Operation Algeciras - Execution

Execution

The commandos were issued counterfeit Argentine passports under false names and marked with false earlier entry stamps to Spain. This was done so the Argentine government could deny any involvement in case the commandos were discovered and the passports were made by another ex-montonero, Victor Basterra.

On 24 April Nicoletti and Latorre left Buenos Aires for Paris where Latorre's passport raised the suspicions of French authorities but they were finally allowed to continue their onward travel by air to Malaga. They carried the closed-circuit, military scuba gear in their luggage and passed customs without raising suspicion. They carried plenty of cash in US dollars and paid for everything in cash.

They both checked in to a hotel in Estepona and spent some days surveying the area after which they travelled to Madrid in a rented car to meet Rosales and Marciano. They then rented another two cars in Madrid and went to the office of the Argentine Naval Attaché to pick up the mines. While in Spain the commando communicated daily by telephone with the Naval Attaché of the Argentine Embassy in Madrid, who would, in turn, communicate with his superiors in Buenos Aires.

The four-member commando group, travelling in three cars, travelled south using main roads. The mines were carried in a bag in the trunk of a car; their shape and appearance would make it obvious that they were explosives if anyone saw them. While cover stories could be plausibly invented for the specialized military scuba gear, there was no way to explain the explosives, so they had to be careful not to be stopped at police checkpoints.

They travelled to the south of Spain separately, with Nicoletti going ahead as a scout and the other two cars ten minutes apart each. They had no way to communicate between cars except visually. Nicoletti did come up to a police block and turned around to warn his accomplices, but even though he saw them and signaled the first car behind him did not see him and continued until it too saw the police checkpoint and turned around. They all met again, their U-turns having gone unnoticed. They then decided to continue south using minor routes.

When they were near Algeciras they checked separately into three different hotels, and changed hotels often over the next few weeks. They paid their bills weekly, and paid for everything in cash, which eventually raised suspicions and led to their arrest. They kept the explosives in one of the cars and used only the other two for transport.

For the first few days they surveyed Algeciras bay in search of the best place to enter the water and to observe the maritime traffic in and out of Gibraltar. There was not as much surveillance in Gibraltar as they had expected: two sentry posts were unmanned, and only one navy vessel patrolled the area around the port.

They bought an inflatable raft to cross part of the bay, and a telescope and fishing tackle to give cover to their activities. The plan was to enter the water at about 6 PM, swim across, plant the mines at about midnight, swim back, exit at about 5 AM; the mines would explode shortly after.

They would then drive north to Barcelona, cross into France, then Italy, and fly back to Argentina from there.

The first opportunity came when a British minesweeper entered Gibraltar but Anaya considered the target not to be worth the effort. A few days later Nicoletti suggested sinking a large oil tanker with non-British flag, as it would block the port of Gibraltar for a long time, but Anaya refused permission because an oil spill and environmental disaster could provoke outrage in Spain, especially if it damaged the tourism industry, and it could affect other Mediterranean countries.

For weeks the commandos continued their routine of changing hotels and renewing their car rental. During this time the British task force was already sailing south towards the Falklands.

Finally a high-value target, the frigate HMS Ariadne, arrived at Gibraltar on May 2, but Anaya again refused permission, this time because the President of Peru, Fernando Belaúnde, had just produced a comprehensive peace plan and Anaya believed this might produce a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but which could be undermined by a successful attack in Gibraltar.

Later that day, May 2, the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano was sunk by the British attack submarine HMS Conqueror which meant war was now inevitable.

The following day, May 3, Nicoletti anticipated that permission would now be given by Anaya and, because hostilities had broken out, he asked if the team could claim to be acting for the Argentine military if they were caught. This was refused but they were ordered to execute the plan.