U.S. REFUSING TO DISPEL IMPRESSION IT IS HELPING ANTI-SANDINIST FORCES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302640055-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2012
• Sequence Number: 55
• Publication Date: March 29, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302640055-0
IR it C= 12
Ort
ITEW YORK TINES
29 MARCH 1983
U.S. Refusing to Dispel Impression
It Is Helping AntiSandinist Forces
By BERNARD GWERTZMAN
spade to The Mew York Times
WASHINGTON, March 28 ? Reagan "And it is not surprising," he went on,
Administration officials acknowledged "that the Sandinists are trying to con-
today that they were doing nothing to vince their public and the outside world
dispel the impression that the United that there is not an internal problem in
United States is instigating or support-
ing the insurgency in Nicaragua was
"unacceptable." Mr. Romberg replied:
"That may be your judgment. In terms
of any operations or intelligence activi-
ty, there is appropriate oversight un-
dertaken by Congress."
Secretary of State George P. Shultz,
when he was on Capitol Hill last week
testifying on aid to El Salvador, refused
to answer when asked whether the
United States was involved in support
for Nicaraguan insurgents. He said the
matter was being handled in secret with
the Intelligence Committees of the
House and the Senate.
States is covertly supporting anti-San- Nicaragua when there is." He said the The Honduran Government has
dinist forces fighting in Nicaragua. "opposition" ranged ' from "disillu- I denied that any anti-Nicaraguan forces
One official said that by allowing this : sioned public sectors to ethnic groups are using its territory, despite The
impression to persist, the Administra- 1 such as the Miskito Indians and in- , Times's account of the camp some eight
tion hoped to cause problems for the 1 cludes former National Guardsmen and i miles from the border.
Nicaraguan leadership and to persuade former Sandinists.". Honduras issued a statement last
i
it to diminish its backing for guerrilla Mr. Romberg, summing up the state week similar to what Mr. Romberg said
forces
asserting that the problems in
forces in El Salvador. 1 of the opposition in Nicaragua, said it today,
were "due to the increasing
I was "diverse, nationalist and independ- political and social tensions between
Amid repeated press reports and
Nicaraguan Government allegations of ,
Central Intelligence Agency backing
for anti-Sandinist forces operating prin-
cipally from Honduras, the State De-
partment has steadfastly refused ? to
deny or confirm American involve-
ment.
But Administration officials con-
ceded that the pointed refusal of the Ad-
ministration to deny United States in-
volvement has had the effect of seem-
inely substantiating the reports.
"It is a longstanding practice of this
and other Administrations not to ad-
dress allegations of this sort." Alan D.
Romberg. a department spokesman,
said today.
Mr. Romberg said he was authorized
, to of ier a statement suggesting that the
problems faced by the Nicaraguan Gov-
ernment were caused by its own inter-
nal opposition and its own repression.
By implication, this was meant to sug-
ges1 that the anti-Sandinist forces were
a kind of local opposition.
Opposition `Making Pressure Felt'
"It is a fact," Mr. Romberg said,
"that over preceding months there has
been rising opposition to the Govern-
ment of Nicaragua, including within
Nicaragua itself, and clearly these op-
position elements are making their
'pressure felt both outside and within
Nicaragua itself.
ent. the Nicaraguan Government and the
An Administration official acknowl- opposition groups of all political tenden-
edged that there was "a bit of psycho- cies."
logical warfare here." The United
States, the official said, is interested in
raising doubts in the minds of Nicara-
guan leaders about the extent of Wash-
ington's involvement in the hope that
this will force the Nicaraguans to agree
to stop their aid for the insurgents fight-
ing in El Salvador against the Ameri-
can-backed Government.
In this "psychological warfare," the
State Department seems to be repeat-
ing what the Nicaraguans say about the
situation in El Salvador. The Nicara-
guans have said that the guerrillas in El
Salvador are acting on their own and re-
flect opposition to the regime.
A reporter for The New York Times
visited a camp Saturday inside Hon-
duras where there were armed people,
one of whom said they were all Nicara-
guans. The reporter described crates in
the camp that were labeled as United
States-made armaments.
Two Honduran soldiers stationed
nearby described the people in the
camp as Nicaraguans fighting to over-
throw the Sanclinist Government.
No Comment on Equipment
When asked about this today, Mr.
Romberg said he would "not address it
one way or the other." Asked how the
insurgents could get American-made
equipment, he said, "There is a variety
of ways of getting arms in the open
market."
A reporter complained to Mr. Rom-
berg that what he called the Adminis-
tration's lack of candor on whether the
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302640055-0