Abstract:

State security institutions have played a determining role in the historical development of Latin America at very different junctures, ranging from internal armed conflicts to military dictatorships. However, the knowledge we have about the functioning of these institutions is, due to various reasons, limited, which is why on many occasions essentialist approaches that offer a simplified image have predominated. Starting from the intra and extra-regional processes that have shaped these institutions as a general context, and after characterizing the investigative work in state security institutions as part of the so-called “investigation in sensitive matters”, this paper makes an exploratory approach to some of the particularities that Its practice has found in Latin American countries, such as the opacity of state security institutions in the region, the particularities of civil-military relations in Latin America, and the existence of disciplinary barriers. These characteristics that, with certain peculiarities, are also present in Spain.

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