[SANITIZED]WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM 27 JULY 1977 - 1977/07/27

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06628202
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: July 27, 1977

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Weekly Situation Report
on
International Termrism
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WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT
CONTENTS
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Background Article:
How The Montoneros Struck It Rich (Page 5)
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BACKGROUND ARTICLE
How The Montoneros Struck It Rich
One of the most lucrative kidnapings of all times was
staged by the Montoneros in Buenos Aires on 19 September
1974. While their abduction of the two Born brothers was,
strictly speaking, an internal Argentine matter, the ransom
which was exacted has since then allowed the Montoneros to
engage in numerous terrorist incidents which have been truly
international in character.
According to information provided by leaders of the
Montoneros. .he planning of the operation against the Born
brothers began during late 1973 or early 1974. The Montoneros
decided that the firm of Bunge and Born, a multinational
conglomerate, was guilty of exploiting its workers, was the
"enemy" of small and medium size rural producers who were
"bankrupted" by the company's monopolistic Policies, and was
� "acting for its own benefit and profit and n in accord with
the national interests of the countries where its businesses
were established."
�
The Montoneros concluded that a kidnaping operation
should be conducted against. the Bunge and Born company and
it should be developed as follows: (1) collection of informa-
tion on the company itself and on its principal leaders; (2)
surveillance of target individuals to establish weaknesses
in their defenses; (3) selection of the ambush site; (4)
selection of Montonero members to participate in the
operation; (5) execution of the ambush itself with subse-
quent escape of the kidnapers; and finally, (6) announcement
of a "trial" of those abducted and imposition of a "sentence"
which would include a ransom payment.
The information section of the Montoneros provided the
preliminary targeting information. After this initial
survey and target analysis, which took several months, it
was decided that Jorge Born, Jr., should be the major target
of the abduction, since he was the third most important man
in the firm and would be the one to direct it in the future.
The two senior members of the company, Jorge Born, Sr., and
Mario Hirsh, were not chosen because both were considered
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too elderly. Nien it was observed that Jorge Born, Jr., was
normally accompanied by his brother Juan, the Montoneros
decided to kidnap both brothers.
The terrorists learned that the Born family lived in
the Beccar section of the city, and traveled to their
offices in the Federal District every day, Monday through
Friday, with great regularity. Each morning a ,three-car
caravan would leave the home, and after leaving children in
one of the area's private schools, two of the cars would
follow a fixed route to the Born offices. It was determined
that the family had at its disposal a total of seven vehicles.
The route used by the Born family was over main
streets which were normally choked with traffic and well-
patrolled by police units. The kidnapers decided they would
deal with this situation by blocking off a short section of
the main avenue a minute before the Born vehicles arrived,
detouring the Borns to a a1de_street, and then reopening
the route before police units discovered the trick. In
searching for an obvious reason for a detour, the kidnapers
discovered that workers were pruning trees along a section
of the main avenue. The next step in this phase of the
operation was the selection of the spec...fic side street
where the kidnapers could divert the Born vehicles and cap-
ture the two brothers.
Thirty Montoneros were chosen for the operation and they
were divided into five teams. One team, consisting of three
members, was to block the main avenue and then lift the
barricade once the Born cars had turned. A nine-man team
was to protect.the blockaders and then move quickly to the
kidnaping site and help protect that team. Two groups
consisting of five men each (one dressed as a uniformed
policeman) were to crash pickup trucks into the Born auto-
mobiles in a fake accident. A fifth team, with six men
(including the overall operation leader), would actually
kidnap the brothers. Finally, a two-man subteam would
eliminate a gatekeeper on the escape route.
The attack was set for. .1.9. September 1974. On that date,
according to plan, the Born caravan was detoured onto the
side street and the Montoneros' two pickup trucks collided
with the Ford Falcons belonging to the Borns. The Montonero
disguised as a uniformed policeman, plus six "plainclothes"
Montoneros, succeeded in keeping the Borns' guards occupied,
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--SECRET-
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ostensibly trying to arrest them in connection with the auto
accident, while the six-man team removed the Born brothers
from their car and led them to one of the waiting escape
vehicles. The two Montoneros who had attacked the gatekeeper
calmly walked away, leaving two smashed Ford Falcons, two
pickup trucks, and five cars--with honking horns--which had
been accidentally detoured onto the side street along with the
Born caravan.
The Montoneros held a trial of the Born brothers and
followed it with a sentencing. The sentence called for the
following: a payment equivalent to $60 million U.S. in cash
to the Montoneros, with another $1 million U.S. in goods to
be distributed to specified sectors of the Argentine public;
the personal involvement of the Born brothers in company/union
negotiations in factories controlled by the Born family;
placement of busts of. Juan and Eva Peron in all Born factories;
and finally, publication of leaflets throughout Argentina to
let the public know that the distribution of the goods was
made under pressure from the Montoneros as part of the ransom
for the safe release of the Born brothers.
The ransom demands were met to the satisfaction of the
Montoneros, and the Born brothers were released unharmed
several months after the kidnaping.
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JECRET'
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