MONTHLY WARNING ASSESSMENT: LATIN AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83B01027R000300110034-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 5, 2007
• Sequence Number: 34
• Publication Date: May 29, 1979
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 9097W66/b& I- 3B01027R000300110034-9
THEtRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCI
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
FROM
NFAC-79-2822
29 May 1979
Deputy Director for National Foreign Assessment
National Intelligence Officer for Warning
: Acting National Intelligence Officer for Latin America
: Monthly Warning Assessment: Latin America Fl
1. Action Requested: None; for your information only.
2. El Salvador. Tension continues to increase in this troubled
country. During the month of May, there were a series of dramatic and
violent ip.r4ents which portend even more serious events in the near
a. On 4 May, members of the Popular Revolutionary Bloc (BPR)
occupied the Costa Rican and French Embassies holding the occupants
hostage. They also occupied the San Salvador Cathedral. On 7 May,
to the chagrin of the BPR, the hostages in the Costa Rican Embassy
escaped. The three BPR terrorists who held them were granted
asylum in Costa Rica. The French Ambassador and five members of
his staff are still being held in the French Embassy as of this
writing. II
b. On 8 May, the National Guard fired into what was apparently
a peaceful demonstration on the steps of the cathedral. Twenty-
three demonstrators and one policeman were killed (this incident
was carried on US television on 9 May). ^
c. On 11 May, the BPR occupied the Venezuelan Embassy.
Although the hostages escaped on 20 May, the Embassy is still
occupied by nine members of the BPR. Authorities have deprived
them of food, water, and electricity. On 22 May, between 100
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and 150 students marched toward the Embassy with food but were
stopped by a police barricade. In the ensuing melee, 14 demon-
strators were killed. The next day, in retaliation for the
death of the students, the Farabundo Marti Liberation Forces (FPL)
assassinated the Minister of Education. That night, at the request
of President Romero and the Council of Ministers, the Legislative
Assembly declared a 30-day state of seige beginning on 24 May. III
d. The FPL terrorists also strafed an IBM installation on
20 May, calling the incident the beginning of "war against Yankee
imperialism and liberty for political prisoners". The FPL communique
holds the US directly responsible for the alleged killings, torturing,
arrests, and disappearances in El Salvador. The Embassy reports
that all US citizens and businesses in El Salvador are aware of the
terrorists'hrrats, which it describes as "becoming increasingly
credible".
3. There are some 3,000 US citizens in El Salvador, with an official
US presence of 263. Should the situation deteriorate to the extent that
an evacuation of US citizens becomes necessary, most could probably get to
Guatemala by road. The remainder d be evacuated by private aircraft,
helicopter, or regular aircraft. ri
4. Cuba. We are beginning to hear some rumblings of discontent from
the island of Cuba. Cubans are expressing an unwillingness to serve in
Angola. They are grumbling about rationing and the diversion of food to
the meeting of Non-Aligned Movement and at the fact that the government now
refuses to permit their relatives from the US to bring them gifts. While
this has not yet reached a significant level, it is the first time we have
heard murmurings of dissatisfaction in several years.
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