U.S. STUDY LINKS NICARAGUA WITH LIBYA, IRAN AND PLO

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201080042-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: July 11, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09 :CIA-RDP90-009658000201080042-8
ARTI CI.>:
ON PAGT
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
11 July 1985
U.S. study links Nicaragua
with Libya, Iran and PLO
By Alfonso Chardy
InQuirer Washinjton Bureau
? WASHINGTON - Pressin its cam-
~aign against the ' confe eratton o
terrorist sta~es,"'i eh~Fe~a _a_n~eamTn~
t aeon este'~r a nvat~ ctrcutet-
a new fate pertment report
accusing tcaragua o eve opm~
Strategic ties wttTi Lt ~+a ran an
the Palestine rarion ~rgantza-
tion.
U.S. intelligence analyst who
have the report to the Inquirer as -
mgton ureau sat tt a n pre-
pared for the National Security
Council to "back up" President Rea-
' an s assertions on a tat five na-
tions - tcara ua u a ran t a
an orth orea -were artici-
ants to a "con a eration o terrorist
s.
~~ In that speech, Reagan also listed
the PLO as one of "the world's most
gicious terrorist groups."
Administration sources said that
Reagan's speech and the document
were part of a White House campaign
to prepare the American public in
sale Reagan decided to order mili-
tary action to retaliate for recent
terrorist acts against Americans in
Lebanon and E1 Salvador.
? The document has not been re-
leased formally because of objec-
tions from the State Department's
Middle East bureau, which felt it
could undermine U.S. efforts to pro?
,mote a dialogue between Israel and a
?Jordanian-Palestinian delegation,
the sources said.
The final draft of the report con-
tainsdetails of links between Nicara?
gua and the PLO, Libya and Iran that
in some cases date to several years
before the Sandinistas came to power
in an insurrection against President
Anastasio Somoza in 1979.
The report is intended to support
the administration's contention that
Nicaragua's ties to Middle East radi-
cals pose a threat to the Western
Hemisphere.
"The Arab entities Nicaragua has
chosen to deal with ... have had
known involvement in terrorist ac-
tivity, including. the planning, train-
ing, financing and implementation
of terrorist acts;' it said. "The Sandi-
nista ties with this network pose in-
creasing dangers of violence for the
Western Hemisphere."
Francisco Campbell, a minister-
counselor at the Nicaraguan Em?
bassy, said his nation "categorically
rejects the affirmations published in
this fabricated report." However, he
did not deny the specific assertions
in the document.
"We believe that it is deplorable
that the administration of the United
States should try to (capitalize) on the
genuine concern that is to be found
among the people of the United
States about terrorism," Campbell
added.
According tb the report, the Sandi-
nistas' relations with Middle Eastern
terrorists have yielded training by
the PLO, arms and money from Libya
and recent oil and possibly small-
armsshipments from Iran.
The report says the Sandinistas'
Arab connection was established in
1969 when PLO instructors trained
Nicaraguans at camps in Lebanon
and Libya. One of the trainees in
Lebanon, it said, was Tomas Borge,
who today is Nicaragua's interior
minister.
When the Sandinistas unleashed
their final offensive against Somoza
in 1978 and 1979, they obtained PLO
assistance, through Borge, to secure
weapons from North Korea and Viet-
nam and- funds from Libya, the re-
port said.
In July 1980, the report said, PLO
leader Yasir Arafat paid afour-day
"state visit" to Nicaragua and, at a
reception in Managua, spoke of "stra-
tegic and military ties" with the San-
dinistas.
Shortly after, the report said, Ara-
fat sent a PLO officer, Col. Mutlag
Hamadan, and 25 military advisers to
Nicaragua "to give instruction in the
use of Eastern-bloc weapons."
The report said the Sandinistas so-
lidified their lies to Libya in early
1979, when Libyan leader Moammar
Khadafy invited the Nicaraguans to
$enghazi, Libya, and pledged money
and political support.
Borge played a key role in obtain-
ing a $100 million loan from Libya in
1981, the report said. The Libyans
have also shipped arms to Nicaragua,
it added, citing the interception to
Brazil in 1983 of four Libyan military
planes carrying 84 tons of military
equipment.
Since then, the report said, Nicara-
gua has become a member of a "San-
dinista-PLO-Libya axis" and is devel-
oping ties with Iran.
According to the report, Nicara-
gua's first official contact with Iran
came in May 1983 when Sandinista
minister of culture Ernesto Cardenal
visited Tehran and was granted a
rare private audience with the Aya-
tollah Khomeini.
In March 1984, Sandinista leader
Sergio Ramirez traveled to [ran and
secured a $23-mi11i0n trade agree-
ment, the report said.
And on Jan. 23, Iranian Prime Min-
ister Hussein Moussavi visited Nica-
ragua and met with Sandinista
leader Daniel Ortega. "Most observ-
ers agreed that shipment of small
arms from Iran and an oil deal were
discussed," the report said.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09 :CIA-RDP90-009658000201080042-8