Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional
Secret police of Chile under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1974–1990) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (English: National Intelligence Directorate) or DINA was the secret police of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The DINA has been referred to as "Pinochet's Gestapo".[1] Established in November 1973 as a Chilean Army intelligence unit headed by Colonel Manuel Contreras and vice-director Raúl Iturriaga, the DINA was then separated from the army and made an independent administrative unit in June 1974 under the auspices of Decree 521. The DINA existed until 1977, after which it was renamed the Central Nacional de Informaciones (English: National Information Center) or CNI.
National Intelligence Directorate Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | DINA |
Agency overview | |
Formed | November 1973 |
Dissolved | 1977 |
Superseding agency | National Information Center |
Jurisdictional structure | |
General nature |
In 2008, the Chilean Army presented a list of 1,097 DINA agents to Judge Alejandro Solís.[2]
Despite falling under Pinochet's legal authority, American-born DINA operative Michael Townley described Contreras as DINA's actual "intellectual head."[3] Pedro Espinoza served as deputy to Contreras as well.[3]