Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

(Martin Jones) #1
feller Commission, headed by former Vice President Nelson A. Rock-
efeller, was established by Executive Order 11828 on 4 January 1975.
It mandate was to determine whether the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) conducted domestic surveillance and other illegal ac-
tivities within the United States in the period 1947–1975. It was also
to conduct a narrower study of issues relating to the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy.
The commission’s report, issued on 6 June 1975, found that the
CIAhad engaged in illegal domestic acts, such as infiltrating dissi-
dent groups, opening private mail, testing drugs on unknowing citi-
zens, and subjecting foreign defectorsto physical abuse and pro-
longed confinement. The report did not delve into the assassination
of President Kennedy, prompting critics to allege a “white wash” of
the matter. The Rockefeller Commission’s work set the stage for the
congressional investigations of the CIA, first by the Church Com-
mitteein the Senate and then by the Pike Committeein the House
of Representatives. See alsoANGLETON, JAMES J.; COINTEL-
PRO (OPERATION); MKULTRA(OPERATION).

RODRIGUISTA (PROJECT).ASoviet covert actionoperation in
support of the Chilean Communist Party to enable it to pursue an un-
derground armed struggle against the regime of Augusto Pinochet
during the early 1980s. The operation was supervised by the Interna-
tional Department of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist
Party, the KGB, and the GRU. The project’s goals were to develop an
underground network for pursuing an armed struggle to depose the re-
pressive regime, to train Chileans in Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union in the doctrine and techniques of armed struggle, and to infil-
trate these individuals back inside the country to direct the struggle.
Specifically, the Soviet Union trained Chilean Communist Party
members in underground activities and covert intelligence gathering
techniques, provided forged documents and passports, gave financial
assistance, and prepared “foreign comrades” in various paramilitary
activities, including weapons training and explosives. The operation
ended toward the end of the 1980s when the Chilean Communist Party
renounced armed struggle against Pinochet. See alsoALLENDE,
SALVADOR; FUBELT (OPERATION); NATIONAL SECURITY
DECISION MEMORANDUM 93.

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