Soviet Embassy and
Cuban Embassy and places like that.
Mr. Halms.
Mr. Molt. That is all I have got.
Mr. Helms. Thank you, Pat.
Mr. Molt. Thank you.
One thing more I will give you this tear sheet from a
pr,zvious report of April 19th, so for the record you can
comment on what is 4-here.
Mr. Helms. All right.
Mr. Holt. So I will not bs accused of not asking you abou
it.
Mr. Helms. All right, fine.
(The information referred to follows:)
(COMMITTEE INSERT)
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S;inator Church. :7411, Mr. Director, thank you very
much for your togtimny. It has been helpful to ug, and we
appreciate th,.- long session you have put in with us this
m)rning.
Mr. Hrlms. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
(Whan.:upon, at 12:20 o'clock p.m., thc hearing was
concluded.)
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