U.S. APPROVES COVERT PLAN IN NICARUAGA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000807600033-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 33
• Publication Date: March 10, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000807600033-8
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Covert Plan
In Nicaragua
By Patrick E. Tyler
and Bob Woodward
Vhshington Post Staff writers
President Reagan has authorised
covert operations against the Central
American nation of Nicaragua,
which, administration officials have
charged, is serving as the military
command center and supply line to
guerrillas in El Salvador.
According to informed adminis-
tration officials, the president has
ruled out the use of U.S. military.
forces in direct anti-Nicaraguan op-
erations. But the authorized, covert-
plan directs the CIA to begin to
build and fund a paramilitary force
of up to 500 Latin Americans, who
are to operate out of commando
camps spread along the Nicaraguan-
Honduran border.
The officials stressed that it-will
take months for the paramilitary
force to be recruited, trained and
positioned to begin operations.. They-
did not say precisely when. the cross
border operations are scheduled to
begin.
As part of this plan, the comman-
dos eventually would attempt to de-
stroy vital Nicaraguan targets, such
as power plants and bridges, in an
effort to disrupt the economy and
divert the. attention and the : re
sources of - the ?' government. CIA:-
strategists believe these - covert- op-
. erations inside Nicaragua will slow'-4
the flow of arms to- El Salvador and
disrupt what they claim is a Soviet
and Cuban-controlled government in
Nicaragua.
Operating under a: -$19 million
CIA budget, the planned 500=man
force. could- be increased - in 'size _if
necessary, officials said. The. CIA
force would be supplemented by another Latin - American commando
force of up to 1,000- men-some of
whom currently '-are undergoing
training by Argentine- military offi-
.cials..,
THE WASHINGTON POST
10 March 1982
This is the plan for CIA covert;
operations first reported in The
Washington Post on Feb. 14 as part
of the Reagan administration's strat-
egy in the region. At the time, it
could not been determined whether
the president had authorized the:
.CLk's plan to build a paramili
force against Nicaragua.
Several informed sources now say
that the president did formally au-
thorize the proposal, but the precise
timing of his authorization could not
be determined. It may have occurred
late last year.
The covert action proposal was
developed by the CIA and . first
presented in detail to President Rea-
can by CIA Director. William J.
Casey at the Nov. 16 meeting of the
National Security Council. It was
supported by Secretary of State Al-
exander M. Haig Jr. and Defense
Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, ac-
cording to knowledgeable'officials-
Administration officials familiar
with the CIA covert- program
stressed that the decision to focus on I
economic targets was based on a de-_
sire to disrupt the Nicaraguan. arms
supply line to El Salvador in a man-
ner that is relatively inexpensive and!
least threatening to the civilian pop-
ulation. -
"If you blow up a dam, you cause;
a lot. of,trouble, but you're not kil-
ling people," one high-level official
said.
In his Feb. 18 press conference,i
Reagan was asked if --,theUnited.
States - was planning. covert. opera
tions in Nicaragua, but he declined
to comment.
Nicaragua currently is ruled by-
the Sandinista National Liberation
Front, whose guerrilla forces over-
threw the.. government of dictator;
Anastasio. Somoza in July 1979.
Honduras has a.close military re-
lationship :with the'United States;
and Honduran officials: fear that the i
`political upheaval in El Salvador and i
`Nicaragua will spill into, their coup;
try. As a separate' part of the U.S
,strategy in the region,..the U.S. mil
itary. currently is` engaged- in two op i
io~
erations in neighboring .Honduras
indirectly support - anti-Nicaraguan:
efforts, informed administration, of-'
finials said.
Accordi
NSC recd
al in No'
and cond
military
Cuban p
nista sup
and else
The CIA,
thorizatio
military
program
-that fun
force des
Covert
proposal,
records,
? 'Bus
tral Am
opposition
tionalistic,
Somoza.
front. tnat wuwu uc ,ta-i
anti-Cuban and ; anti-I
? "Support. the` opposition front)
through. formation and training of
action. teams to collect intelligence
and engage in paramilitary and po-
'litical operations in Nicaragua and
elsewhere.
? "Work primarily through non-i
Americans" to achieve these covert;
objectives, but in some cases the CIA',
might "take unilateral, pararnilitaryi
action-possibly using U.S. person
nel-against special Cuban targets."
After the initial presentation, thei
CIA proposal was turned over to the
national security planning group, a
subcommittee of the NSC, as a draft
"presidential finding;'. which statesi
the need for specific covert opera-.1
tions. Under national security stat-
utes, no funds can be expended fore
covert. actions "until the president
finds that each such operation is im-
portant to the national, security of
the United States.
.Senior U.S. defense and intelli-,
gence officials: have said in. recent
weeks that without a slowdown in
the arms supply to El Salvador by
air, land and sea routes from Nica-
ragua, the . position of.. government
forces in the-war-torn country could
deteriorate , rapidly, potentially
prompting an escalation of Salvador-
an requests for U.S. military assist-
ance. Such requests are likely to run
into strong congressional and public
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000807600033-8