ALLEGED COVERT ACTION BEING CONDUCTED IN CENTRAL AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000202230069-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 23, 2010
• Sequence Number: 69
• Publication Date: April 12, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00552R000202230069-9
April 1983 = CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENAT~
MoymmAn pointed out last week, we be
COVER2'' eve that most Members of the
BEING COI COVER '` AIN ?CC'IT^N.ON have spent a full 25 percent of our Senate Will be satisfied that the Intel-
time on these matters. Members of the ligence community is living up to its
TRAL Air ZR,ICA > . "
committee and committee staff have obligations under the law. The Secre-
Mr.- GOLDWATER..Mr." Pres'ident,. traveled in Central America at my re- of State and our
Lary
over the been ip 7 several week3 the media quest, our questions have been an- the 'United Nations have bsaid, ""The
has th stories re,>ardi a swered and our concern have be 'United States Gove
alleged t.il covert action in Cent,'-a] heard. _ rnment is not
America. It has been said that the. Mr. President, this talk of a~c'-- i the
risis of Stag . ver mart ,and the nited
United States is supporting an effort confidence is a throwback to the rhet- the law." I n cur would note break
to overthrow the Sandinita's Marxist, one of the 1970's when the Church- view i the
the t cones context with o this et point of
inspired military dictatorship in Nica- and Pike committees were, crawling. alleged
e
action directed against the tMarxist
ragua.: - :. ? _ : , :. Into the headlines on the backs of the regime in Nicaragua;.
High administration officials, Mem- intelligence community. I see no need bers of Congress and others have ap. and no value to digging up all this old N=areaz xaMz
71
parently been talking -freely about rhetoric:. I. think. that we can make a. It seems to me that the crux of this
these matters. The New York Times lot more sense out of what is going on. debate involves whether or not. the
even published what it claims is a top In Central America if we leave these brow ..trying .to , over-
secret National Security Council docu- -old ghosts. in. the closet where -they- tow theMarxist military regime in
rnent' relating to these allegations. belong.. r Managua, Nicaragua Most of my col-
Now, this is deplorable, Mr. President, ---vsor.sTSo orrssi-w? leagues will remember. that when the
that what would appear to be the Na- Another member of the Senate In_- Sandinista for took control in Nicer-ragua in tion's secrets are so little regarded and telligence Committee has wondered 1979, they enjoyed the-sup.
so poorly protected that they ..daily aloud whether alleged covert action port of almost all political groups on
become grist for the media mill. activities directed against Nicaragua their country. They. had a .force of.`.
in the past, I have often spoken in violate the law. Now, I do- not think over.: 15,000: well-armed and . trained'
these Chambers on the issue of leaks that anyone questions the President's guerillas. Both the Carter admin stra
and proper security. We all know too legal authority to conduct covert . tion and Castro's Cuba supported the
well that, "It is the ship of state which action. Under the provisions of title ouster of President Somoza, who even:'
leaks at the top." Nonetheless_ w as 22, United States Code.. section 2422, tually fled with his palace guard to an
chaira^.an of the Senate Selec . Com- ' Presidential findings constitute both estate in Flordia. Later, he was mur
mittee on Intelligence, I feel a respon- the legal authority and ' the policy dered by a Sandinista. death squad in,
sibility to remind my colleagues of framework for covert action programs. Paraguay,
their obligation to protect the legiti- These programs are routinely briefed Since 1979,' the Marxist Sandinista';
mate secrets of this Nation regardless to the House and Senate Intelligence government in Nicaragua -has. devel-
of the apparent importance of an issue Committees which. in turn, report au-' oped the largest military force in Cen--
or the heat of debate. The unauthor- thorization legislation. to -fund them.. tral America.' They have improved. a.
ized disclosure of classified informa- Occasionally, covert action proposals dozen of their existing
bases, and have.
Lion may constructed almost:. 40 new mill
shcr-term advantage the in other
debates of and funds are withheld accordingly. : bases. They have built up a regular
:=- - sort, but' the long-term benefici- What is really at issue here is military force of-over 20,000 troops,
cries of this practice are usually the whether the U.S. Government is doing ' with reserves of over 20,000 and a mill
enemies of the United States. I believe anything in Central America whictia of almost 30,000: With this force,
there can be free debate without a would violate the so-called . Boland the Nicara_ guars can field over. 90 in-.-
free-for-all, and I urge my colleagues amendment. This amendment, which
to use restraint when discussing al- was passed last December by a vote of
leged covert action activities in public.
411 0 in. the House of Representatives,
cxiszs or conrzn eca
states:
L asst Reek, one of my. colleagues on Ssc 794. None of the funds provided in
the Senate Select Committee on Intel- this Act may be used by the Central Intelli.
ligence stated publicly that there was gence Agency or the Department of Defense
a crisis of confidence- between our to- furnish . military - equipment, =Wtaxy
committee and the intelligence- com-- training or advice, or other support for mfli-
mimity. He went on to say that this. Lary activities, to any group or individual,
crisis had come about over -reporting not part of a country's canes forces, for the
on -alleged covert action activities di purpose of overthrowing the Government of
rested against the Sandinista govern- Nicaragua or provoking a military exchange.
meat in Nicaragua, and he suggested between Nicaragua and Honduras.: - :
that we had not been kept fully in-, Mr. President, - I ' am- constrained
formed on these matters.- -?.: _ from discussing this - matter in.. any -
Mr- President, I'want to make it per- useful detail in an open forum of the
fectly clear that I believe we have - U.S. Senate. Nonetheless, the Senate
been kept fully and currently in_. Intelligence Committee has met in full
formed with respect to all intelligence committee session several times since
activities currently being conducted in the. Boland amendment became law
Central America. We-have had more specifically to address the question of
hearings and briefings on this part of whether it was being -observed. Tran.
the world over the past 2 years than - scripts-' of these sessions are available
on any other single subject. As our dis, to all Members of the Senate under-
tinguished vice chairman, Senator the provisions of Senate Resolution
400. In fact, a great deal of material on
this subject is available to Members
who are interested in seeing it. " -...: -
STAT
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00552R000202230069-9