QSLs from Clandestine Stations
From the archives of Tom Gavaras
A shortwave clandestine radio station is an unauthorized or unlicensed broadcast station that transmits over shortwave radio frequencies, often to reach listeners across international borders. These stations typically operate covertly.
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Purpose: Often used for political propaganda, dissent, and resistance movements.
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Targets: Aim at specific foreign or domestic audiences, usually in regions with limited media freedom.
Because of their nature, these stations were sometimes jammed by the governments they criticize. In most cases, countries listed below are the intended broadcast locations (not where the transmission originated from).
AFGHANISTAN
Radio Free Afghanistan
This station, operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, opposed the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Transmitter for this reception was located in Portugal.
Voice of Unity Radio Muslim Mujahideen of Afghanistan
Another station that opposed the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Transmitter was believed to be located in Egypt.
ANGOLA
A Voz da Resistencia do Galo Negro
Radio station of Angolan rebel group UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) party. Transmitter was believed to be located in South Africa.
ARGENTINA
Radio Atlantico del Sur
Spanish-language radio station operated by the British Ministry of Defense during the Falklands War. It broadcast from a BBC transmitter located on Ascension Island. The station's purpose was to demoralize and persuade Argentine troops on the Falkland Islands to surrender as part of a psychological operation.
CHILE
Magallanes de Radio Moscow
Radio Magallanes was the name of a communist run station in Chile. When the communists lost power, Radio Moscow provided airtime.
CUBA
La Voz de Alpha 66
This station opposed the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The transmitter was reportedly located in the Miami area.
Radio Cuba Libre
This station was part of a broader network of U.S.-supported or aligned clandestine stations broadcasting into Cuba with the aim of undermining Fidel Castro’s government.
La Voz del CID
Clandestine station for the anti-Castro group "Cuba Independiente y Democratica." The transmitters were reportedly located in El Salvador.
EL SALVADOR
Radio Farabundo Marti
This was a clandestine radio station operated by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) during the Salvadoran Civil War. It was a key propaganda tool and played an important role in the FMLN’s information and psychological operations throughout the conflict.
Radio Venceremos
Radio Venceremos ("We Shall Overcome' Radio") was an 'underground' radio network of the anti-government Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) during the Salvadoran Civil War. The station claimed to broadcast from the Morazan Department in El Salvador, but reports at that time indicated that the transmitter was probably in Nicaragua.
GUINEA-BISSAU AND CAPE VERDE
Radio Libertação
Rádio Libertação was a clandestine radio station established by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) during the struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. Operating from Conakry, Guinea it played a vital role as a tool of communication, mobilization, and cultural expression for the anti-colonial movement.
IRAN
This was a radio station that broadcast to Iran operated by a group supporting the establishment of a constitutional democracy in Iran.
Iran's Flag of Freedom Radio
Radio Iran
Operated by the Iranian National Resistance Movement, the station's slogan was, "Iran will never die." Transmitter was reported to be located in Iraq.
Radio Vatan
Radio Vatan (meaning "Radio Homeland") targeted Iran. It was part of the broader landscape of covert psychological warfare broadcasts carried out primarily during the Cold War and post-revolutionary period following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The precise origin was never officially confirmed, but it was widely believed to have been backed by a Western intelligence agency
KOREA (NORTH)
Radio Free North Korea
The station is run primarily by North Korean refugees and defectors and broadcasts shortwave transmissions of news and information to the general population inside North Korea. The station was established by Kim Seong-min, a former North Korean military monitor for foreign broadcasts, who was influenced by the foreign broadcasts that he monitored and defected from North Korea in 1996. The transmitter is reportedly located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
LIBYA
Voice of the Libyan People
This anti-Libyan station broadcast by the National Front for the Salvation of Libya to expose "the disruptive reality of the Gaddafi regime." Transmitter was suspected to be in Sudan.
MOROCCO
La Voix du Sahara Libre
Operated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sahara, this station opposed the Moroccan control of Western Sahara. Though unconfirmed, the transmitter was reportedly located in Algeria.
NICARAGUA
La Voz de la UNO
Voz de la UNO (Voice of UNO) was a clandestine broadcast platform run by UNO, the U.S.-backed rebel umbrella group challenging the Sandinista government in the mid‑1980s.
La Voz de Sandino
This radio station broadcast during the Nicaraguan revolutionary struggle and served as the voice of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), a leftist guerrilla movement that opposed the Somoza dictatorship. The transmitter(s) were reportedly located in Nicaragua, Cuba, and possibly Costa Rica.
Radio Monimbo
This was a station broadcasting anti‑Sandinista commentary. Direction‑finding placed its transmitter in southern El Salvador. The station was reportedly created by a son of Joaquín Chamorro, founder of the newspaper Diario Prensa Nicaragua. Joaquín’s wife later became president in post‑Sandinista elections.
Radio Quince de Septiembre
Organized by anti‑Sandinista exile groups (notably the Fifteenth of September Legion, later aligned into the Nicaraguan Democratic Force), the station broadcast from Honduras into Nicaragua. It operated as a covert, CIA‑backed propaganda platform, challenging the Sandinista government and calling for its resignation.
Radio Sandino
Operated by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the aim of the station was the overthrow of the Somoza government.
SPAIN
Radio España Independiente
This station was operated by the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) and broadcast anti-Franco propaganda during the long dictatorship of General Francisco Franco in Spain. Transmitter was located in Romania.
Radio Euzkadi
This was a Basque nationalist radio station that operated primarily during the Francoist dictatorship in Spain. It broadcast from exile with the goal of promoting Basque identity, language, and political independence during a time when such expression was repressed in Spain. Transmitter was located in Venezuela.
SURINAME
Radio Frie Sranan
This station was operated by an exile group due to the military takeover in Surinam resulting in the crackdown on the media which included the destruction of some stations and murder of some of the owners. Operated by Council for the Liberation of Surinam, programs were produced in the Netherlands and the transmitter was reported to be located somewhere in the Caribbean.
UNITED KINGDOM
Liberty (Argentine Annie)
Liberty (referred to in the media as "Argentine Annie") was a clandestine Argentine radio station that broadcast to British troops during the 1982 Falklands War. The announcer was later identified as Silvia Fernández Barrio, a television presenter from Buenos Aires. The transmitter was located in Argentina. Although this is not a QSL, it is being posted for historical purposes.
ZIMBABWE
Radio Truth
This station was in opposition to the Mugabe government in Zimbabwe. Its mission was to create trouble by attempting to set the Matabele people against the ruling Shona tribe. Transmitter was assumed to be located in South Africa.
These QSLs are the property of Tom Gavaras. Please do not copy and repost the images without permission. Thank you!