Latin America

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the activities of the Czechoslovak State Security (StB) rezidentura (intelligence station) in Montevideo, Uruguay, between 1961 and 1977. Its establishment was a consequence of the growing political ties between the Soviet Union and Cuba, in which Czechoslovakia played an important role as a mediator. As in the case of other Latin American rezidenturas, the StB’s activities in Uruguay focused mainly on weakening US influence in the region. The rezidentura managed to make several important contacts from the government parties, but in the long run the cooperation with the Socialist Party proved to be the most effective, even though its political influence was very limited. In particular, the role of Vivian Trías, a prominent socialist politician and intellectual who became a long-standing and extremely efficient agent of Czechoslovak intelligence, was crucial. Despite ideological differences, both parties shared an opposition to US imperialism, and most of the 35 active measures in which Trías participated were oriented in that direction. Through a critical analysis of the Trías case, the text presents the objectives and mechanisms of the Czechoslovak secret services’ work in Latin America. At the same time, however, it also points out certain limitations of the archival documents that make it very difficult to interpret its secret collaboration with StB.