NICARAGUA/FIGHTING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000201170009-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2008
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: April 24, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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24 April 1984
LEHRER: Nicaragua is again in the news today, and our
FIGT'NG special Central America correspondent, Charles Krause, is again just
tack from there. Judy Woodruff will handle both developments. Judy?
WO'ODRUFr: Jim, in Nicaragua the government is reinforcing its troops near
the Honduran border. The Sandinista leadership expects new attacks by the
U.S.-supported rebels known, as contras. Last week, government troops fought
two major battles with the contras, and according to the Nicaraguan defense
ministry, 120 rebels and 19 Sandinista soldiers were killed in the fighting.
The Nicaraguan government has been pressing its claim that the United States
is trying to destroy the Sandinista revolution. Reporter Charles Krause, on
assignment for this program, talked Sunday night with the head of the
Sandinista government,'Gomandante Daniel Ortega. Krause asked about
American activity directed at Nicaragua, including aerial spying by the CIA.
DANIEL ORTEGA. (Leader of Nicaragua) (translated by Krause): We believe
there is a continuity of the flights from the .ba.ses the United States has in
Panamanian territory, flights, also, which leave fromr,onduran territory and
from Salvadoran territory. These have been continued. We know that the
North American government, more specifically the Pentena... the Pentagon,
has completely measured to the very last bit of territory for their military
purposes, which they can use both for ClAgents (sic), CIA agents, in their
terrorist activities, such as mining, or they can use for broader actions,
such as an invasion by the United States of Nicaragua. That's the point and
the-goal of these flights, and they intend to keep the information up to
date by continuing the flights.
KP4USE: Well, now, the Reagan administration has justified mining your
ports because it says that you are transshipping arms from Nicaragua-to the
guerrillas in El Salvador. Is your government involved in shipping arms to
the guerrillas in El Salvador and providing other assistance to them?
ORTEGA, (translated by Krause): We've been very clear so far as affirming
that it is not the policy of the Nicaragua government to carry out
activities like this transshipment of arms. Our support has been limited to
the political areas. In fact, we've been.very, very assertive in presenting
internationally, both in the United Nations and to the United States,
specific proposals to try to find a political solution to the problems of El
Salvador.
KRAUSE: What is the Reagan administration's objective with regard to your
government? ORTEGA (translated by Krause): They're trying to destroy the
Nicaraguan revolution; that's what they,want. Wray? Because they do not
understand the changes which are going, which are being'gone through in
Nicaragua. These are errors which have been carried out by different.
administrations, and now this administration is carrying it out 'again. They
do not understand, in Latin America, the desires of the people, and that's
what leads them to carry out an erroneous policy as in this case. One day
they pose one,, thing, another day, another thing. And-one day they say the
problem is the arms traveling to Salvador, and next day they say, no, now
it's these alleged centers of transmissions.. They' themselves say publicly
that there no longer are arms trafficking, or at least it's diminished
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considerably. They then say it's not the arms trafficking problem or the
communications the next dav, but the Cuban-Soviet presence in Nicaragua.
And other times they say it's not the Cuban-Soviet presence in Nicaragua,
but another problem. So there's no coherence. And there is no coherence
because there's no interest in finding a solution, because what they really
have in mind is to destroy the Nicarauuan revolution. The rest are all
Pretexts. In fact, we even see a chaotic image of U.S. foreign policy
toward Central America.
WOODRUFF: Charles Krause, who conducted that interview with the nead of the
Nicaraguan government, is with us in Washington. Charles, first of all,
they say they're not shipping arms to El Salvador. The U.S. says that they
are, our government says that they are shipping arms. How do we know who's
telling the truth?
KRAUSE: Well, Judy, I don't know that we do. It's very hard for a
reporter, for an independent observer, to know whether or not they are
shipping arms. 'hat I can say is that we have talked with representatives
of the Salvadoran guerrillas, and they have told us that, in fact, Nicaragua
is one of the countries, one of the countries in Central America through
which they are receiving arms. But Daniel Ortega said, when I asked him
about this, that it is not
the policy of the government to allow army to be sent through Nicaragua. So
there you are.
WOODRUFF: There was a report today that, uh, church leaders in Nicaragua
have once again asked the government to sit down and negotiate with the
rebels, and that once again the government has said it will not. Why, how
can they justify that position?
KRAUSE: Well, the Sandinistas do not recognize the rebels as a. legitimate
opposition force. They believe. that they are purely a creation of the
United States and of the' CIA. Therefore, it. is their position that they
won't negotiate with them and, in fact, they have, uh, said on may occasion
that they will negotiate with the United States, because it's the United
States that is, has created the contras. I don't think that that's entirely
true. I think.that some of the contras are legitimate. I think that there
is some, there are sectors. in Nicaragua which support them, not many, not
the majority. But, uh, they have some support.
WOODRUFF: What do you think the Sandinistas would do if the Congress, as it
now appears it just might do, decides to cut off aid to the contras fighting
the Sandinistas?
.KRAUSE: Well, Sunday night, I asked Daniel Ortega that question. I had
thought maybe he might tell me that they would be.'willing to, uh, make .'some
rec... reciprocal, conciliatory gesture, uh, if Congress, in fact,.'did cut
off aid to the contras. He said no, they won't. They've done all that
they're going to do, at least for the time being.- They feel that in the
past when they have made what they considered to be conciliatory gestures,
.they were misinterpreted. They were'seen as signs of weakness by the
administration to justify increased pressure.
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WOODRUFF: So you don't think they'd change their policy at all, their
attitude?
KRAUSE: Un, at the moment, uh, they're watching very closely what Congress
will do. And, uh, Daniel Ortega would be the first to say that it would be
very positive, uh, if Congress would, in fact, cut off aid to the contras.
U'n, what they will do if that happens remains to be seen. I think one thing
that maybe I should point out, at least from my observations in being in
Central America, is i think that the Reagan administration's policy, to some
extent, has worked, in that I think that the Sandinistas probably have not
done some of the things that they might have done had there not been this
kind of pressure.
WOODRUFF: For example?
KRAUSE: Well, uh, I think that they, certainly at one time, were sending
arms to the guerrillas in El Salvador. I think even the administration has
said at various times over the, past couple of years that that has diminished
significantly. Un, I think they haven`t'taken, perhaps, some measures
internally that they might have had there not been this kind of pressure on
them. But what I wanna say is that I think. maybe now is the time, based on
my conversations with people there, to consider a little bit more of a
carrot rather than the stick, because 1 think that they are worried, i think
that they're concerned about the possibility of a direct U.S. military
intervention in Nicaragua. I think they are kind of, in their own, way,
trying to find a way out of this, uh, problem. very serious problem that
they've got. ,
WOODRUFF: Are they watching our presidential elections this year, and might
a change in leadership have an impact? .i know that's, could be pure
speculation on your part, but how much do you think the leadership in the
!"hite House has to do with anything?
KRAUSE: Well, I'think it's not entire speculation, because, in fact, after
the taped interview we did with Daniel Ortega, we got into a conversation.
He was very curious, asking questions about what's happening politically in
.the.United States. I think they've basically given.up on the Reagan
administration. They don't think that they're going to be able to reach any
kind of understanding. And T. think that they would view any of the
Democratic candidates as probably improvement, an improvement, from their
point of viecJ. And 1 think that they hope that Central America will become
an issue in the presidential campaign.
WOODRUFF: OK, good. Thank you, Charles Krause.
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