Argentina 'planned massacre of British families' before Falklands War, CIA files reveal

Argentina had plans to "disappear" hundreds of British citizens the day before the Falklands War, shocking CIA documents have revealed. Dictator General Leopoldo Galtieri advanced proposals to potentially massacre 500 Brits and over 100 US embassy staff, using a terrorist group as a cover.

The documents, titled "Contingency plans for violence against US and British citizens", were unearthed by Falklands historian Ricky D. Phillips and date back to April 12, 1982 - just days after Argentina invaded the islands. They were declassified in 2018 but never revealed to the public until now, as Mr Phillips came across them while doing research for a new book. He said: "I was researching my new book and suddenly found this incredible CIA file that nobody knew about.

"It showed the Argentines formulated a military run plan to snatch and 'disappear' hundreds of people in one fell swoop and to blame it on an Argentine terrorist organisation called Montoneros.

"This would have been Argentina's equivalent to Adolf Hitler's Kristallnacht, where the Nazis rounded up thousands of Jews and sent them to concentration camps to be killed."

The report reads: "As of the early evening of 11 April 1982 the 601st Intelligence Battalion, the operational arm of the Argentine Army Intelligence Service was making contingency plans to 'disappear' US citizens in Argentina if the US government adopts the British position in regard to the dispute in the Falkland Islands.

"In the terminology used by the 601st battalion 'disappeared' does not mean 'put in jail'. 'Disappeared' probably means 'killed'. [redacted name] did not provide any information on the identities or numbers of persons who would be 'disappeared'.

"However... it referred to intelligence and security personnel at the US embassy in Buenos Aires.

"Also on the early evening of 11 April, teams from the 601st battalion were moving into position to be ready to take immediate action to 'disappear' 500 British subjects in Argentina as soon as hostilities begin."