U.S. PRISONER IN NICARAGUA SAYS C.I.A. RAN CONTRA SUPPLY FLIGHTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403790021-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: October 10, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/09: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403790021-9
VNPAGE 1J-iL 1+_w TURK TIMES
10 October 1986
U.S. Prisoner in Nicaragua Says
C.I.A. Ran Contra Supply Flights
BY JAMES LaMOYNE
speew W no New vas rjl impressive resources that allowed it to he said was part of the Southern Air
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Oct 9 - An hire former C.I.A. Personnel, maintain Transport Company in Miami.
American captured when aplane deliv- dozens of Americans in El Salvador, Nicaraguan officials charge that
ering supplies to rebels was shot down warehouse tons of equipment, buy mill- th companies work for the C.I.A.. Mr.
here said today that the supply flights `i`r lranapvrrs 'no fly repeatedly in
were directly supervised by members and out of El Salvador, Honduras and
of the Central Intelligence Agency in El the United States.
Salvador. Mr. Hasenfus, who is 45 years old,
"Two Cuban naturalized Amerians said Nicaraguan rebel supply flights
that work for the C.I.A. did most of the from the main military air base at Ito-
coordination for the flights and over- pango in El Salvador and rebel bases in
saw all of our housing, transportation, Honduras were not only supervised by
also refueling and some flight plans," more than 25 employees of an Amer-
the prisoner. Eugene Hasenfus, said at Ican company based in El Salvador.
a news conference here with Nicara- These employees appear to have fer-
guan officials seated beside him. ried more than 130,000 pounds of mili-
Mr. Hasenfus then named the two re- tary equipment to rebel forces.
ported C.I.A. officials and gave the Prisoner Appears Nervous
most detailed account so far of rebel The American
prisoner supply operations out of El Salvador nervous and spoke appeared
and Honduras. His statements are straihet ahead. n, staring
officials'
being treated as a major political vic- said did not want toNicaraguan ques-
tory by the Nicaraguan Government. tions and Mr. Hasenfus left the stage
Plane In 'Sting' Operation after talking for about 10 minutes. A:
"I was told we were working out of Nicaraguan intelligence officer said
the El Salvador Air Force base at Ito- Mr. Hasenfus had spoken because he!
pango," Mr. Hasenfus said. "We would was demoralized and felt abandoned
be flying into Honduras to an air base Officials said they still had not de-
called Aguacate and there we would tided if he would be put on trial.
load up small arms and ammunition Mr. Hasenfus is being detained in the
and fly into Nicaragua. There it would Ministry of the Interior and has been
be dropped to the contra." interrogated for two days, according to
The American prisoner looked Nicaraguan officials. They added that
health and Nicaraguan is uncertain when American diplo-
Y officials said mats or Mr. Hasenfus's wife, Sally, will
he had been well treated. But reporters be allowed to see him. However, the
could not verify the conditions under radio here said Mrs. Hasenfus had vis-1
which he has been held and questioned, ited him.
and Mr. Hasenfus's future treatment "His situation is very difficult," said
could depend on the statements he is Capt. Ricardo Wheelock, head of Nica-
willing to make here. raguan military intelligence. "He is a
(The Drug Enforcement Adminis. mercenary who has been shot down."
tration said the plane that was shot Several documents reportedly taken
down was earlier involved in a from the downed rebel plane, including
States "sting" operation logbooks, registration certificates, Sal-
United nite against the Nicaraguan Air Force identity cards and
Government- personal papers were shown to a re-
And Senator Dave Durenberger, the porter for two hours and appeared to
chairman of the Senate Select Com- support key parts of Mr. Hasenfus's ac-
mittee on Intelligence, challenged count.
the White House to acknowledge Bodies Left Outside Embassy
what he said was its role in the . But other aspects, such as his super-
plane's flight. 1 vision by C.I.A. agents in El Salvador,
A Sensitive Moment cannot be independently confirmed by
The incident comes at a sensitive a reporter here and are not docu-
moment when Congress is about to re- merited in the papers captured by the
lease $100 million in aid to the rebels. If Nicaraguans.
the C.I.A. was involved in the supply of. members who of dietwo d when ache rebel
fort, as Mr. Hasenfus says, it would ap- plane crashed were taken to the Amer-
pear to violate Congressional restric- ican Embassy in coffins this afternoon
tint and directly
_...--~- -
/'-- -.-,
d left
h
an
contra
on t
e
statements by Reagan Administration
officials that the downed plane was
part of a purely private effort by Amer.
ican supporters of the Nicaraguan
guerrillas.
It, on the other hand, the rebel supply
effort was run by a private American
organization, as the Administration
says, the group appears to have had
nasenrus said corporate Air Services
is based at the Salvadoran Air Force
base outside the capital of San Salva.
dor.
Captain Wheelock said Mr. Hasenfus
had told interrogators that he believed
he was working for the C.I.A. when he
agreed to join rebel supply flights as a
specialist in freight loading. Mr. Ha-
senfus did not repeat that reported
statement at the news conference to-
day.
But he did describe working for eight
years for a C.I.A.operaled airline in
Southeast Asia, Air America, which he
said also once employed the American
chief pilot of the downed rebel plane.
The pilot died, along with the American
o-pilot,when a Sandinista rocket hit
the plane over southern Nicaragua on
Sunday.
Mr. Hasenfus added that he was ap-
proached five months ago by the for-
mer Air America pilot, William J.?
Cooper, with whom he worked flying
supplies to C.I.A. agents at remote air-
strips in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and
Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. From 1960
to 1965, Mr. Hasenfus said, he was in
the Marine Corps.
He said he was paid $3,000 a month
plus all expenses for working as a
loader on rebel supply flights over
Nicaragua. The money was deposited
directly into his account at the Pestigo
Bank in Marinette, Wis., according to
Sandinista officials. It is not clear who
paid the money.
The documents found on the rebel
C-123 military supply plane include Sal-
vadoran Air Force identity cards that
describe the three American crew
members, including Mr. Hasenfus, as
United States military advisers in El
Salvador.
In a statement today, the Salvadoran
Army high command denied any in-
volvement in the rebel supply flights. A
spokesman at the American Embassy
in El Salvador has also denied that any
of the American crew members were
working as United States military ad-
visers in El Salvador.
One of the crew member's wallet
carried the business and of a Robert
W. Owen and listed a Washington ad-
dress and telephone number. Another
business card in the wallet was for a
Mr. P. J. Buechler, listed as working
for the State Department's Nicaraguan
Humanitarian Affairs Office. That of-
Iice
a
guali rebels over are last
Eared to be a -?- ?
pe propaganda gesture. year.
The bodies were later taken inside by
embassy employees
Mr. Hasentus said the Americans all;
worked for a company called Corpo-
rate Air Services in El Salvador, whichl
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/09: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403790021-9