Chile police declassify World War II-era files on Nazi plots

Files show Nazi agents in Chile’s main port of Valparaiso plotted to destroy the Panama Canal

By AP 23 June 2017, 7:16 pm

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A ship entering the Panama Canal. According to recently declassified files, Nazi agents plotted to bomb and destroy the canal during World War II. (CC BY 3.0 SA Dozenist/Wikipedia)

SANTIAGO, Chile — The Chilean equivalent of the FBI declassified World War II-era files on Thursday that show Nazi agents in the South American country’s main port of Valparaiso plotted to destroy the Panama Canal.

According to the 1937-1944 files released by Chile’s investigations police, the force’s counterintelligence unit thwarted the plan after it detained the people leading it in Valparaiso. No other details on the plot were provided.

The head of Chile’s investigations police said the Department 50 unit also dismantled two Nazi espionage networks operating in Chile at the time.

“If they had prospered in their objectives, it could have changed not only Chile’s history, but the history of the whole world,” said investigations police director Hector Espinoza. “I don’t think I’m mistaken when I say that the ones who really made history were the members of Department 50.”

The files were put in display at a ceremony in the Chilean capital. The director of Chile’s National Archives, Emma de Ramon, said that the documents , which can also be accessed online, are “original” and “reliable.”