NICARAGUA: EXPORT OF THE REVOLUTION--THE FIRST SIX MONTHS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00287R000100060002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 17, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 11, 1980
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/17: CIA-RDP85T00287R000100060002-5
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
NATIONAL FOREIGN ASSESSMENT CENTER
11 January 1980
MEMORANDUM
NICARAGUA: Export of the Revolution--The First Six Months
military governments in Honduras and Guatemala.
ment has been tempered by their preoccupation with the
domestic situation in Nicaragua, confusion over political
events in El Salvador, and a wish to placate antipathetic
The Sandinistas have trained, advised, and probably
armed revolutionaries in El Salvador, although their commit-
ing its neighbors.
Shortly before the fall of former President Somoza last
July, a faction\of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
(FSLN)--prompted by revolutionary zeal and their debt to
Salvadoran leftists--pledged arms, combat personnel, and
financial aid to the Salvadoran Popular Liberation Forces
(FPL). From that point, however, Nicaragua's support ebbed
and flowed according to circumstances. By October, the
hostility of the Honduran military and renewed counterrevolu-
tionary activities by former members of the Nicaraguan
National Guard in Honduras made Managua increasingly uneasy
about a military threat from the north and wary of antagoniz-
1 s memorandwn wa r7juee.F. by the National :-ecurity Adviser to
the President. It responds to specific questions and is not intended to
be an analysis of the ove.?adl Nicer ua-Clhba relationship. It was pre-
pared by the Latin American Division of the Office of Political Analysis
under the direction of the National Intelligence Officer for Latin
America, and coordinated t,ith the Clandestine Service. Information in
this rdworandko reflects information available through it January.
ON-FILE NSC RELEASE
INSTRUCTIONS APPLY
PA-M-80-10017
Duplicate of
C05513782: RIP
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With the advent of a reformist regime in El Salvador in
mid-October, the FSL.N--together with Cuban representatives--
cautioned Salvadoran militants that continued violence might
? provoke a rightist countercoup and suggested that radical
groups unify in planning for future insurrection.
the FSLN may have promised to
supply arms and po i t i
signed a nonaggression
underscoring their ace
previous week of 19 .,;a
Salvadoran revolut iona
in spite 01 the F"
and the uncertainties
with regard to Central
the presence
Salv,vioran leftist erg
mot .--- i t not all --el t
revolutionaries who o
Sandinista 1d3adcrb.
support. Meanwhile, the Nicaraguans
pact with the new Salvadoran junta,
ommodation by citing their arrest the
ndinistas who were enroute to join
ries.
SLN's pragmatic reactions to events--
that to some extent guide its policy
American revolutionaries
it has provided military instruction
November)
of small numbers of FSLN advisers with
dni2;lt ions; we believe, however, that
hose were probably inveterate Nicaraguan
lunteured without the approval of
That the FPL ter the first time began using bazooka-
like weapon) and I.araeli-made Galil rifles in September
lends credibility Nicaragua has also furnished
arms--including Chinese-made- grenade launchers--to Salvadoran
leftists. Last month, $500,000 worth of arms reportedly
arrived in Honduras aboard three light aircraft to be smuggled
by the Honduran Communist Party (PCH) to groups in El Salvador
and Guatemala. believe that the arms
transited Nicaragua, that Cuba was directly involved in
planning the operation,. and that additional shipments will
be forthcoming. Moreover, a recently formed, FPL-led leftist
alliance--which intends to intensify the struggle against
the junta--will reportedly receive additional military
assistance from Nicaragua and Cuba.
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25X1
2oAii
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1'h' V~ is little to indicate that the FSLN is ass.isting
insurc,c.,Noi t. mechani.ims for insurgents in El Salvador. Arms of
unspecified, but probably Cuban, origin are reportedly being
flown into ttor.durns And delivered by land to El Salvador and
Guatemala. Cuba continues its attempts to purchase a small
Costa Rican air char. }er service which will be used for
clandestine materiel deliveries to leftist forces in El
Salvador and el sowhero in Central America.
I:i mid-Decembt*r, Castro reportedly repeated his advice
to leftist: in El Sri )vador to stop harassing the junta and
unit(. in preparation for a seizure of power this year.
Castro' s persona ? intervention indicates that Havana sees El
Salvador as the most promising target for further revolutionary
gains in Central Amer-Ica.
3
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Original
Requestor
1
NIO/LA
3
Production Staff
3
PPG
3
Bruce
Clarke
1
C/LA
1
DC/LA
1
Cathy
for country file
1
analyst
1
OPA/Front. Office
one for each branch
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