NICARAGUA'S NEIGHBORS ARE WARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403790037-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 37
• Publication Date: March 23, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403790037-2
AN I II.Lt hrr c"
ON PAGE
NEW YORK
23 March
Nicaragua's
:Neighbors
Are Wary
By JAMES LeMOYNE
SAN SALVADOR - It is difficult to find a Cen-
tral American government official who is not-
highly critical of Nicaragua s Sandinistas. Still,
no leader in the region was willing last week to
support President Reagan's campaign to provide
$100 million for anti-Sandinista guerrillas. This
public silence seemed particularly galling to
United States officials who contended that Cen-
tral Americans had recently confided to Mr. Rea-
gan's special envoy, Philip C. Habib, that indeed
they supported the President's position.
Central American leaders give several reasons
why they must say one thing privately and be si-
lent or ambivalent in public. Most say they are
compelled to observe the long Latin American
tradition of nonintervention in the affairs of other
states. And even though opinion polls in Hon-
duras and Costa Rica show strong opposition to
the Sandinistas, public sentiment seldom deter-
mines policy in the region's autocratic societies.
In such circumstances, it is difficult to judge the
political significance of private assurances that
may be denied or discarded at the first conven-
ient opportunity.
? In addition, some senior officials in the region
appear to be cautious because they are uncertain
of the durability of Washington's commitment to
the contras, as the guerrillas are known. There
also seems to be a general belief that if Nicara-
gua is as great a threat as Mr. Reagan says, the
United States will settle the problem itself.
"They ask us when we are going to go in and
clean up this mess," said one American diplomat
in the region. "But when we ask them if they
would back us uo. they say, ` of on your i e. "
Despite such shyness, some countries have in-
dicated their true sentiments by quietly assisting
the Nicaraguan rebels. The most obvious exam-
ple is Honduras, which for almost five years has
allowed the contras to train and maintain bases
in its territory. According to Western diplomats,
the Honduran President, Jose Azcona Hoyo, is
willing to let the guerrillas continue receiving
American aid so long as the operation is handled
discreetly.
But while they support the guerrilla effort, the
Hondurans are also among those most deeply
worried about Washington's commitment, worry
that sharpens whenever the contra cause seems
to lose ground in Washington. Honduran officials
have repeatedly told United States envoys that
they fear they will one day be left to clean up a de-
moralized rebel army - not to mention having to
rebuild relations with Nicaragua. "We have
hammered them and hammered them that they
have to support the guerrillas if they want to pro-
mote democracy in the region," said one Amer-
ican official. "What do they do if we quit?"
El Salvador has also byen strongly critical of
Nicaragua. Pointing to evidence that they sup-
TIMES
1986
port the Marxist-led Salvadoran guerrilla move-I
meet, President Jose Napoleon Duarte has often
denounced the Sandinistas. After condemning
Nicaraguan intervention in El Salvador, Mr.
Duarte has found it impossible to publicly sup-
port guerrilla attacks on Nicaragua.
But El Salvador has been willing to provide
help under table. when the Central Intelli-
gence Agency launched air and sea attacks on
Nicaragua two years ago. it used El a va or as
a base, according to both American and rebel of-
ficials. In recent months several loads of weap-
on-sand other supplies for the rebels have been
flown out of El Salvador, according to Western
officials. In addition, when Reagan
Administration officials sought a way
to put pressure on the Sandinistas
just before last week's House vote on
aid to the contras, they turned to Mr.
Duarte. The Administration asked
him to offer to negotiate with the Sal-
vadoran guerrillas if the Sandinistas
would agree to negotiate with the
Nicaraguan rebels, according to Sal-
vadoran and American officials. Mr.
Duarte agreed, but his proposal for a
"simultaneous dialogue" was ig-
nored in Managua.
The Government of Guatemala has
charted a more independent course.
The new president, Vinicio Cerezo,
invited the Nicaraguan President,
Daniel Ortega Saavedra, to his inau-
guration, and has said he supports ne-
gotiations to settle the region's con-
flicts. But the highly conservative
Guatemalan army has provided
weapons to the Nicaraguan rebels,
and Guatemalan businessmen have
sold them supplies, according to reli-
able rebel sources.
The Administration has been most
flustered by Costa Rica's new presi-
dent-elect, Oscar Arias Sanchez, who
has recently opposed aid to the Nica-
raguan guerrillas. Mr. Arias is one of
harshest critics of the Sandinista
leaders, accusing them of building "a
second Cuba." But he seems to be taking his cue
from opinion polls showing that Costa Ricans
strongly oppose the Sandinistas, but also strongly
oppose a war in the region. Mr. Arias has said he
believes that American money would be best
spent fortifying governments to resist Nicara-
guan influence.
If the American-backed guerrillas do not gain
strength in the year ahead, other Central Amer-
ican leaders may adopt Mr. Arias's position. No
matter what happens, it is unlikely that any gov-
ernment will be willing to translate private oppo-
sition to the Sandinistas into public support for
their overthrow.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403790037-2