SPY PLANE SPOTS CARGO IN CUBA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201080035-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: November 5, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201080035-6
PP n MIAMI HERALD
ARTICLE A
ON PAGE
5 November 1985
Spy plane spots cargo in Cuba
May be Soviet arms
bound for Nicaragua
7-By ALFONSO CHARDY
Herald Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - A.U.S. spy plane
that flew over Cuba late last week
spotted Soviet and Bulgarian re ters
transferring crates that ma contain as
man as et-ma a tans assorted
missiles and of er weaoonrv onto two
small Nicaraguan vessels. U.S. intellI-
officials disclosed Monday.
White House Spokesman Larry
Speakes characterized the development
as "serious" and accused Nicaragua of a
"steep increase" in arms shipments from
the Soviet bloc. apparently to mount a
new offensive to wipe out the U.S.-fund-
ed Nicaraguan insurgents.
At a White House briefin . ? Makes
fuse to comment on a Was n ton
TV= MMTt that. canna la over
Cuba Thursda% night, the high-flying
American Blackbird reconnais-
sance aircra was tired on with oviet-
ma a surface-to-air miss[ es.
other administration sources said the
plane's sensors picked up heat-seeking
missiles in the area of its flight path, but
it was uncertain whether the aircraft
was being fired on.
If it was, it apparently would be the
first time an American spy plane has
been fired on over Cuba since a U2
aircraft was shot down during the 1962
missile crisis. Pieces of that aircraft are
now on display at the Museum of the
Revolution in Havana.
The Cuban Interests Section here
refused to comment on the shipping
activity, but a Cuban diplomatic source
noted that his country had warned the
United States in August - following a
reconaissance plane flight - that future
incidents of that kind "would not go
unpunished."
The Nicaraguan Embassy indi-
rectly acknowledged that the
weapons were bound for Nicara-
gua. "The point is not whether
Nicaragua is getting weapons in
the Soviet Union or through Cuba
. but this is just another pretext
for the administration to attack
Nicaragua and justify aid to the
contras," said embassy spokes-
woman Sarali Porta.
S.S. Intelligence officials said
of the ov et u ar-
ian_and Nicaraguan vessels at t
Cuban port of Mare .
west of Havana, was first reported
shi there early last week.
They sal they initially had been
hampered in obtaining information
about their cargo because a heavy
cloud cover over the area had
As a result of the tip about the
ships, the officials said. the Na-
tional Security Council authorized
.the dispatch of the Blackbird to
Cuba.
Officials said the reconnaissance
plane obtained photographs o the
port that were analyzed by intelli-
gence experts and "cratoloaists, '
specialists in the shape and size of
Soviet-bloc shipping crates. They
concluded the cargo crates con-
taine at least 23 T-34 and -55
Soviet-built tan cs 'assorted' _"r-
ace-to-air missi es. several pieces
of heavy artillery and "possibly
planes."
But the officials cautioned that
if indeed there are planes, they
apparently are not sophisticated
combat jets such as MiGs. Wash-
ington has repeatedly warned
Managua not to obtain MiGs - or
risk American military retaliation.
American officials believe the
Nicaraguan vessels receiving the
cargo are small coastal freighters
that will carry it to the Nicara-
guan Atlantic coast port of El
Bluff, then up a river to the town
of Rama in south-central Nicara-
gua. From there, they expect the
materiel to be loaded onto military
trucks for distribution to several
military bases.
A U.S. intelligence official said
American s anes probably
would track the Nicaraguan ves-
sels to their home Port to obtain
further confirmation tat their
cargo is indeed arms.
e Air Force supersonic jet
entered Cuban airspace at 9:58
p.m. Thursday at San Antonio de
los Banos, over the western prov-
ince of Pinar del Rio.
At the time, Cuban government
officials said that, after flying over
the island. the plane veered back
toward the United States at 10:25
p.m. but then returned 15 minutes
later for another overflight.
The plane finally left Cuban
airspace at 10:53 p.m., departing
over an area- 20 miles northwest of
Havana, near Mariel, Cuban offi-
cials said.
Prensa Latina. the Cuban news
agency, said the spy flight was the
second American violation of Cu-
ban airspace In less than three
months. Thousands of Cubans
demonstrated Friday in front of
the U.S. Interests Section in Ha-
vana to protest. The Cuban gov-
ernment filed a protest with the
United States. Prensa Latina re-
ported.
Speakes confirmed the recon-
naissance flight over Cuba, adding
the United States had "observed
an increase of military shipments
from the Soviet Union to Nicara-
gua" in the past month.
Speakes also noted that "the
renewed military buildup coin-
cides with the Sandinista govern-
ment's crackdown on civil liber-
ties and a military offensive
against the democratic resistance
in Nicaragua."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/24: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201080035-6