PRESIDENT REAGAN'S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS ON CENTRAL AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505400062-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2010
• Sequence Number: 62
• Publication Date: April 28, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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-A rt. 6 "MM NEW YORK TIMES
ON PAIGE _ 28 APRIL 1983
STAT
0
President Reagan's Address to JOnLSPs1nnSTAT
of Congress on Central America
Special to The New York THttes WASHINGTON, April 27- Following is the text of President Reagan's ad-
dress to a joint sesion of Congress today, as made made available by the White
House :
A number of times in past years,
members of Congress and a President
have come together in meetings like
this to resolve a crisis. I have asked
for this =eetEig in the hope that we
.can prevent one:
It would .-be., hard to find many
Americans who are not aware of our
stake in the Middle East, the Persian
.Gulf, or the : NATO line dividing the
free world from the Commnist bloc.
The same could be said for Asia.
But in spite of, or maybe because of,
a flurry of stories about places like
Nicaragua and El Salvador and, yes,
some concerted propaganda, many of
us find it hard to believe we have a
stake in. problems involving those
countries. Too many have thought of
Central America as a place way down
below Mexico that can not possibly
constitute a threat to our well-being.
That is why I have asked for this
session. Central America's problems
do directly affect the security and
well-being of our own people. And
Central America is much closer to the
United States than many of the world
trouble spots that concern us. As we
work to restore our own economy, we
cannot afford to lose sight of our
neighbors to the South.
El Salvador is nearer to Texas than
Texas is to Massachusetts. Nicaragua
is just as close to Miami, San Antonio,
San Diego and Tucson as those cities
are to Washington, where we are gath-
ered tonight.
Strategic Importance
But nearness on the map does not
even begin to tell the strategic impor-
tance of Central America, bordering
as it does on the Caribbean - our life-
line to the outside world. Two-thirds of
all our foreign trade and petroleum
pass through the Panama Canal and
the Caribbean. in a European crisis,
at least half of our supplie for NATO
would go through these areas by sea.
It is well to remember that in early
1942 a handful of Hitler's submarines
sank more tonnage there than in all of
the Atlantic Ocean. And they did this
withouut. ,A single naval base any-
where inthearea. ,
Today, -the, situation is different.
Cuba is.host to sr6oviet combat bri-
gade, a, submarine base capable of
servicing Soviet submarines and mili-
tary air' base8:' visited regularly by
Soviet military iltirt raft.
Because: xof. ; its, importance, the
Caribbean Basin is a magnet for ad-
venturism. We are all aware of the
Libyan. cargo - planes refueling in
Brazil a,few days-ago on their way to
deliver medical supplies to Nicara-
gua. Brazilian authorities discovered
the so-called medical supplies were
actually munitions and prevented
their delivery.. You may remember
that last month, speaking on national
television; I-showed an aerial photo of
an airfield being built on the island of
Grenada. ,.Well, if that airfield had
been completed, those planes could
have refueled~ there and completed
their journey.
If the Nazis during World War II
and the Soviets today could recognize
the Caribbean and Central America
as vital to our interests, should not we
also? U.S. Defense of Area
For several years now, under two
Administrations, the United States
has been increasing its defense of
freedom in the Caribbean Basin. And I
can tell you tonight, democracy is
beginning to take root in El Salvador,
which, until a short time ago, knew
only dictatorship. the new Govern-
ment is now delivering on its promises
of democracy, reforms and free elec-
tions. It was not easy and there was
resistance to many of the attempted
reforms with assassinations of the re-
gram which, is making thousands of
farm tenants farm owners. In a little
over three years, 20 percent of the am-
ble land in El Salvador has been redis-
tributed to more than 450,000 people.
That is about 1 in 10 Salvadorans who
has directly benefitted from this pro-
gram.
El Salvador has continued to strive
toward an orderly and democratic
society. ~, e . Government promised
free electlions. On March 28th, little
more than a year ago, after months of
campaigning by a variety of candi-
dates, the' suffering people of El Sal-
vador were offered a chance to vote -
to choose:the kind of government they
wanted. Suddenly the so-called free-
dom fighters in the hills were exposed
for what they really are - a small mi-
nority whowant power for themselves
and their backers - not democracy
for the people. The guerrillas threat-
ened death to anyone who voted. they
destropyed hundreds of buses and
trucks to keep the people from getting
to the polling places. Their slogan was
brutal: "Vote today, the tonight." But
on election -day, an unprecedented 80
percent of the electorate braved am-
t and gunfire and trudged for
miles to vote for freedom. That is
truly fighting for freedom. We can
never turn our backs on that.
Woman Wounded Before Voting
formers, Guerrilla bands and urban Members of this Congress who-went
terrorists were portrayed in a world- there as observers told me of a woman
wide propaganda campaign as free. who was wounded by rifle fire on the
dom fighters representative of the way to the polls, who refused to leave
people. Ten days before I came into' the line to have her wound treated
office, the guerrillas launched what until after she had voted. Another
they called a "final offensive" to over- woman had been told by the guerrillas
throw the Government. Their radio she would be killed when she returned
boasted that our new Administration from the polls, and she told the guer-
would be toolate to prevent their vic. rilas, "You can kill me, you can kill
tory. They; learned democracy cannot my family, kill my neighbors, but you
be so easily defeated. can't kill us all." The real freedom
President; Carter did not hesitate. fighters of El Salvador turned out to
'He authorizid;arms and ammunition be the people of that country - the
to El Salvador. The guerrilla offensive young, the old, the in-between - more
failed, butpot America's will. Every than one million of them out of a popu-
President?since this country assumed lation of less than five million. The
global responsibilities has known that world should respect this courage, not
those responsibilities could only be allow it to be belittled or forgotten.
met if we-pursued a bipartisan foreign Again, I say in good conscience, we
policy. can never turn our backs on that.
P.r resS in El Salvador The democratic political parties
and factions in El Salvador are com-
As I saida?tnoinent ago, the Govern-' ing together around the common goal
ment of ElSalvador has been keeping of seeking a political solution to their
its promises like. the land reform pro- country's problems. New national
elections will be held this year and
they will_ be open _to_ all political,.par- C y
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ties. The Government has invited the These were hardly the actions of a But let us be clear as to the.Ameri-
guerrillas to participate in the elec- nation implacably hostile to Nicara- can attitude toward the Government
tion and is preparing an amnesty law.. gua. Yet the Government of Nicara- ?of Nicaragua. We do not seek its over-
The people of El Salvador are earning gun has treated us as an enemy. It has throw. Our interest is to insure that it
their freedom and they deserve our rejected our repeated peace efforts. It does not infect its neighbors through
moral and material support to protect , has broken its promises to us, to the the export of subversion and violence.
it. Organization of American States and, Our purpose, in conformity with
Problems Remain most important of all, to the p bple of American and international law, is to
Yes, there are still major problems ? Nicaragua. prevent the flow of arms to El Salva
regarding human rights, the criminal No sooner was victory achieved ,dor, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa
r ir system. hn ? hthe criminal than a small clique ousted others who Rica. ? We have attempted to have a lence
aga noncombantsAnd, Joke the rest of had been part of the revolution from dialogue with the Government of
having
any voice in government. Nicaragua but It persists in its efforts
Central America, El Salvador also
faces severe economic problems. But, Humberto Ortega, the Minister of De- to spread violence.
in addition to recessio problems. fence, declared Marxism-Leninism We should not - and we will not -
prices for major agricultural exports, would be their guide, and so it is. :protect the Nicaraguan Government
El Salvador's economy is being delib. Effects of the Revolution we the anger of its own people. But
erately sabotaged. The Government of Nicara ' we should, through diplomacy, offer
Tonight in El Salvador-because of imposed anew dictatorship; ithahas re- an alternative. And, as Nicaragua
ruthless guerrilla attacks - much of fused to hold the elections it prom- ponders its options, we can and will
-
all
the fertile land cannot be cultivated; ised; it has seized control of most with the resources of diplomacy
less than half the roiling stock of the media and subjects all media to heavy protect each country of Central Amer-
railways remains operational; prior censorship; it denied the b ica from the
ishops danger of war.
bridges, water facilities, telephone and priests of the Roman Catholic - _ Nicaragua's BdtdI .
and electrical systems have been de- Church the right to say mass on radio Even Costa Rica, Central Ameri-
stroyed and damaged., In one 22- during Holy Week; it insulted and ca's oldest and strongest democracy,
month period, there were 5,000 inter- mocked the Pope;- It has driven the a?Government so
ruptions of electrical power. One re- Miskito Indians from their homelands even have an army, is the object of
gion was without electricity for a third burning their villages, destroying bullying and' threats from Nicara-
of a year. their crops, and forcing them into in- gun's dictators.
I think Secretary of State Shultz put ? voluntary internment camps far from Nicaragua's neighbors know that
it very well the other day: "Unable to home; it has moved against the pri- Sandinista promises of peace, nonal-
win the free loyalty of El Salvador's vate sector and free labor unions; it liance and nonintervention have not
people, the guerrillas are deliberately condoned mob action against Nicara- been kept. Some 36 new military bases
and systematically depriving them of gua's independent human rights com- have been built - there were only 13
food, water, transportation, light, mission and drove the director of that during the Somoza years.
sanitation and jobs. And these are the commission into exile. Nicaragua's new army numbers
people who claim they want to help In short, after all these acts of re- 25,000 men supported by a milita of
the common people." pression by the Government, is it any 50,000. It is the largest army in Cen.
They do not want elections because wonder opposition has formed? Con- tral America supplemented by 2,000
they know they would be defeated. trary to propaganda, the opponents of- 'Cuban military and security advisers.
But, as the previous election showed, the Sandinistas are not die-hard isup- It is equipped with the rhost modem
the Salvadoran people's desire ~ for porters of the. previous Somoza re- wpons, dozens of Soviet_made
democracy will not be defeate& game. In fact,, many are anti-Somoza tanks, 800 Soviet-bloc trucks, Soviet
The guerrillas are not embattled heroes who fought beside the Sandinis 152-millimeter howitzers, 100 antiair-
peasants armed with muskets. They tas to bring down the Somoza Govern- craft guns plus planes and hlicopters.
are professional,'sometimes with bet- went. Now they have been denied any There are additional thousands of
ter training and weaponry than the part in the new Government because. civilian advisers from Cuba, the
Government's soldier. The Salvado- they' truly wanted democracy for. Soviet Union, East Germany, Libya
ran battalions that have received U.S. Nicaragua and still do. Others are' and the Palestine Liberation Organi-
training have been conducting them. Miskito Indians fighting for their; nation. And we are attacked because
selves well on the battlefield and with homes, lands and lives. , we have 55 military trainers in El Sal-
the civilian population. But, so far, we The Sandinista revolution in Nicara- vador.
have only provided enough money to gua turned opt to be just an exchange The goal of the professional guer-
train one Salvadoran soldier out of 10, ; of one set of autocratic rulers for an. rilla movements in Central America
fewer than the number of guerrillas I other, and the people still have no is as simple as .it is sinister - to de-
trained by Nicaragua and Cuba. freedom, no democratic is and I stablize the entire region from the
D.......1 i.. uri..e-....~ more nnvPrty T.'vnn mn..an #1..... De..s...e n..__I ._ .---' --
acs uac ~c~ uic i CZ7UIL .1-u Sign on Soviets to destablAZC Cllr hemisphere. Ca
Nicaragua, a country next to El Salve- yetano Carpio, the now-deceased
dor. In 1979, when the new Govern- Contrast in El Salvador Salvadoran guerrilla leader, said
meat took over in Nicaragua after a Meanwhile, the Government of El earlier this month. Carpio said that
revolution which overthrew the au- Salvador, making after s Salvador falls, El Salvador
trule of Somoza, everyone every effort to and and Nicaragua would be "arm-in-artn
thoritarian h for the guarantee demoracy, free labor.. and struggling for the total liberation
hoped growth of democracy. unions, freedom of religion and a free of Central America."
We in the United States did, too. By -press, is under attack by guerrillas
January of 1981, our emergency relief dedicated to the same philosophy that No Threat to Nicaragua
recovery aid to Nicaragua totaled Prevails in Nicaragua, Cuba and, yes, Nicaragua's
$118 million - more than provided by the Soviet Union. Violence has been themselves es made dictatorial junta, who
any other developed country. In fact, Nicaragua's most important export to operating frown ade war and won power
in the first two years of Sandinista the world. It is the ultimate inhyP~ and y bases in H~dthey
rule, the United States directly or indi- risy for the unelected Nicaraguan. are today obeing like c prebend they
rectly sent five times more aid to Government to charge that we seek based g attacked by forces
Nicaragua than it had in the two years their overthrow when Ni g ~Honduras. The fact .is, it is
Gove
prior to the' revolution. Can anyone, everything they can to b
resent that threat-
ring down the car s
not the reverse,
doubt the generosity and good faith of elected Government of El Sal
d
va
or.
the American people? The guerrilla attacks are directed ' Ct`A
from
M
i
n
anagua, the
Nicaragua.
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It is Nicaragua who has moved .I Are democracies required to- re- United States. cannot -respond to a
heavy tanks Close to the border and main passive while threats to their so-. threat, near our own ;borders, why
Nicaragua who speaks of war. It was curity and prosperity accumulate? - should Europeans or Asians believe
Nicaraguan radio that announced on Must we just accept the destabiliza- we are seriously concerned about
April 8th the creation of a new, unified don. of an entire region from the threats to them? If the Soviets can as-
revolutionary coordinating board to Pam Canal to Mesico on our sume that nothing short of an actual
Push forward the Marxist struggle in southern border? attack on the United States will pro-
Honduras. Must we sit by while independent yoke an American response, which
Nicaragua, supported by weapons !Micas of this hemisphere are into. -ally, which friend will tarsi us then?
and
the Communist resairrces bloc, represses its own Pi Vated into the awn the modem world has ?e ~- and he bilk ity for both fognn
People, refuses to make peace and Must we wait while central Ameri- policy.
sponsors a guerrilla war against El cans are driven from their homes, like Tonight I ask you, the
Salvador. the more than four million who have join me in a bold, generous approach
President Truman's words are as -sought refuge out of Afghanistan or to the problems of peace and poverty,
apt today as they were in 1947, when .the one and a halt minion who have' democracy and dictatorship in the re-
he, too, spoke before a joint session of fled Indochina or the more than one gion. Join me in a program that pre.
the Congress: million Cubans who have fled Castro's vents Communist victory in the short
At the present moment in world 'Caribbean utopia? Most we, by de. 'run but goes beyond to produce, for
history nearly every nation must fault, leave the people of El Salvador the deprived people of the area, the to.
choose between alternaive ways of no choice but to flee their homes, aiity of present progress and the
life. The choice is too often not a free creating another tragic human ezo- promise of more to come.- ?
one' des? Let us lay the foaidationlora bipar-
One way of .life is based upon the lathe Face of daan -approach "to sustain 4 e rode.
will of the majority and is citron- I do not believe themajority -mi.ince and freedom of-,the own.
l
guished by free institutions represent, '1605 Of Central America. We In the
ative government, free elections, 4n the Congress or .the country that Administration reach o uttoyouin this
guarantees of individual liberty, t,.,. auisels passivity, resignation, do-
'ApfitL
dom of speech and religion and free_ featism in the face of this challenge to
dom from political oppression. freedom and securityin our bemi. 4 Bask Goals
"The second way of life is based sphere
n. We win pursu four ot believe that a majority of Central Ame e basic goals upon the will of a minority forcibly im- the Congress or the cam
Posed upon the majority. It relies try is pre. First, In response to decades of
upon terror and oppression, a con- Pared to stand by Passively while the inequity and indifference, we will sup.
trolled press and radio, fixed elec- people of Central America are deliv- port democracy, reform and human
tions, and.the suppression of personal . ered to totalitarianism and we our- freedom. This Means using our assist
freedoms. selves are left vulnerable to new dan. ance, our powers of Persuasion and
"I believe that it must be the policy gers. our Only last week an official of the mane democratic leverage to bolster ho-
of the United States to support free Soviet Union reiterated Brezhnev's ' already exist and systems
countries they
l .
subjugation by armed mminoritiesoror threat to station nuclear missiles in their. way to that goal complete the
by outside pressures. this hemisphere - five minutes from Process as quickly as human institu.
"I believe that we must assist free the United States. Like an echo, Ni- ' tionns can be changed. Elections = in
peoples to work out their own destin- cragua s Commandante, Daniel Orte- El Salvador and also in Nicaragua -
ies in their own way. ga, confirmed that, if asked, his cam- must be open to all, fair and safe. The
"I believe that' our help should be try would consider accepting those international community must, help.
Primarily through economic and missiles. I understand that today they We will work at human rights prob-
financial aid, which is essential to eco- maybe having second thoughts. lems, not walk away from them.
nomic stability and orderly political Now, before I go any further, let me Second, in response to the challenge
to those who invoke the memory of world recession and, in the case of
processes.
"Collapse of free institutions and of Vietnam: There is no thought of El Salvador, to the unrelenting cam-
loss of independence would be disas- sending American combat troops to paign of economic sabotage by the
? trous not only for them but for the central America. They are not needed guerrillas, we will support economic
world. Discouragement and possibly indeed, they have not been re- development. By a margin of 2.to-1,
failure would quickly be the lot of : quested there. All our neighbors ask-of our aid is economic, not military. Sev-
neighboring peoples striving to main- us is assistance in training and arms entY:sseveru cents out of every dollar
taro their freedom and independ- to nisei life. s lves while they build we will spend in the area this year
ence. a better, goes for food, fertilizers and other es-
The Same Stakes Today Backing Regional Efforts sentials for economic growth and
development. And our economic pro-
The countries of Central America We must continue to encourage gram goes beyond traditional aid:
are smaller than the nations that peace among the nations of Central The Caribbean Basin initiative intro-
prompted President Truman's men- America. We must support the re- duced in the House earlier today will
sage. But the political and strategic gional efforts now under way to pro. provide powerful trade and invest-
stakes are the same. Will our response mote solutions to regional problems. - meat incentives to help these countris
- economic, social, military - be as . We cannot be certain that the Marx- achieve self-sustaining -'economic
appropriate and successful as Mr. ist-Leninist bands who believe war is growth without exporting U.S. jobs.
Truman's bold solutions to the prob. an instrument of politics will be read- Our goal must be to focus our im-
lems of postwar Europe? ily discouraged. It is crucial that we mense and growing technology to en-
Some people have forgotten the sun not become discouraged before they hance health care, agriculture, indus-
cesses
s of of those years - and the dec. do. Otherwise the region's freedom try; to insure that we who inhabit this
ad es prosperity and freedom will be lost and our security damaged interdependent region come to know
they secured. in ways that can hardly be calculated. and understand each other better, re-
Some people talk as though the . If Central America were to faU; mining our diverse identities, respect-
United States were incapable of act.. what would the consequences be for fug our diverse traditions and'institu-
ing effectively in international affairs' our position in Asia and Europe and bons.
without risking war or damaging for alliances such ? as NATO? If the, those we seek to help.
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U.S. Military Support
Third, in ' response to the military
challenge from Cuba and Nicaragua
- to their deliberate use of force -to
spread tyranny - we will support the
security of the region's threatened na-
tions. We do not view security assist.
ance as an end in itself but as a shield
for democratization, economic devel-
opment and diplomacy. No amount of
reform will bring peace so long as
guerrillas believe they will win by
force. No amount of economic help
will suffice if guerrilla units can de-
stroy roads, bridges, power stations
and crops again and again with im-
punity. But with better training and
material'help, our neighbors can hold
off the guerrillas and give democratic
reform time to take root.
Fourth,. we will support dialogue
and negotiations - both among the
countries of the region and within
each country. The terms and condi-
tions of participation in elections are
negotiable. Costa Rica is a shining ex-
ample of democracy. Honduras has
made the move from military rule to a
democratic Government. Guatemala
is pledged to the same course. The
United States will work-toward a polit-
ical solution in Central America which
will serve the interests of the demo-
cratic process.
Assurances of Support
To support these diplomatic goals, I
offer these assurances:
gThe United States will support any
agreement among Central American
countries for the withdrawal - under
fully verifiable and reciprocal condi-
tions - of all foreign military and so.
curity advisers and troops.
qWe want to help opposition groups
. join the political process in all coun-
tries and compete by ballots instead of
bullets.
qWe will support'any verifiable, re-
ciprocal agreement among Central
American countries an the renuncia-
tion of support for Insurgencies on
neighbors: territory.
q And, finally, we Tiesire to belp.Cen-.
tral America end its costly arms-race-
and will support any verifiable, recip-
rocal agreements on the nonimporta-
tion of offensive weapons.
An Ambassador at Large
To move us toward these goals more
rapidly, I am tonight announcing my
intention to name an Ambassador.at
Large as my special envoy to Central-
America. He or-she will seportstp t
through the Secretary -of State:-The
Ambassador's responsibilities will be
to lend U.S. support to the - ding to W i.
regional governments-to?bzing`pesoe
to this troubled area and to'avork
closely with the Congress to assume
the fuullestVossible bipartisan Worth-
nation of our policies toward- the re-
gion.
.. ~. _. ;.t 3: 7!?i "."Yt~ vt.:it ? , n.~_
What I am asking for is prompt Cont.
gressionai.approval for the fullarepro. ~
gramming, of funds for, ]Fey ,current
economic and security programs eo
that the people of Central America
can hold the line against externally
supported aggression. In. addition, I
am asking for prompt action on the
supplemental request in these same
areas to carry us through the current
fiscal year. and for early and favorable-
Congressional action on my.requests:
for fiscal year 1984. Finally, 1 am ask-
ing that t'he : bipartisan consensus, -
which last year acted on the trade and,
tax provisions of the Caribbean, Basin
Initiative in the Horse, again take.the
lead to move this vital proposal to the
floor of both chambers. And, as.I, said
before, the'greatest share of these re-
quests is targeted toward economic
and humanitarian aid, not military.
What the Administration is asking
for on behalf of freedom in Central
America is so small, so minimal -
considering what is at stake. The total
amount requested for aid to all of Cen-
tral America in 1984 is about $800 mil-
lion; that is less 'than one-tenth of
what Americans will spend this year
on coin-operated video games.
In summation, I say to you that to-
night there can be no question: The
national security of all the Americas
is at stake in Central America. If we
cannot defend ourselves there, we
canot expect to prevail elsewhere.
Our credibility would collapse, our at-'
lances would crumble and the safety
of our homeland would be put at jeop-
ardy.
We have a vital`rest. a' morltl
duty and a solemn responsibility.
This is not a partisan issue. It is a :
question of-our meeting our moral .re- .
sponsibility to ourselves, our friends':
and our posterity. It is a duty that falls
to all of us - the President, the Con-
gress; and the people. We must per=
form it together. Who among us would
wish to bear responsibility for falling,
to meet our shared obligation?
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