PIDE
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The '''Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado''' or '''PIDE''' (''International and State Defense Police''), was the main tool of [[Political repression|repression]] used by the authoritarian regime of [[António de Oliveira Salazar|Salazar]] in [[Portugal]], the ''[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]''.
Although the name PIDE was only used from [[1945]] to [[1969]], the whole network of [[secret police]] forces which existed during the 40 years of the regime are commonly known as PIDE.
==PVDE==
The origins of PIDE can be traced to [[1933]], the year of the inauguration of the ''Estado Novo''. Under direct orders from Salazar himself, the PVDE (''Polícia de Vigilância e de Defesa do Estado''; "State Defense and Surveillance Police") was created, with two main sections:
*''Social and Political Defense section'', which was used to prevent and repress crimes of a political and social nature (see: [[Censorship]])
*''International Section'', which was used to control the entrance of [[immigrant]]s, to expel undesirable immigrants and to take care of [[counter-espionage]] and/or international espionage
In [[1936]], the [[prison]] of [[Tarrafal camp|Tarrafal]] was created in the Portuguese [[colony]] of [[Cape Verde]]. This camp, under the direct control of the PVDE, was the destination for those [[political prisoners]] considered dangerous by the regime. Throughout the more than 40 years of the ''Estado Novo'', 32 people lost their lives in Tarrafal, which was known for its severe methods of [[torture]].
Also in [[1936]], with the beginning of the [[Spanish Civil War]] and in [[1937]] with the attempt against Salazar's life by [[anarchist]] militants, the PVDE started focusing its battle against [[Communism]] and the underground [[Portuguese Communist Party]]. During this pre-[[World War II]] period, several [[Italy|Italian]] and [[Germany|German]] advisors came to Portugal to help the PVDE to adopt a model similar to the [[Gestapo]].
During the war, the PVDE experienced its most intense period of activity. [[Lisbon]] was the [[Europe]]an centre of [[espionage]] and one of the favourite [[exile]] destinations. Writers such as [[Ian Fleming]] (the creator of [[James Bond]]) and other famous personalities such as the [[Duke of Windsor]] or the [[Spanish monarchy|Spanish Royal Family]] were exiled in Estoril. German spies attempted to buy information on trans-[[Atlantic]] [[shipping]] to help their [[submarine]]s fight the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. The Spaniard Juan Pujol Garcia, better known as [[Juan Pujol (alias Garbo)|Codename Garbo]], passed on misinformation to the Germans, hoping it would hasten the end of the [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] regime - he was recruited by Britain as a [[double agent]] while in Lisbon. Conversely, [[William Colepaugh]], an [[United States|American]] [[traitor]], was recruited as an [[secret agent|agent]] by the Germans while his ship was in port in Lisbon - he was subsequently landed by [[U-boat]] [[Unterseeboot 1230|U-1230]] in [[Maine]] before being captured. In June [[1943]], a commercial [[airliner]] carrying the [[actor]] [[Leslie Howard (actor)|Leslie Howard]] was shot down over the [[Bay of Biscay]] by the [[Luftwaffe]] after taking off from Lisbon, possibly because German spies in Lisbon believed that [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] was on board.
Several [[United States|American]] reports called Lisbon "The Capital of Espionage". However, the PVDE always maintained a neutral stance towards foreign espionage activity, as long as no one intervened in Portuguese internal policies.
==PIDE==
In [[1945]], the PVDE was dissolved and replaced by the PIDE. Unlike its predecessor, which sought inspiration in the Gestapo, PIDE followed the [[Scotland Yard]] model. As a section of the [[Polícia Judiciária]] (Investigation Police), it had full powers to investigate, detain and arrest anyone who was thought to be plotting against the State. It had two main functions:
*Administrative functions (which included those related to the migration services)
*[[Criminal]] repression functions
PIDE is considered by many authors as being one of the most functional and effective [[secret service]]s in history. Using a wide network of [[covert cell]]s, which were spread throughout Portugal and its overseas territories, PIDE had infiltrated agents into almost every underground movement, including the Portuguese Communist Party as well as the independence movements in [[Angola]] and [[Mozambique]]. The PIDE encouraged citizens - the so-called ''bufos'' (snitches) - to denounce suspicious activities, through the use of monetary and prestige incentives. This resulted in an extremely effective espionage service which was able to fully control almost every aspect of Portuguese daily life. Thousands of Portuguese were arrested and tortured in PIDE's prisons.
The PIDE intensified its actions during the [[Colonial War|Portuguese Colonial War]]. [[Yves Guérin-Sérac]], a former officer of the [[French Army]] and founder of the [[Organisation armée secrète|OAS]] [[right-wing terrorist]] group during the [[Algerian War of Independence]] (1954-62), set up "[[Aginter Press]]" in Lisbon and participated with the PIDE in [[covert operation]]s.
==DGS==
In [[1969]], [[Marcello Caetano]] changed the name PIDE to DGS (''Direcção Geral de Segurança'', "General Security Directorate"). The death of Salazar and the subsequent ascension of Caetano brought some attempts at [[democratization]], in order to avoid popular insurgency against [[censorship]], the ongoing colonial war and the general restriction of civil rights. This resulted in a decrease in the perceived level of [[violence]] used by the secret police and a consequent reduction in its effectiveness.
==End of PIDE/DGS==
The most dramatic moments of the [[Carnation Revolution]] occurred near the PIDE/DGS headquarters, in the infamous António Maria Cardoso Street. Unidentified agents opened fire from the top of the building, killing four demonstrators.
This was the last strategic point to be occupied by the insurgents, thus leading to the escape of the agents and the destruction of most of the records. In the days following the revolution, most escaped to [[Spain]] or went underground. Some of the archives were reportedly handed over by the Portuguese Communist Party to [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] agents.
After being ''sanitized'', the corporation continued its operations in the Portuguese colonies under the name of the Military Information Police (''Polícia de Informação Militar'').
A commission was created for the extinction of the secret police. The remainder of the documents since [[1990]] are in the [[Torre do Tombo]] National Archive. They can be consulted, but the names of agents and informers are not disclosed.
The only PIDE agents who faced trial were those responsible for the death of exiled opposition leader [[Humberto Delgado]]. They were trialed ''[[in absentia]]'' and the case dragged on for several years. None of them ever served time in jail.
Because of the memory of the abuses of the PIDE/DGS in supporting the regime the establishment of a new civilian intelligence agency was delayed for more than a decade. However, following a terrorist attack on the [[Embassy]] of [[Turkey]] and the assassination of a [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] representative at a [[Socialist International]] conference in [[1983]], and a number of domestic terrorist attacks, the [[Government of Portugal|Portuguese government]] became convinced of the need for a new intelligence agency. This led to the establishment of the [[Sistema de Informações da República Portuguesa]] (SIRP, Intelligence System of the Portuguese Republic) in [[1984]].
==See also==
*[[Sistema de Informações da República Portuguesa]]
*[[Office of Public Safety|OPS]] ([http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Torture/Hidden_Terrors_4.html])
*[[Portuguese Legion (Estado Novo)]]
==External links==
*[http://www.iantt.pt/instituto.html?menu=closed&conteudo=pide&conteudo_nome=Arquivos%20da%20PIDE Documentation of PIDE/DGS in the National Archive] (in Portuguese)
[[Category:Portuguese intelligence agencies]]
[[Category:National security]]
[[Category:Law enforcement units]]
[[Category:Political repression]]
[[Category:Secrecy]]
[[Category:Secret police|PIDE]]
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