CONTRAS OBTAIN 10,000 POLISH AK-47 RIFLES, U.S. OFFICIALS SAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302230005-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: August 31, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302230005-0
ASSOCIATED PRESS
31 August 1985
CONTRAS OBTAIN 10,000 POLISH AK-47 RIFLES, U.S. OFFICIALS
BY GEORGE GEDDA
WASHINGTON
Nicaraguan resistance forces recently received a shipment of 10,000
Polish-made AK-47 rifles as part of a weapons deal worth an estimated $6
million, U.S. officials say.
According to one official, the shipment was sent from the Bulgarian port of
Burgas and reached the resistance forces via a Latin American country hostile to
the leftist Sandinista government. The country was not identified.
The official said the transaction was authorized by Polish authorities in a
desperate bid to obtain sorely-needed foreign exchange. But other officials
expressed skepticism that the Warsaw government would ever consent to such a
deal.
As a member of the Warsaw Pact, Poland has given enthusiastic support to the
Sandinista government and welcomed Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega as a guest
of honor at ceremonies last May commemorating the 40th anniversary of the end of
World War II.
According to one official, Poland would never consider selling weapons to the
contras because the Soviet Union, Poland's chief patron, would not permit it.
All of the U.S. officials who commented on the story spoke on condition of
anonymity. The State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency
declined comment.
A Polish Embassy spokesman, Andrzej Dobrzynski, dismissed as "rubbish" any
suggestion of Polish government involvement in aiding the contras.
"It is so preposterous, it is undignified even to deny it," he said.
A U.S. official suggested that the weaponry might have been intended for a
country friendly to Poland but was diverted by intermediaries to the Nicaraguan
rebels.
Such diversions are not uncommon in international weapons trades. The United
States itself was victimized two years ago when 87 Hughes helicopters were
illegally sent to communist North Korea by a West German firm.
The most senior official contacted by the Associated Press said the weaponry
reached the contras six weeks ago with the foreknowledge of Polish authorities.
"They are doing what is necessary to get cold cash," the official said,
noting that Poland has a severe foreign exchange shortage. He said Poland
probably received between $150 and $200 for each rifle. All were in mint
condition, he said.
Poland has been attempting to reach agreement with its western creditors on
rescheduling its foreign debt, which stood at $26.8 billion at the end of 1984
.and reportedly is growing at an annual rate of $1.3 billion.
Canino'
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/27 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000302230005-0