U.S. ROLE IN MINING NICARAGUAN HARBORS REPORTEDLY IS LARGER THAN FIRST THOUGHT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00420R000501180013-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2009
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: April 6, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/12/08: CIA-RDP86B0042OR000501180013-3
sTOPERATIONS CENTER/CURRENT SUPPORT GROUP
'ws Bulletin : THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Pg. 6
U.S. Role in Mining Nicaraguan Harbors
Reportedly Is Larger Than First Thought
By DAVID ROGERS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL-
WASHINGTON -The Reagan administra-
tion's role in the mining of Nicaraguan har-
bors,is larger-than previously disclosed, ac-
cording to sources who say that units oper-
ating from a ship controlled by the Central
Intelligence Agency in the Pacific partici-
pated in the operation.
Though anti-Sandinista insurgents have
claimed credit for the mining, a source fa-
miliar with CIA briefings on the operation
said that the units operating from the ship
are self-contained, and are composed of Sal-
vadorans and other Latin Americans from
outside Nicaragua.
The mines were described as acoustic de-
vices, triggered by the sounds made by
ships traveling in the port and planted from
small boats operating from the larger
mother ship.
The mining operation, which has tar-
geted two Pacific Coast ports, Corinto and
Puerto Sandino, has been bitterly protested
by the Nicaraguan government, which has
accused the U.S. of playing a major role.
President Reagan, questioned about the
matter at his news conference Wednesday,
refused to comment, but the issue has pro-
voked concern in Congress, even among
those supporting CIA aid to the anti-Sandin-
ista insurgents.
Many in Congress have feared escalation
of the conflict if economic, as well as mili-
tary targets, are attacked. Also, there is
concern about the threat to non-Nicaraguan
ships using the same ports.
Corinto is the port most affected by the
mining, according to government state.
ments in Nicaragua, and as many as seven
ships, four of them foreign, have been de-
scribed as having hit mines since late Feb-
ruary. Two more vessels reportedly have hit
mines in the smaller ports of Puerto Sandino
and El Bluff on the eastern Caribbean coast,
and ships at Puerto Sandino have come un-
der attack from high-powered speedboats,
according to news reports from Nicara-
gua.
Two anti-Sandinista groups, the Nicara-
guan Democratic Force in the North and the
Revolutionary Democratic Alliance in the
South, have claimed responsibility for the
mining and speedboat attacks, but Nicara-
gua says the U.S. is directly responsible be-
cause of the equipment used and skill of
those involved.
The CIA is currently operating under a
$24 million appropriation to fund the anti-
Sandinista insurgents, and the administra-
ion is seeking an additional $21 million for
he remainder of the fiscal year ending Sept.
30. These funds, as well as $61.8 million in
6 April 1984
Item No. 2
military aid for El Salvador, won final Sen- The administration has denied that it
ate approval yesterday, but Mr. Reagan seeks to overthrow the leftist Nicaraguan
faces continued opposition in the House, government, and in an effort to reassure
which has twice voted to cut off funding for senators, the president sent a letter to Ma-
the Nicaraguan war. jority Leader Howard Baker (R., Tenn.)
Without further funding, the administra- Wednesday night pledging that the U.S.
tion estimates that aid for the insurgentsi "does not seek to destabilize or overthrow"
will be exhausted by May, but there doesn't the Sandinista regime.
appear to have been a cutback in operations The letter appeased Sen. Daniel Patrick
to date. Though there are fewer armed and Moynihan of New York, the ranking Demo-
trained fighters, the total insurgent force is crat on the Intelligence Committee, but Mr.
estimated between 12,000 and 15,000, accord- Moynihan said yesterday that he remains
ing to sources, and the revised limit ap-
proved by the administration is as high as
18,000.
Though the president enjoys bipartisan
support in the Senate for at least limited
funding for the insurgents, such moderate
Republicans as Sen. William Cohen of Maine
have questioned the mining in light of the
threat to economic targets.
The Senate Intelligence Committee hasn't
had a full briefing on the operation, but CIA
Director William Casey recently appeared
concerned about the mining of the ports,
both because of the threat to economic tar-
gets and potential violations of international
laws of the sea.
There was unusually strong support
among members of the Intelligence Commit-
tee yesterday for an amendment to prohibit
any aid to an individual or group seeking the
violent overthrow of a government in Cen-
tral America. Of the panel's 15 members,
six Democrats, including Sen. Moynihan,
and one Republican, Mr. Cohen, backed the
before the House Intelligence Committee, proposal, but it was tabled by the GOP lead-
where details of the mining were apparently ership on a 51-44 roll call.
first disclosed to members of Congress. The Senate action came as Secretary of
During. Senate debate this week, the In. State George Shultz met privately with the
telligence Committee chairman, Barry Gold bipartisan leadership of the House on the
water, (R., Ariz.l surprised other senators Central America aid package. Speaker
by openly referring to a document or paper Thomas O'Neill (D., Mass.) remains op-
indicating that the administration had di- posed to any funding for the CIA operation,
rectly authorized the mining. Mr. Goldwa- and he later met with liberals pressuring for
ter's remarks were dropped from the pub- a strong stand against the administration
lished record made available yesterday, and when the two houses meet in conference to
while an aide to the senator dismissed the work out the final form of the aid bill.
matter, two other sources indicated that such a paper or staff memo did exist.
The House briefing was, in any case,
more detailed, according to a source famil-
iar with the presentation made by the CIA.
According to this source, the units operating
from the ship were described as separate
from the "contras," or insurgent faction of
native Nicaraguans whom Mr. Reagan has
described as "freedom fighters" being
helped by the U.S.