In pursuit of Bolivia's secret Nazi

[Judi Lynn]

In pursuit of Bolivia's secret Nazi
Wednesday September 10th 2008

After the second world war many high-ranking Nazis fled to South America. Among them was the head of the Gestapo in the French city of Lyon, a man responsible for the deportation of Jews to the death camp at Auschwitz and the torture of members of the French Resistance. Hiding in Bolivia, Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, changed his name to Klaus Altmann and made himself helpful to drug lords and dictators alike. Bolivian journalist Gustavo Sanchez explains what happened when he tracked Barbie down in 1983:



Wednesday September 10th 2008

For decades here in Bolivia we had an infamous tradition of ruthless dictators. In the early 70s General Hugo Banzer siezed power. He turned to the ex-Nazi Klaus Barbie to help him with the repression. It was not the first time that Barbie, a war criminal wanted by the French and German authorities, had mingled with hardliners. Here in Bolivia he used to do big business with the drug lords. He had his own team of assassins, some from Italy and others from Argentina, called the Grooms of Death. He also sold them weapons.

American intelligence officials helped Barbie to become established in Bolivia as part of their crusade against communism. He acted as a sort of counter-intelligence official. Under the alias of Klaus Altmann he worked primarily as an interrogator and torturer. He also helped in the same way in Peru. He did the same things here as in Germany and France. For him the word communist meant "dead". Many Bolivians died during that dictatorship; one that was prolonged for more than 10 years. Barbie was in charge of the murders of many Bolivian citizens, including priests and members of the opposition.

So some of us felt that we had to do something about it. But in 1980, after General Banzer, an even bloodier dictator, Luis García Meza, rose to power in what was called the narco, or cocaine, coup. Barbie was a key aide then. He was the main ideologue of that coup; he organised absolutely everything. He was even given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Bolivian armed forces, and was then able to move around with total impunity. Today Bolivians know all about Barbie, but for a long time many even doubted that such a criminal could be here.

More:
http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=719&catID=9

[jakem]

1. is it Palin?!?!?

oh, sorry. thought this was GD:P...

:shrug:

[Judi Lynn]

2. Klaus Barbie:Department of Justice - FBI - Department of State CIA - Counter Intelligence Corps File

~snip~
Before Allied troops were able to liberate Lyon in September 1944, hundreds of French nationals who had first hand knowledge of his crimes were killed. Twenty double-agents who had infiltrated French Resistance were but to death. Barbie returned to Germany, where after the war he was recruited by the United States Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC). It has been estimated that below his command 7,500 people were deported, and 4,342 were murdered.

From 1945 to 1955, he was protected and employed by British and then American intelligence agents. In 1952 and 1954, military tribunals in Lyon found Barbie guilty of torture, executions, deportations, and looting. Barbie was sentenced to death in absentia. With American help Barbie moved to Bolivia in 1955.

When French agents were on the trail of Barbie, the CIC contacted Dr. Krunoslav Draganovic, a Croatian priest who ran a "ratline" which helped hundreds of Nazi SS officers escape from Europe. Father Draganovic arranged papers and transportation for Barbie to flee from Germany to Italy and then to Argentina and Bolivia.

In 1971, Nazi hunters located Barbie in Bolivia, where he had become a drug lord. In 1980, while in Bolivia using the alias Klaus Altmann, Barbie took part in the "Cocaine Coup." Luis Garcia Meza Tejada gained power in 1980 as the result of the "Cocaine Coup" on July 17, 1980, with the backing of Barbie and Italian terrorist Stefano Delle Chiaie. His government ended in 1981. His regime became internationally known for its drug trafficking activities. He brutally repressed the opposition and some 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed by the Bolivian army and security forces during his period in office. The former president was sentenced to 30 years in prison for human rights violations.

In 1983, a Bolivian government was in power that was willing to deport Barbie to France. On May 11, 1987, Barbie went on trial in Lyon. On July 4, 1987, Barbie was sentenced to life for crimes against humanity. Klaus Barbie died of leukemia in prison on September 25, 1991.

More:
http://www.paperlessarchives.com/barbie.html