WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06706411
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 29
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: November 27, 2017
• Case Number: F-2017-00199
• Publication Date: March 2, 1976

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Weekly Situation Report
on
International Terrorism
DO WSRIT 76-009
2 March 1976
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WEEKLY SITUATION' REPORT
CONTENTS
2 March 1976
Articles:
Owens-Illinois Manager Abducted in Venezuela (Page 1)
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ARTICLES
Owens-Illinois Manager Abducted in Venezuela
On 27 February seven men abducted William E. Niehous,
the vice president and manager of the Owens-Illinois glass
company in Venezuela, from his home in Caracas. According
to Niehous' wife, two of the kidnappers came to the front
door while the family was watching television. One was
wearing the full dress uniform of a Venezuelan army officer
and the second, a camouflage uniform but with ordinary
street shoes rather than combat boots. These individuals
talked their way into the house and were immediately fol-
lowed by three others who wore masks and gloves. The two
remaining kidnappers stayed outside.
The men overpowered Niehous and tied up his wife, their
three sons and the maid. They then injected Niehous with a
blue liquid which is believed to be sodium pentathol. The
kidnappers took Niehous' outdated passport, two of his three
sons' passports, his car keys but not his car, and an
undetermined amount of cash. They did not touch Mrs. Niehous'
jewelry. On 1 March an automobile believed to be involved
in the kidnapping was found in the city of Maracay. Docu-
ments and clothing belonging to Niehous were found in the
car.
Niehous' abductors have thus far not demanded any
ransom. In a seven-page communique signed by the "Comando
Revolucionario, Operacion Argimiro Gabaldon," the kidnappers
stated that Niehous had been arrested and imprisoned pending
a revolutionary trial for "political and economic sabotage."
The communique cited a business survey and other Owens-
Illinois internal corporate correspondence as evidence of
political and economic subversion on the part of the company.
The Owens-Illinois office was burglarized late last year. A
quantity of money was stolen, but no check was made at that
time to determine if any company documents were stolen.
The communique further stated that Niehous was cur-
rently being interrogated as part of the trial process to
which he had been summoned, and that any repressive measures
on the part of the government would result in his death.
�
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The message ended by giving fraternal greetings to the Revo-
lutionary Coordinating Junta (JCR) and its member organiza-
tions and to the Palestinians, Vietnamese, Laotians and
Cambodians. A later letter identified Argimiro Gabaldon as
a guerrilla commander of the Simon Bolivar detachment who
died some years ago in Lara state.
Niehous' abductors are believed to belong to the Bandera
Roja (Red Flag). The modus operandi used by the Niehous
kidnappers is very similar to that employed by:the BR in a
kidnapping which took place three years ago. Mrs. Niehous
was shown a picture of an individual who injected the victim
of the previous kidnapping with a soporific an said that he
resembled one of the men whottook part in her husband's
abduction. In a later press interview, Mrs. Ni.ehous said
that two of the kidnappers were youths she hadearlier hired
to cut her lawn.
The Venezuelan authorities reacted swiftly and have
been raiding the houses of known or suspect BRimembers with
no result. They have assembled composite drawings of three
individuals involved in the operation and are combing their
mug files for match-ups. On 1 March the President of Vene-
zuela stated that "the government will face uplto the kidnap-
pers no matter what the price," and compared the Niehous
kidnapping to the attacks on OPEC in. Vienna and on the
Israelis at the Munich Olympics.
The BR was formed in 1969 when radical elements of the
Venezuelan Movement of the Revolutionary Left split off from
the main group in order to oppose by terrorisuCthe govern-
ments' pacification program, which offered amnesty to the
guerrilla leaders of the 1960's. The BR coopeiated with the
small remaining guerrilla groups such as the Armed Forces of
National Liberation (FALN) and the Organization of Revolution-
aries. This relationship became strained in 1973 because of
the BR's penchant for conducting flamboyant oprations which
provoked government repression. In 1973 the Overnment
killed or imprisoned most of the BR leaders, bit in January
1975 the BR, with the assistance of the FALN, taged a
spectacular jail break in which 23 BR and FALNIterrorists
were set free. The BR leaders, Carlos Betancourt and Gabriel
Puerta, are still at large. It is estimated that there are
currently 50 BR activists in Venezuela.
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The abduction of William E. Niehous is an extremely
sophisticated operation and is a classic example of using an
act of political terrorism as "the propaganda of the deed."
By putting Niehous on trial for economic crimes, the terror-
ists have directly interjected themselves into the Venezuelan
political milieu, because at the present time the Venezuelan
congress is investigating allegations of bribery of Vene-
zuelan officials by a U.S. oil firm in Venezuela. Therefore
the time is a propitious one for the terrorists to portray
themselves as the defenders of the average Venezuelan. To
demand a ransom for Niehous' release would tend to taint the
"purity" of the terrorists' political motives with criminal
ones, unless, of course, they decide to adopt the expedient
of demanding ransom in kind, e.g., distribution of food and
�clothing to the poor.
Because of the sophistication of the operation, and
because the BR communique singled out the JCR member groups
but no other Latin American terrorist organizations, it is
possible that �the JCR may have had a hand in the planning or
conception of this operation. Venezuelan terrorists are
believed to have been in contact with the JCR in 1974. The
current extent of the contacts Venezuelan terrorists have
with the JCR or other terrorists is not known, and there is
no concrete evidence to point to JCR involvement in the
operation. Nevertheless, the possibility of JCR involvement
will be examined closely in the days to follow.
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CHRONOLOGY OF SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ACTS
Date: 27 February 1976
Place: Venezuela, Caracas
CPET:ATIONS STAFF/DDO
A-2
'4 MAR 1916
U.S. Businessman Kidnapped
William Niehoul, the Owens-
Illinois glass:company mana-
ging director in Venezuela,
was kidnapped from.his home
by seven gunmen. A group
called "Revolutionary Com-
mand" has claimed credit for
the kidnappingiand is
threatening. to:kill Niehous
unless the Venezuelan gov-
ernment stops "a wave of re-
pression" against the people.
No demands for money were
made; however, the Interior
Minister told a news confer-
ence that the kidnappers
apparently are "left-wing
groups in search of funds."
See Articles.)
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Litiretis
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OPERAT.WA STAFF/DDO.
2 MAR 1976
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