REACTION TO AFGHANISTAN: LATIN AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81B00401R000600200052-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 2, 2005
• Sequence Number: 52
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release Z Q 1 P.&Tf -RDP81 B00401 R000600200052-0
Reaction to Afghanistan: Latin America
Most of Latin America--with the.exceptions of Nicaragua
and Grenada--opposed the Soviet invasion and supported the
US response. However, the US olympic boycott effort is
viewed by most as part of a superpower rivalry either irrelevant
to their interests, potentially damaging to their Third
World credentials, or running counter to their independent
foreign policy lines. In the more sophisticated states, a
perception of US foreign policy as weak, inconsistent and
frequently ineffective--and a view of the boycott as tied to
domestic election politics--reinforces their tendency to main-
tain distance between themselves and initiatives that are
clearly of US origin.
Subsequent US efforts have consequently not had a
substantial impact on the policies of states in the area.
Major regional actors such as Mexico have refrained from any
official response beyond support of the UN resolution condemn-
ing the invasion. Brasilia's dependence on Middle East oil and
Buenos Aires interest in improving economic relations with
Moscow strongly incline them toward Olympic participation.
Others such as Panama and Costa Rica, which condemned the
Soviet action, have nonetheless initially indicated they
plan to send teams to Moscow. These states and others
leaning against a boycott heavily outweigh the rightist
regimes and Caribbean ministates that have supported the
boycott.
Approved For Release 2005/11/23 : CIA-RDP81 800401 R000600200052-0