Word: nicaragua
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...said that President Reagan had approved a $19 million CIA plan to create a 500-member paramilitary force of Latin Americans to "disrupt" the Nicaraguan regime. The next day, the New York Times said that the U.S. was providing the money for covert support of individuals and organizations within Nicaragua, in an attempt to bolster that country's moderate elements, but had rejected any paramilitary action. The Times story quoted Inman's dismissal of the Post's allegations about more provocative activities: "I would suggest to you that $ 19 million, or $29 million, isn't going...
...true." At a meeting of the National Security Council last November, Reagan approved approximately $19 million to recruit, train and supply a small military force, in conjunction with certain right-wing governments in Latin America, including Argentina. Some of the money was earmarked for support of groups inside Nicaragua that are opposed to a Sandinista dictatorship. Both the House and Senate Intelligence committees were informed late last year of the Administration's covert plan to weaken Nicaragua...
...apparently concentrated on recruiting disgruntled Sandinistas and other anti-Somoza Nicaraguans for the paramilitary group. But recruitment has proceeded slowly, in part because exile communities in Florida have been heavily infiltrated by Cuban agents. According to one source, the principal goal of the paramilitary group is to unsettle Nicaragua by such subversive acts as blowing up bridges and power plants. Another source said that the purpose of the group was slightly more benign: the CIA simply wanted to have "assets" in place if the Sandinista government collapsed on its own because of domestic unrest caused by food shortages...
Stories that the U.S. is financing covert operations in Nicaragua play directly into the hands of the Sandinistas. They contribute to the widespread impression that the U.S. is as ham-fisted as ever in its approach to Central America, discourage Washington's remaining friends in the area and seem to justify the Sandinistas in seeking Cuban (if not Soviet) protection. Thus, the publicity may require the Government to review the feasibility of the operation, even though it could be validly considered a proper adjunct to U.S. diplomatic goals. Complained one high Administration official: "The leak was devastating." Indeed...
...evidence of Nicaragua's military buildup was only the first step in what was supposed to be a justification of the Administration's policies in Central America. The second-and crucial-step was to establish a firm link between that buildup and Sandinista support for, and even direction of, the rebel effort in El Salvador. But Haig decided to avoid any discussion of El Salvador in the State Department's briefing because there were not enough declassified data available to make a compelling case for the link. The Administration insists that its evidence of outside arms shipments...