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Predecessors
The Agência Brasileira de Inteligência or Brazilian Agency of Intelligence is the successor of the former (and infamous) SNI. During the dictatorship that ran from the 1960s to the middle 1980s in Brazil, the SNI through its DOI-CODI department was responsible for censorship, torture, murder and actions against members of student movements, artists or politicians that dared to defy the government.
It is said by some that SNI has been a member of the CIA "Condor Operation", an operation to maintain and spread dictatorship and anti-communist ideas in Latin America.
SNI was eventually replaced by the shortlived SSI which in its turn was replaced by ABIN.
The current agency
Today, ABIN is a fairly unknown agency that went through a lot of changes and names to clean itself of the old SNI reputation, and deals with internal intelligence and the military.
Current Functions
ABIN's main function is to investigate real and potential threats to the Brazilian society and government and defend the Democratic State of Law, the Brazilian sovereignty and the effectiveness of the public power.
Motto
The ABIN motto is "A Inteligência em defesa da sociedade, do Estado Democrático de Direito e dos interesses nacionais." which is Portuguese for "The intelligence defending the society, the Democratic State of Law and the National interests".
External Links
- ABIN Official site (in Portuguese) (http://www.abin.gov.br/abin/index.jsp)