Argo 16
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Argo 16 was the codename of an Italian Air Force aircraft, registration MM61832, used by the Italian Secret Service and the Central Intelligence Agency in covert operations. The aircraft crashed on November 23, 1973 at Marghera, Italy after an improvised explosive device detonated on board. Venetian Judge Carlo Mastelloni determined that the Argo 16 aircraft was used to shuttle trainees and munitions of NATO members between the military bases around Italy.
There are many conspiracy theories surrounding this crash. Some believe that the aircraft was used by CIA in the Cold War conflict. Others believe the sabotage was carried out by Mossad, in retaliation for the pro-Libyan Italian government's decision to expel, rather than try, five Arabs who had tried to blow up an Israeli airliner. The Arabs had allegedly been spirited out of the country on board the Argo 16.
According to a December 1, 1990 article in The Independent, quoted by Statewatch, "General Geraldo Serraville, head of Gladio from 1971 to 1974, told a television programme that he now thought the explosion aboard the plane Argo 16 on 23 November 1973 was probably the work of gladiatori who were refusing to hand over their clandestine arms. Until then it was widely believed the sabotage was carried out by Mossad, the Israeli foreign service, in retaliation for the pro-Libyan Italian government’s decision to expel, rather than try, five Arabs who had tried to blow up an Israeli airliner. The Arabs had been spirited out of the country on board the Argo 16."
[edit] See also
- Operation Gladio, a NATO clandestine structure during the Cold War, engaged in Italy's strategy of tension during the 1970s-80s
