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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Military
+  - Politics
+  - Paraguay
+---
+[[Andres Rodriguez]] was a General in [[Paraguay]] and the head of the military school. He was a powerful figure in the country, considered by some to be the second most powerful man after [[Alfredo Stroessner|President Stroessner]]. He was believed to be a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] agent and had an exclusive on importing [[USA|American]] cigarettes to [[Paraguay]].[^1]
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+[[Andres Rodriguez|Rodriguez]] had close connections with [[Rodolfo Stange|Gen. Rodolfo Stange]] of [[Chile]] and was believed to receive a retainer from [[Carlos Cardoen]]. He had presidential aspirations and was involved in a power struggle with [[Alfredo Stroessner|President Stroessner]]. His daughter, Marta, was married to Stroessner's second son, who was a cocaine addict, leading to strife over the presidential candidacy.[^1]
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+[[Andres Rodriguez|Rodriguez]] orchestrated a coup d'état against [[Alfredo Stroessner|President Stroessner]] in February 1989, with the support of the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. [[Earl Brian]] and [[Clair George]] visited [[Paraguay]] and met with [[Andres Rodriguez|Rodriguez]] prior to the coup. The closing of [[Carlos Cardoen|Cardoen's]] chemical plant in [[Paraguay]] was one of the issues that brought the power struggle to a head.[^1]
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+After the coup, [[Andres Rodriguez|Rodriguez]] became the President of [[Paraguay]] and continued to rule the country with the blessing of the [[USA|U.S.]] government. He stepped down in August 1993 and died in 1997.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")