ARGENTINA-CHILE: BEAGLE CHANNEL DISPUTE (U)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0002985510
• Release Decision: IPPUB U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: June 24, 2015
• Document Release Date: April 18, 2011
• Case Number: F-2009-01666
• Publication Date: December 11, 1978

(b)(1)
(b)(3)
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
NATIONAL FOREIGN ASSESSMENT CENTER
11 December 1978
MEMORANDUM.
ARGENTINA-CHILE: BEAGLE CHANNEL DISPUTE
Prospects continue to be poor that Argentina or Chile
will make the necessary concessions to defuse the Beagle
Channel crisis, or that the Foreign Ministers' meeting
tomorrow will either avert or delay an Araentinp m* ' ary
initiative.
Chileans might limit themselves to a diplomatic response.
If the Foreign Ministers' meeting fails, the most
probable Argentine military initiative. will be to occupy.
Evout and Barnavelt islands, which are probably uninhabited,
and perhaps part of the sparsely inhabited Cape Horn island.
This limited action would give the Argentines the land-
based territory they seek to guarantee their claim to mari-
time control of the South Atlantic without a; major loss
of life. This move would also place the burden of any
military escalation on the Chileans. In such a case, the
Division of the Office of Reainn.a7 and Po s ca na usis.
This memorandum was prepared by the
APPROVED FOR RELEASEL
DATE: 04-Apr-2011
Questions, and comments
RP-M-78-10481