CIA, MOONIES COOPERATE IN SANDINISTA WAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000201090002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 12, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: August 16, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/12 : CIA-RDP90-00806R000201090002-7
ARTTCT,r L-: FEARED
CIA, Moonies
Cooperate in
-Sandinista War
? In the Central American hinter-
, lands, it is sometimes difficult to
distinguish CIA operatives from the
Rev. Sun Myung Moon's disciples.
They appear to be working in har-
ness against the communist-tainted
Sandinista regime in Nicaragua.
This troubles ?t least one Pen-
tagon analyst, now stationed in Ko-
rea, who has warned the White
House that the CIA-Moonie connec-
. tion could cause possible political
damage to President Reagan's re-
election campaign.
The analyst's unofficial memo,
"Potential Problems," has been
slipped to my associate Donald
Goldberg.
"Current Moonie involvement
with government officials, contrac-
tors and grantees could create a
major scandal," the memo warns. "If
their activities and role become
public knowledge, it will unite both
the left and the right in attacking
the administration."
The memo continues, "If efforts
are not taken to stop their growing
influence and weed out current
Moonie involvement in govern-
ment, the president stands a good
chance of being portrayed in the
media as a poor, naive incompetent
WASHINGTON POST
16 August 1984
who is strong on ideology and weak
on common sense ....
"The likelihood of a reporter or a
Democratic staff member piecing
the total picture together is too'
great to be neglected. Any thought
that this festering problem will go
away if ignored is foolish."
The "total picture" of Moon's ac-
tivities in Latin America is not
dear. But there is no doubt that the
Korean messiah, now in prison for
income tax evasion, has established'
a solid presence in the region, with
ties to right wing groups and U.S.-
supported guerrillas.
My associate Jon Lee Anderson
reports from Central America that
Causa International, Moon's polit-
ical front, has representatives
working in programs that help the
CIA in its "contra" war against the
Sandinista government.
Causa maintains a publicity office
in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran cap-
ital, but its principal activities are in
the field. Causa provides cash and
other aid to Honduran-based Ni-
caraguan contras and Honduran
right wing political groups. Many
anti-Sandinista guerrillas wear red
Causa T-shirts, with a map of the
world on them.
But Causa and its affiliate, the
Refugee Relief Freedom Founda-
tion, provide more than T-shirts to
rebel groups. They also funnel sup-
plies to refugee families in and near
contra camps and pay for trips by
rebel leaders to the United States.
One contra leader, Fernando (El
Negro) Chamorro, told my associ-
ate that as early as 1981, Causa
representatives sent him on an all-
expenses-paid trip to the United
States to try to unify the Ni;
caraguan exile groups.
The airlift of supplies to.the reb=els by Moon's Unification Church
has escalated since Congress cut off
CIA funding for the contras. The
administration has been attempting
to "privatize" its war against the-
Sandinistas and is apparently willing'
Footnote: A Unification Church'
official denied that the church is
engaged in any but religious activ=-
ities in Central America. - -
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/12 : CIA-RDP90-00806R000201090002-7