2 SENATORS SAY DUARTE FAVORS NICARAGUA TALKS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000303000019-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: April 21, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

__ Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/20 :CIA-RDP90-005528000303000019-7
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,~ ~~en~~Qr~ ~a~
~~IFC~~'C~~L~CI ~ ~Ee~S
B}' B. DR'v-MMO\'D Al'RES Jr.
pedal teTLe hew, York Timms
AI;Dr E~t'S AIR FORCE BP SE,
1`'ld., April 20 - Ti+vo ttnited States
Senators said today that Jose Napoiebn
Duarte, R?ho is running for the pr-si- ,
dency of E] Salvador, told them he ;
would sal: negotiations with Nicara-
gun if he was elected.
Reagan Administration officials
i have accused Nicaragua of seeking the
' overL:.roR? of the Salvadoran Govern-
ment L'trough its support of rebels in
that count-~?. Much of the support is be- i
lieved to be in the corm of clandestine i
s}tipments of ammutition. I
Both Senators are members of Con-
gressional committees that deal a:th
Central American matters. They
called for continued United States sup-
port of the Governments and armed
farces of El Salvador and Honduras, as
well as a flow of arms to rebels fighting
the Nicaraguan Government.
On Wednesday a United States Army
helicopter in which the two Senators
were passengers was hit by fire near
the Honduran border. Salavdoran
rebels said the aircraft and a second
UH-1H helicopter was on a reconais-
saacemission. United States diplomats
in El Salvador denied the accusation.
"We've been through the valley of
the shadow and come out unscathed,"
Senator Johnston said this afternoon,
moments after landing here. "A lot of
I w~m~~
copter was hit near L'te El Salvador-
~ Honduras border had "heightened our
axareness that there's a R?ar down'
there and heopie get shot at every
day."
No one was hurt in the incident,
which occurred when the two Senators ~
? arrived to visit a Honduran refugee i
camp, and the aircraft, after putting ~
doRT briefly for a quicl: inspection by
-its American crew, took off again.
Asked whether the incident took
,place over E1 Salvador or Honduras,
Senator Childs replied, "lt was rebel
' territory, wherever the heck we were."
people are dying down there and we're
lucky not to be among them."
Senators Bacl Doane
Senator Chiles said he had gone to
Central America "very pessimistic"
buthadreturned "very optimistic."
Besides El Salvador, the Senators ?
visited Honduras, Panama and Nicara- ?.
gun. Both expressed the hope that Mr. ~
Duarte would win the Salvadoran eleG
The Sena_ors, J. Bennett Johnston of i "We believe he can control the army,l
Lc?,.:isiana and Lawton Chiles of Flor-'
id::, bo~~t Democrats, said that whey
they titic;tt; licaragua after sewing "
-N'-.D?y3rte, cfficials there were non-
committal wizen told about hir.I
Duarte's neeotiatong offer.
But the Nicaraguans had "noL~tirtg
dispsragi~E tc say about Duarte,"
Sez:a:a Chies said, "although they ex-
pressed concen tY,at the right in El Sal-
valor would persit rSm to do that."
hit. C?files said lrir. Duarte did not
speci`