Flechas

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The Flechas ( Portuguese : arrows ) were a paramilitary special intelligence unit deployed in the Portuguese colonial war , which was not under the Portuguese armed forces , but under the intelligence service PIDE / DGS . It was mainly composed of natives and was used almost exclusively for counterinsurgency operations.

history

The first Flecha units were set up in Angola (Portuguese West Africa) in 1965 by the PIDE sub- inspector Óscar Aníbal Piçarra de Castro Cardoso (* 1935). Cardoso says he was inspired to found the unit by reading writers such as Jean Lartéguy , Freddie Spencer Chapman , Lawrence of Arabia , Mao Zedong and Sun Tse .

The PIDE originally recruited the teams primarily from Bushmen , (Portuguese bosquímanos ), later also from former members of the insurrection movements such as the MPLA or UNITA . The Bushmen were considered ideal anti- guerrilla fighters because of their way of life as hunters and gatherers . The Flechas usually operated with tensile strength ; Their equipment corresponded to the Portuguese standard, but captured weapons and equipment from the rebel movements were also used. During “regular” missions, the flechas wore a camouflage- colored beret ( boina camuflada ).

The unit, whose total strength was a good 800 members in 1968, preferably operated against the supply lines of the uprising movements from Zambia and Zaire . Children from the age of 12 were also used for camp guards; Initially, the Flechas were not rewarded with money, but with the booty they brought in, like the Rugaruga auxiliary warriors of the protection force for German East Africa decades before . Ron Reid-Daly (1928-2010), commander of the Rhodesian Selous Scouts , described the Flechas as the best African shooters. The Portuguese general Francisco da Costa Gomes thought they were more effective than regular troops because they were familiar with the area of ​​operation and they could establish better contact with the population.

In 1971 Cardoso also set up Flechas units in Mozambique . After the end of the colonial war, he was imprisoned by the Portuguese revolutionary government , but released in 1976. He then served as a mercenary with the Selous Scouts in Rhodesia in 1976/77 . After the end of the Rhodesian Civil War in 1978, he moved to the South African Air Force and was promoted to colonel . In 1991 he returned to Portugal.

See also

literature

  • Aniceto Afonso / Carlos de Matos Gomes: Guerra Colonial , Lisbon 2000. ISBN 972-46-1192-2
  • John P. Cann: The Flechas. Insurgent Hunting in Eastern Angola , 1965–1974, Solihull, England 2013. ISBN 978-1-909384-63-7
  • Fernando Ângelo: Os Flechas. A tropa secreta da PIDE / DGS na Guerra de Angola (1967-1974) , Alfragide (Casa das Letras) 2017. ISBN 9789897416576 . ISBN 9897416579
  • João Paulo Guerra: Os "flechas" atacam de novo , Lisbon (Ed. Caminho) 1988.

Web links