Batallón de Inteligencia 601
The Batallón de Inteligencia 601 was a special military intelligence service of the Argentine Army whose structure was set up in the late 1970s, active in the Dirty War and Operation Condor, and disbanded in 2000. Its personnel infiltrated and collected information on guerrilla groups and human rights organisations; and coordinated killings, kidnappings and other abuses.
The Batallón was under the orders of Guillermo Suárez Mason and ultimately reported to junta leader Leopoldo Galtieri. The unit took part in Luis [García Meza Tejada]'s Cocaine Coup in Bolivia in 1980 and trained Contra units in Lepaterique base in Honduras in the 1980s. It also trained members of the Honduran Battalion 316.
Army officers who joined Batallón de Inteligencia 601 were more likely to be underperformers relative to other Army officers. They were less likely to have advanced training, more likely to be stuck in middling ranks, and faced a higher risk of discharge than their peers. After joining the Batallón, the officers experienced a career boost, enabling them to climb up the ranks quicker and outlast their better peers.