The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-08-14
Hoover Describes Axis Plans In South America
Spies SabOieurs Routed Through Cooperative Efforts of FBI, Various Latin Officials After Pearl liarbOr

The back of Axis penetration in South America has been broken through the wholesale capture of spies and saboteurs, radio transmit ters and other equipment. J. Edgar Hoover, director Of the Federal Bureau of Inngestigation. reveals in a signed article in the September issue of The American Magazine.
 More than 1000 dangerous Axis operatives and Sympathizers in South America have been expelled, anteTned. or moved to inland resi- denceS where they can do no harm" '" Hoover reports. More than 250 highly trained enemy spies and sab- oteurs have been neutralized.
 "'Tgenty-nine clandestine short waye radio stations. used to trans- init information about the United States to Germany, have been eliminated. Thousands of poaential- ly dangerous Axis nationals have been put under surveillance.
 Starting in July. i9a0. on the basis og leads gained in the United States on Naz spy activities in South America. the FBI began cooperating with the South American republics in ferreting out dangerous German and Japanese agents. Hoover de- clares.
 ''None of the South American re- pubiics had paid much attention to enemy aliens. and so. when the Jap- anese struck at Pearl Harbor, they were without preparation to fight the Fifth Column" he continues Yet the Axis. according to Hoover. had made definite plans to invade South America from Dakar. Africa. and the situation had become alarming"
 ''EmbOldened by their apparent security before Pearl Harbor) 1" Hoover says. Axis agents began to develop grandi0se schemes. In Ealt0, Uruguay, a German agent decided to seize the country without waiting for Hitler's invasion. and eventually ey- pand into Brazil and argentina. With several friends. who idolized him, he drew np a plan Of military action. showing in detail how Uru- gnay could be taken by the German population ip IS days. When the country was taken. he and his fol- lowers intended to hquidate all Segs and Freemasons, confiseate banks and lands. and set up a Hazi government for the Fuehrer. Before he could complete his plans. how- ever, he was arrested and sent to prison for thirteen years"
 Hoover expresses surprise over the trust Of the Nazas sn some of their spies, declaring that rather than be- Ing men of iron" many were "ae- eomplished men with weak spots .D their character. ranging from lech- cry to larceny to treacheiy Predatory men whO would betrsy their own comrades as quickly as they would betray us, their enemy"
 The FBT director discioses that one German agent iD Brazil, work Ing ip collslsiop witb the German Deyel ettaehe. faxed Q message to another highly important German agent and forced his return to the khtheriapd. The first agent then took his victims important Job-and the income.
 Through Information furnished by the United States to Argentine, shortly after our State Department publicly ehided Argentina 10 No- yepber, 1892, for giving sanctuary t0 Axis agents, Hoover declares that Argepfisle police arrested . prineipsI ne1 agent and asked Captain Det- rich HiebuT, the German naval at, faehe and general director of the German spy ring, to leage the eouD. try. similag activity was undertaken by the Chilean government at the