TheBanzer Plan is the name given to a leaked plan to discreditliberation theology and suppressleft-wingRoman Catholicdissent. Endorsed by tenLatin American governments in the 1970s, the so-called Banzer Plan was originally formulated inBolivia in 1975. It was developed in collaboration with theUnited StatesCentral Intelligence Agency.[1] The name comes fromPresidentHugo Banzer, then-ruler of Bolivia.
The so-called Banzer Plan, worked out by theBolivian Interior Ministry with the support of theUnited StatesCentral Intelligence Agency, was developed in early 1975 and subsequently leaked to the church by an outraged government official.ColonelHugo Banzer, then-ruler ofBolivia, portrayed himself as a defender of "Christian civilization."[2] The targets included Jorge Manrique Hurtado, thearchbishop of theArchdiocese of La Paz, and the suggested tactics involved planting documents on church premises and censoring or closing church properties and radio stations.[3] In rural areas, parishes were raided, priests were arrested and expelled, and sometimes tortured and murdered.[1]
The plan was endorsed by nine other Latin American governments in 1977.[3]
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