SHOOT-DOWN HITS US CREDIBILITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000202270001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 21, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 10, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
AVICL. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/21: CIA-RDP90-00552 R000202270001-9
ON PAGE _l
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
10 October 1986
Shoot-down hits
US credibility
By IAlrrrao Rlchsy and George 0. Mol stt III
Stan widVe of The Ctrietien science MoMCor
wumns"n
The Reagan administration faces a growing credibility
crisis over the downing of a privately chartered US cargo
plane in Nicaragua.
United States officials insist the plane, which was
loaded with rifles, ammunition, and other military equip-
ment apparently destined for contra guerrilla forces, had
no connection to the US government. But there appear to
be links of the aircraft, and its crew, to the Central
Intelligence Agency, and two congressional committees are
calling for an investigation into these links.
An American captured when Sandinista troops shot
down the plane said yesterday he worked with CIA em-
ployees and took part on 10 such flights from Honduras
and El Salvador.
Eugene Hasenfus said on a nationally broadcast news
conference in Nicaragua that four of the flights were made
from Aguacate air base in Honduras and six from Ilopango
air base in El Salvador.
He said that from 24 to 26 "Company people" assisted
the program in El Salvador, including flight crews, mainte-
nancecrew and "two Cuban nationalized Americans that
worked for the CIA." Hasenfus said the CIA employees'
jobs were "to oversee housing for the crews, transportar
tion projects, refueling and some flight plans." He said he
was told he would be paid $3,000 per month plus housing
and expenses for working with the air crews.
Congressional investigators say they'll be focusing on
three questions: who authorized the ill-fated flight, how
it got to Nicaragua, and whether anyone connected with
the Bight, including the crew or carrier managers, was
involved with the CIA.
Meanwhile, State Department officials are debating
their next move in response to threats by Nicaragua's
Sandinista government to put Mr. Hasenfus, the lone
survivor of Monday's air crash, on trial in Nicaragua.
Charges of possible illegal US involvement in the six-
year contra war in Nicaragua - and the credibility
questions this raises - come as the Reagan administra-
tion seeks to contain damage from disclosures that it
allegedly launched a disinformation campaign designed
to topple Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafl, including
deliberate attempts to mislead the US press. On Wednes-
day State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb resigned
in protest over the issue.
Under existing legislation, US intelligence agencies
are barred from involvement in efforts to overthrow the
Sandinista government. Congress is about to grant the
CIA a major operational role in the contra war as part of
a pending $100 million aid package to the rebels.
So far, none of the conservative private US organza,.
lions set up to abet the contra effort have claimed
sponsorship of the downed plane. Retired US Army Gen.
John K. Singlaub, widely regarded as the most promi-
nent fundraiser and organizer for pro-contra efforts, has
denied any knowledge. of the plane or its mission.
Questions about possible CIA involvement in the
flight have hinged on reports that two of four crew
members of the plane had previously been employed by
a Miami-based air cargo company, Southern Air 'lI ans-
port. Southern is one of several air-cargo companies once
owned by the CIA, then divested after the Vietnam war.
According to an April 1976 report of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, most were sold or given to
"witting individuals," including former officers, employ-
ees, managers, and contractors.
"In several cases, transfer of the entity was condi-
tioned as an agreement that the proprietary would con-
tinue to provide goods or services to the CIA," the report
continues. In 1973, Southern was purchased by Stanley
Williams, who had run the company for the CIA for 11
years. Lawrence Houston, who was General Counsel of
the CIA at the time of the sale, said that as far as he
knew there was no continuing relationship between the
CIA and Southern.
William Kress, a spokesman for Southern, insisted
that Southern has "no contracts with the CIA, nor have
we since they owned the airline prior to 1973."
But press reports have linked the company with the
CIA. CBS News reported in 1984 that a CIA-sponsored
Southern flight had landed in Honduras with 22 tons of
small arms on April 9,1983. Honduras has been the main
supply line for supplies to the contras.
Southern has been linked to the Nicaraguan crash
because of company identity cards found on two of the
dead crew members. In addition, the plane had been
serviced at Southern facilities in Miami According to
news reports, the C-123 cargo plane was purchased six
months ago by a California company, Fbur Aces Inc., and
subsequently leased to Southern Air Transport.
Questions about other possible CIA links to Southern
have also arisen in the aftermath of the crash of a
Southern cargo plane at Kelly Air Fbrce Base in Texas
early Saturday morning. Congressman Henry B.
Gonzalez (D) of Texas is asking for a congressional
investigation to determine if the CIA was using Southern
to ferry arms and supplies to contra groups in Central
America. Air Fbrce and Southern officials have denied
the allegations.
Manuel Cordero, a spokesman for the Nicaraguan
Embassy in Washington confirmed Nicaraguan plans to
put Hasenfus on trial saying "we have to bring this
situation to justice. We have to think in terms of the
people who might have been killed or terrorized with the
weapons that this guy helped deliver."
State Department spokesman Charles Redman said
Wednesday that Nicaragua's unwillingness to allow im-
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mediate consular access to Hasenfus "has raised the
question of whether indeed a US embassy can function
normally in Nicaragua." The comment has been,inter-
preted as a threat to quit the embassy in Managua or to
sever diplomatic ties with Nicaragua.
Analysts say both sides may have reason to settle the
question as quickly as possible. Holding an American
captive and staging what would almost certainly be
viewed in the US as a kangaroo trial would probably
translate into stronger US support for the Nicaraguan
resistance. Meanwhile, Reagan officials seem eager to
have an embarrassing incident off the front pages.
In 1984 two private US citizens killed in the downing
of a similar rebel supply flight over Nicaragua were
returned by the Sandinista government within three
days after routine processing and ID checks.
Even if a "smoking gun" is eventually found linking
the latest downed flight with the CIA, analysts say, it is
unlikely to have a dramatic political effect.
"It's a moot point, since the CIA is about to provide
this stuff anyway," a congressional source says.
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