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History records no less than three military operations dubbed Condor:

1. A French attempt to breakthrough to the besieged French Union forces at Dien Bien Phu. Launched in much-reduced form on 13 April, 1954 the relief columns were delayed by the rugged terrain and was cut up by the surrounding Viet Minh.

2. A campaign of assassination and intelligence-gathering dubbed as 'counter-terrorism' conducted jointly by the security services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay in the mid-1970s. The right-wing military governments of these countries, led by dictators as Videla, Pinochet and Stroessner agreed to cooperate in sending teams into other countries, including France, Portugal and the United States to locate, observe and assassinate opponents. They also exchanged cruel torture techniques, like near drowning people and playing the sound recordings of victims whe were being tortured to their family. Many people disappeared and were killed without trail. There targets were terrorists of the leftist guerilla, but also many (thought to be) political opponents, family and other innocent people.

One target in September, 1974 was the Venezuelan-born Illich Ramirez Sanchez (a.k.a. “The Jackal”). After his involvement in murder of the Bolivian ambassador and a Chilean attaché in Paris as well as a Chilean diplomat in the Middle East, Ramirez was located by the Latin Americans in Europe. The American Central Intelligence Agency detected the Condor operation and alerted France and Portugal. They warned Ramirez, allowing him to escape.

Another target was Orlando Letelier, a former member of the Chile an Allende government who was assassinated by a car bomb explosion in Washington, D.C.. His American assistant Ronni Moffit also died in the explosion, which took place on September 21, 1976. Michael Townley, a US expatriate with close ties to the Chilean intelligence agency DINA, General Manuel Contreras, former head of the DINA; and Brigadier Pedro Espinoza Bravo also formerly of DINA were convicted for the murders.

Operation Condor was supported by the United States, since it feared that the leftish powers in the region would create a second, communistic Cuba. It appears that Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State in US President Richard Nixon government, had an important role in the condoning of the operation. CIA documents show that the CIA was closely linked with Contreras up to, and even after, the assassination of Letelier.

3. A major British-led operation in Southeastern Afghanistan. The operation began on 17 May 2002 when a patrol of the Australian Special Air Service was ambushed. The British 45 Commando then flew in to destroy the guerilla force that had foolishly exposed itself. Followed Snipe, Torii and Ancaconda.