Documents reveal Brazil spied on Argentina during the Falkland Islands war

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In 1982, the Brazilian military government installed in Argentina, during the Falkland Islands (Malvina Islands) war, a network to search for information on the conflict that its neighboring country had with the United Kingdom, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on April 2, 1982.

These documents of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, kept in the National Archive of Brazil, were made available to the newspaper Estadão and will be published in June, through which the history of these Brazilian actions in the war can be reconstructed.

In addition, João Roberto Martins Filho, professor at the Federal University of São Carlos, will publish the book ‘O Brasil ea Guerra das Malvinas: Entre Dois Fogos’ (Brazil and the Malvinas War: Between Two Fires) with more data on espionage.

In the documents of the General Staff of the Brazilian Armed Forces, the purpose was to circumvent Argentine censorship.

“To circumvent this obstacle, in addition to the usual contacts with the Intelligence sectors of the General Staff of each of the Argentine Forces – generally evasive and reticent – a closer relationship was sought with other trusted military attachés, who were more active and dynamic in monitoring the conflict,” the document wields, as collected by the media.

A month after the invasion, the British operation to retake the islands began. Brazil helped the Argentines with intelligence and weapons but at the same time sought to maintain a good relationship with the United Kingdom.

The report states that the Military Junta met on March 26, 1982. Its members were General Leopoldo Galtieri, head of the Army and President of the Republic; Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo for the Air Force; and Admiral Jorge Isaac Anaya for the Navy. Foreign Minister Costa Méndez also attended the secret meeting.

Information obtained from the local Air Force General Staff has indicated that “on the day of the invasion, April 2, 1982, the operation was scheduled for May or June, when weather conditions would be more unfavorable for the British”.

On the other hand, Martins Filho discusses how Brazil obtained information from Argentina. The country would have deciphered the code of encrypted communications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the trans-Andean nation.

According to the documents, Libya committed to sending Soviet SAM-6 and SAM-7 missiles through the route of Tripoli, Canary Islands, Recife, and Buenos Aires.

In addition, while Brazil watched the Argentines, they took advantage of a unique opportunity in the war: capturing a U.S.-made AGM-45 Shrike missile, a weapon with a modern guidance system.

The war, initiated on April 2, 1982, by the Argentine dictatorship, claimed the lives of 255 British soldiers and 650 Argentine combatants. The trans-Andean nation had to withdraw after more than two months of fighting.

With information from La Tercera

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