EL SALVADOR/CUBA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000201200005-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2008
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: May 13, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/12/10: CIA-RDP88-01070R000201200005-0
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
13 May 1984
EL SALVADOR/ HART: President Reagan's national security adviser,
CUBA Robert McFarlane, said today that Cuba is planning to
double its aid to El Salvador's guerrillas, building up to
a big guerrilla offensive this fall. More from Andrea
Mitchell.
MITCHELL: National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane
predicted a fall offensive by Cuban-supported guerrillas
to bring down the government of El Salvador, an offensive
as big as the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam. ROBERT C.
MCFARLANE (National Security Adviser, From NBC Meet the
Press): ...Evidence that accumulated in the past six
weeks suggests that conscious decision has been made and
the indications are that the Cuban decision to seek to
roughly double the level of effort of the rebels-in
Salvador right row.
MITCHELL: Intelligence sources say there are now 10,000
guerrillas in El Salvador and that they have already
started recruiting new forces for the fall campaign. The
administration believes this will help justify its covert
operations in neighboring Nicaragua. MCFARLANE: Do the
American people really want their president to have no
other option than to go to war or to do nothing? I don't
think so.
MITCHELL: But many House Democrats say Congress will not
approve more covert aid. REP. HARRY REID (D-Nevada):
We've generally agreed that if we're going to help those
countries we're going to give them money, put conditions
on them as best we can, but no covert aid.
MITCHELL: Meanwhile the loser in the El Salvador
election, Roberto D'Aubuisson is trying to discredit the
results because of reports that the CIA spent $2 million
to defeat him. Administration officials are worried about
a right-wing coup there which they say would be the end of
the ball game for U.S. policy in Central America. Andrea
Mitchell, NBC News, at the White House.
Approved For Release 2008/12/10: CIA-RDP88-01070R000201200005-0