MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peron's plans to dominate South America.

A retired Brazilian diplomat who during the forties was a spy in Argentina claims that former Argentine president Juan Domingo Peron was planning to annex several neighbouring countries if the Nazis had won the Second World War, reports the Brazilian magazine “Veja” in its latest edition.

Sergio Correa da Costa who was Brazilian Ambassador in Washington and London will reveal details of the plot in his coming book, "Chronicle of a secret war" that is scheduled to be launched in Brazil next week.

According to "Veja" the book has all the ingredients "to become a solid reference for Nazi ideology dissemination research in South America during that period".

Apparently Ambassador Correa da Costa provides new information which helps to explain the Peronist regime loyalty towards Adolf Hitler and concludes that this option followed the Argentine populist leader's intention of dominating South America in the event of an Axis victory.

The theory is based on a map which was found among the belongings of a German spy killed by British secret agents in 1941 in the city of Rio do Janeiro.

The map "drawn by the German high command" showed South America split into five countries, half the current number.

According to "Veja's" report Argentina was shown annexing Uruguay, Paraguay, and sharing with Brazil other countries such as Peru and Bolivia.

Another document included in Mr. Correa da Costa's book is a manifesto from the Group of United Officers, (GOU), a group of young Argentine Army officers who admired the economic achievements of the fascist regimes in Europe which then Colonel Peron belonged to, and eventually supported the military coup that catapulted the populist leader to power in June 1943.

Uruguay joined the Allies soon after the sinking in the River Plate of the "Graf Spee" in December 1939, and Brazil, under President Getulio Vargas, following an agreement with US President Franklin Roosevelt joined the war effort sending ground troops and air support to fight in Europe mainly in the Italian battle theatre.