U.S. DECRIES BUILDUP OF NICARAGUAN FORCES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000707230001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 28, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 10, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/28: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707230001-3
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public, declassifying sensitive photo-
.By Henry Trewhitt graphs, the admiral said, partly-be-
cause Bureau of The Sun cause he was "concerned and angry."
Washington-Intelligence authori- He was-concerned over what the
ties yesterday made public aerial buildup "means for this coyntry," he
:photographs to support claims that explained, and angry because of skep-
-Nicaragua is building the most pow ticism-presumably on the part of
erful armed forces in Latin America the media-toward previous adminis-
;and burning villages to clear Indians tration claims. The photographs were
from the border with Honduras. taken- from manned reconnaissance
One sequence of photographs planes, he said, and he did not make
showed extensive construction of run- public even more sensitive material,
ways to accommodate jet fighters such as agent reports.
that Nicaragua does not yet have. An- The administration plans a compa-
other showed a series of new garri- rable report for Friday regarding the
sons, some still under construction, situation in El Salvador: U.S. officials
:that are almost duplicates of Cuban say the leftist insurgency there re-
bases-photos of which also were dis- ceives at least part of its arms
:played for comparison. through Nicaragua.
Appearing throughout the photo- Admiral Inman only rarely de-
-graphs was an array of equipment- parted from presentation of the evi-
:tanks, guns, trucks, helicopters, am- dence yesterday. But he did speculate
phibious vehicles-which - John that the offensive potential in Nicara-
Hughes, the premier American inter- gua was evidence that Cuba and the
prefer of intelligence photographs, Soviet Union had resolved four.or five
-identified as Soviet-made. It was Mr. years ago a long debate about how to
Hughes who in 1962 discovered on encourage revolution.
? photographs the Soviet missiles in Other officials have argued that
Cuba that led to Soviet-American con- the Soviets earlier chose to operate
frontation. only through established Communist
Adm. Bobby R. Inman, the deputy parties, avoiding sponsorship of such
director of central- intelligence, said groups as the Sandinista leaders of
the evidence supports the belief that Nicaragua-- Their indirect involve-
Nicaragua already has "upset the ment in Nicaragua, and the even less
military balance in Central Ameri- ' direct one in El Salvador, would
ca." When the expected Soviet jet mean by that judgment that the more
fighters arrive, he added, it will have assertive approach of President Fidel
the most powerful air force in the re- Castro of Cuba has prevailed. . ,
gion. From the evidence now available,
Admiral-Inman conducted the unu- Admiral 'Inman -said, Nicaragua
- sual briefing, backed. by Mr. Hughes projects regular forces of at.' least
and Lt. Gen. James Williams, direc- 25,000 to 30,000 men and a militia of
for of the Defense Intelligence Agen- 100,000. to.-150,000. Some'-analysts
cy. The intelligencecommunity went ``
predi
adde , out Lue e ngence communi-
ty "is not ready to go that high."
With 70,000 men in combined !
forces; he reported, Nicaragua now';
has a more formidable military struc- I
ture than it did under the late dictator
Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle. It
has no conceivable defensive use fort
such forces, he said, implying that'
they could only be used against Nica-
ragua's neighbors.
The bases and airfields now built
or under construction, he said,)
amount to "clearly the infrastructure
for a larger military force." He re-
marked that the training of 50 Nica-
raguan pilots in Bulgaria has been ex-
tended, indicating that they will get
the MiG-21 fighter, not the less potent
MiG-17. .
Admiral Inman reported 16Miski-,
to Indian villages destroyed along the.
Coco River, which marks the border
with Honduras. Before and after
photographs indicated complete de-:
struction.
"There are 23,000 now homeless,"
the admiral said, 12,000 of whom
have fled to Honduras. The Sandinista
government has reported 8,500 in its,
own camps, saying they were relocat
But, again speculating, Admiral:
Inman judged that the northeast Mis-?
be assembled. A new airfield is under'
construction at Puerto Cabezas on the
Caribbean in that region.
To illustrate the similarity of
Nicaragua's new garrisons and those:'
of Cuba, Mr. Hughes showed slides of
one in Cuba, and a comparable one at:
Managua,'Nicaragua..The"latter base,
also includes a mockup of an airfield
with derelict aircraft. .
Admiral Inman said the field is-1
used for training in guerrilla activity,
-such as the raid that destroyed:
much of. El Salvador's air force in
January. -
Other slides showed details. that
Mr. Hughes identified-.-'as Soviet-?
model obstacle courses for training'
troops"and 'even grease.,, pits for,
trucks..
Admiral Inman observed that the'
Sandinista government has yet turned
completely to the Cuban model, not-'j
ing that it still tries.. to keep peace'j
.with private capital. But the stage is?
set for change,. he said, "and I believe:
you can see some pattern, developing;
here"
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/28: CIA-RDP90-00552R000707230001-3