ARGENTINA-URUGUAY BORDER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000800080006-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Content Type: MISC

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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP08C01297R000800080006-2
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SECRET
Argentina-Uruguay Border
244. The frontier between Uruguay and Argen-
tina, compared to other frontiers in South America,
is densely populated and economically well devel-
oped. Although separated by the broad Rio de la
Plata and its tributary, the Rio Uruguay (both as
yet unbridged), considerable traffic passes be-
tween the two countries via air and water. Smug-
gling is carried on in both directions, and large
quantities of contraband enter the major ports of
Montevideo and Buenos Aires and the nearly
international airfields from all over the world.
245. The Rio de la Plata opens to the Atlantic
Ocean as a broad, shallow embayment; it is almost
120 miles wide at its mouth, with stretches be-
tween Punta del Este, Uruguay, and Cabo San
Antonio, Argentina. The river is navigable for
oceangoing vessels over the entire 200-mile distance from its mouth to its
juncture with the Rio Uruguay, although deep-draft ships must use dredged
channels to reach the principle ports of Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and La Plata.
246. The Uruguayan coast facing the Rio de la Plata consists mostly of flat
to rolling plains fringed by long, sandy beaches; ?in a few places isolated hills
rise above the plains, and rocky headlands interrupt the beaches. The coastal
segment from Punta del Este to Montevideo is a popular resort and residential
area, with good roads paralleling the shoreline. The beaches are backed in many
sections by low bluffs; this makes the movement of contraband inland to the
roads difficult, but it also provides cover from observation. /
247. In addition to the major port of Montevideo, small ports are located at
Punta del Este, Piriapolis, Juan L. Lacaze, Carmelo, and Colonia. The latter is
particularly significant as the terminus for regular and frequent ferry service
to and from Buenos Aires and because of its free port facilities.
248. On the Argentine side of the Rio de la Plata there are few good beaches.
The Bahia de Samborombon, immediately west of Cabo San Antonio, is fronted
SECRET 77
25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/23: CIA-RDP08C01297R000800080006-2