CENTRAL AMERICA/MEXICO - OVERVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B00443R001304050177-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 9, 2008
• Sequence Number: 177
• Publication Date: March 21, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/04/09: CIA-RDP88B00443R001304050177-7
ufVI;LAJ51 F ltU ATTACHMENT 2
CENTRAL AMERICA/MEXICO -- OVERVIEW
I. Democratic trends in Latin America
21 March 1983
L3 of 32 countries with 70 of population are democratic (17) or liberalizing (o).
II. Soviet Bloc/Cuban/Nicaraguan support for guerrillas/subversion
- Targets include democratic as well as authoritarian regimes
-- recall 1960s Marxist Leninist guerrillas against Venezuela, Uruguay
-- since 1978 a massive increase and targets include democratic Colombia, Costa Rice
- Large+scale of Cuban support for subversion illustrated by actions on three continent
Africa - 70,000 military and other personnel; active in 14 countries
Middle East - working closely with Libya, South Yemen, PLO
Latin America - 8,000 Cubans in Nicaragua; Cubans helping dictatorships
consolidate power in Grenada, Nicaragua, Suriname...plus current
major subversive operations in Central America, Colombia,
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Chile
III. Conclusive evidence of Soviet Bloc/Cuban su ort for the violent left in Central Amer~~a
STAT
- Capture of safe houses, arms supply cars and trucks in Costa Rica/Honduras; illustrat
cooperation among regional Marxist-Leninist terrorists and Cuban/Nicaraguan support
(example July 1982 Colombian M 19 member caught in Costa Rica with Nicaraguan embassy
officers as his controls also caught in terrorism campaign against the anti-communist
social democratic president, Luis Alberto Monge
IV. Nicaragua - the real situation
internal
-- Marxist-Leninist Directorate in control with new secret police army, 8,000 Cubans, 50i
or more Soviet Bloc, Libyan, PLO personnel
-- genuinely democratic groups (parties, trade unions, church, business] still exist but
have no power
-- Sandinistas have broken the democratic promises made in July 1979 and OAS required
-- FDN Sandinistas are NOT SOMOCISTAS, rather want to implement democracy
external
-- full cooperation with Soviet Bloc/Cuba...treaties since March 1980 Moscow visit
-- massive military build-up and export of subversion continues
Western economic aid has been enerous and has had no moderatin effect
-- Since July 1y 9 Western aid l.b billion of which 1.2 billion bilateral
-- all the rest of Central America received only $750 million in bilateral aid
-- European socialist international legitimation of the Sandinistas has been a major
factor
V. Three forces are competing in El Salvador
- violent right - many large landowners angered by the land reforms plus non-governments
groups, some elects of the ARENA party and no more than 10-15% of the
military/security leadership
- violent left - led by the FMLN/DRU formed in Havana at Castro's initiative
-- consists of six Marxist-Leninist groups including the Communist
Party
-- non-Marxist-Leninist component is very small (400 among 4,000-b,000
guerrilla fighters), has no real influence and is self-admittedly
under the command of the Marxist-Leninists.
- responsible political forces ranging from Christian democrats, other centrists,
conservatives
-- also includes democratic trade unions (UPD/UCS), most of the business community,
Catholic Church leadership and 85% participation
-- continuing the battle against the violent left and substantially weakening the
power of the violent right.
-- elections scheduled for late 1yt33
Approved For Release 2008/04/09: CIA-RDP88B00443R001304050177-7