Editing Licio Gelli (section)

== Involvement in failed coup and fugitive years in Argentina ==
In 1970, in the plans of the failed ''[[Golpe Borghese]]'', Gelli was tasked with arresting the Italian President, [[Giuseppe Saragat]].<ref>Costanzo Costantini, ''Sangue sulla dolce vita,'' Gremese Editore, 2006 p.126.</ref> As Master of the [[Propaganda Due]] (P2) lodge, Gelli had ties with very high level personalities in Italy and abroad, in particular in [[Argentina]], where he was a fugitive for many years. The regular Masonic lodge was enjoyed by [[Guillermo Suárez Mason]] and [[José López Rega]], two key-exponents of the [[1976 Argentine coup d'état|Argentine military junta]].<ref name="agenziaimpress.it">{{cite web | url = https://www.agenziaimpress.it/news/cronaca/in-morte-di-gelli-vi-racconto-che-e-stato-il-mio-concittadino-il-venerabile/ | title = In morte di Gelli. "Vi racconto chi è stato il mio concittadino, il Venerabile" | first = Tito | last = Barbini | language = it | date = December 16, 2015 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20200901155245/https://www.agenziaimpress.it/news/cronaca/in-morte-di-gelli-vi-racconto-che-e-stato-il-mio-concittadino-il-venerabile/ | archive-date = September 1, 2020 | url-status = live}}</ref>

The Argentine Chancellor Alberto Vignes drafted with [[Juan Perón]], who had returned from exile in 1973, a [[decree]] granting Gelli the ''Gran Cruz de la Orden del Libertador'' in August 1974, as well as the honorary office of economic counselor in the embassy of Argentina in Italy.<ref name=P12>[[Susana Viau]] and Eduardo Tagliaferro, [http://www.pagina12.com.ar/1998/98-12/98-12-14/pag03.htm "Carlos Bartffeld, Mason y Amigo de Massera, Fue Embajador en Yugoslavia Cuando Se Vendieron Armas a Croacia - En el mismo barco"], ''[[Pagina 12]]'', 14 December 1998 {{in lang|es}}</ref> Gelli publicly declared on repeated occasions that he was a close friend of Perón, although no confirmation ever came from South America. Gelli affirmed that he introduced Peron to [[Masonry]] and that this friendship was of real importance for Italy. He stated: "Peron was a Mason, I initiated him in Madrid in [[Puerta de Hierro (Madrid)|Puerta de Hierro]], in June 1973."<ref>{{cite news|title=Licio Gelli cuenta cómo inició a Perón en la masoneria]|url=http://www.perfil.com/contenidos/2008/08/31/noticia_0019.html|language=es|access-date=2012-09-16|archive-date=2013-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317185343/http://www.perfil.com/contenidos/2008/08/31/noticia_0019.html|url-status=dead}}, Perfíl, August 31, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Intervista esclusiva a Licio Gelli |url=http://www.litaliano.it/index.php?Itemid=270&catid=1:ultime&id=766:intervista-esclusiva-a-licio-gelli&option=com_content&view=article |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303072210/http://www.litaliano.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=766%3Aintervista-esclusiva-a-licio-gelli&catid=1%3Aultime&Itemid=270 |archive-date=2011-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= "Enlace al Mundo" masón: la segunda parte del informe |url=http://www.26noticias.com.ar/enlace-al-mundo-mason-la-segunda-parte-del-informe-158414.html }}</ref> Gelli become the main economic and financial consultant of [[Isabel Perón]] and of [[José López Rega]].<ref name="agenziaimpress.it" />

According to a letter sent by Gelli to César de la Vega, a P2 member and Argentine ambassador to the [[UNESCO]], Gelli commissioned P2 member Federico Carlos Barttfeld to be transferred from the consulate of Hamburg to the Argentine embassy in Rome.<ref name=P12 /> Gelli was also named minister [[plenipotentiary]] for cultural affairs in the Argentine embassy in Italy, thus providing him with [[diplomatic immunity]].<ref name=P12 /> He had four diplomatic passports issued by Argentina, and has been charged in Argentina with falsification of official documents.<ref name=P12 /> During the 1970s, Gelli brokered three-way oil and arms deals between Libya, Italy and Argentina through the Agency for Economic Development, which he and [[Umberto Ortolani]] owned.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=78UhNfUIFC8C&pg=PA138 Hot Money and the Politics of Debt By R. T. Naylor]</ref>

Several members of the Argentine military junta have been found to be P2 members, such as [[Raúl Alberto Lastiri]], Argentina's interim president from 13 July 1973 until 12 October 1973, [[Emilio Massera]], part of [[Jorge Rafael Videla|Jorge Videla]]'s military junta from 1976 to 1978, and [[José López Rega]], the infamous founder of the [[Argentine Anticommunist Alliance]] ("Triple A"). The lodge P2, also known as the Propaganda Due, was also linked to the robbery of Juan Perón's severed hands.<ref>Nabot, Damian, and Cox, David. ''[https://www.amazon.com/Second-Death-Licio-Masonic-Destroy-ebook/dp/B00S6SC0YW Second Death: Licio Gelli, The P2 Masonic Lodge and The Plot to Destroy Juan Peron]''. Amazon, 2014.</ref>

=== Alleged involvement in CIA activities in Italy ===
In 1981 Gelli was one of the very few Italians to be invited to [[First inauguration of Ronald Reagan|President Reagan's oath]].<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8xbENVPuzQ|author=Alessandro Salveti (TG)|date=December 16, 2015|language=it|title=Licio Gelli, il burattinaio|publisher=Quattro Colonne|website=YouTube|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305201145/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8xbENVPuzQ|archive-date=March 5, 2023|url-status=live}} (at minute 0:28)</ref>

In 1990 a report on [[RAI Television]] alleged that the [[CIA]] had paid Gelli to instigate terrorist activities in Italy.<ref>"CIA backed Italy terrorism during '70s, report claims," ''[[Daily Breeze]]'', 23 July 1990</ref> Following this report, which also claimed that the CIA had been involved in the [[assassination of Olof Palme|assassination]] of the Swedish Prime minister [[Olof Palme]], then President [[Francesco Cossiga]] requested the opening of investigations while the CIA itself officially denied these allegations.<ref>"CIA Denies Report", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', July 24, 1990</ref> Critics have claimed the RAI report to be a fraud because of the inclusion of testimony from [[Richard Brenneke]], who claimed to be a former CIA agent and made several declarations concerning the [[October surprise conspiracy]]. Brenneke's background was also investigated by a U.S. Senate subcommittee, which dismissed Brenneke's claims of CIA employment.<ref>{{cite news | title = Zero-One's spy tale sends Italy spinning in ever decreasing circles | newspaper = The Sunday Times | date = 1990-07-29}}</ref> In June 2020, the Swedish police closed their investigation into Olof Palme's assassination, assigning blame to Stig Engström, a Swedish graphic designer and centre-right municipal activist who was not affiliated with the CIA.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who killed Olof Palme? |newspaper=The Economist |date=June 11, 2020 |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/06/11/sweden-unmasks-a-prime-ministers-assassin}}</ref>