Uruguay analyzes what to do with Nazi eagle from battleship

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Uruguay's government is asking political leaders what it should do with a Nazi bronze eagle recovered off its coast in 2006.

The eagle was part of the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee, which sank off Uruguay at the outset of World War II.

The defense minister said Wednesday he will talk with members of the country's four political parties about dealing with the bronze eagle with a swastika under its claws.

The battleship prowled the South Atlantic and sank several Allied merchant ships. Warships from Britain and New Zealand tracked it down and damaged it during the "Battle of the River Plate" that began Dec. 13, 1939.

The Graf Spee's captain ordered the ship scuttled, sinking it a few miles from Montevideo to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.