DISPUTE HAMPERS NICARAGUA REBELS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000403940043-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2010
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: November 4, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000403940043-6
ARTICLE APPEARg~D
ON PAGE _.11L
DISPUTE HAMPERS
NICARAGUA REBELS.
NEW YORK TIMES
4 November 1985
The three directors of the United
Nicaraguan Opposition, Adolfo Calero,
Arturo Cruz and Alfonso Robeb, were
brought together by the Administration
in March in a successful effort to per-
suade Congress to back an apparently
more unified rebel alliance. It was the
second time that the Administration
had sought new civilian leaders to raise
By JAMES LeMOYNE the rebels' political appeal.
special to The New York Times But in the last six months the three
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Nov. 3 newly appointed directors have been
unable to agree on how the organize.
- The leaders of the main Nicaraguan
tion should be structured and on who
j anti-Government rebel alliance are should be appointed to key positions,
divided by politically damaging dis- both rebel and American officials say.
agreements over the objectives and They have also argued over how to pun-
tactics of the rebel movement, accord- ish human rights abuses and over what Jug to r5 aael Americas officials as specific political objectives the rebels
well as Congressianal eYg4 are fighting for, the same sources said.
Their dispute appears to have Rights Abuses Are Issue
blunted the appeal of the rebels, who The directors particularly disagree
are grouped under the newly formed over whether the rebels' goal is to over
United Nicaraguan opposition, known throw the Sandinistas or only to force
by its Spanish acronym of UNO. the Sandinistas to negotiate, a number
of rebel officials said,
Despite new civilian directors, re- Mr. Cruz and Mr. Robelo have de-
newed American financing and advice manded a genuinely independent
from the Central Intelligence Agency, human rights commission able to pun-
the guerrillas have not begun to make ish rebel troops, according to rebel and
the political impact inside Nicaragua Congressional sources. The two direc-
or abroad that rebel and American offi- tors have also argued that, the rebels
cials say they had hoped for. should be ready to negotiate with the
Sandinistas and should prepare spe.
UNO leaders have been unable to cific proposals to be discussed, the
agree on a coordinated political and same sources said.
military strategy and have failed to at- Rebel officials blame the Reagan Ad-
tract active support from more than a ministration for some of their prob-
minority of the tens of thousands of isms. A senior UNO official said the
Nicaraguans who have fled Nicaragua rebels were $500,000 in debt because the
delive to Costa Rica, Honduras and the United Administration had delayed in r-
ing $27 million in nonlethal aid aid ap.
States, rebel and American, officials proved by Congress to pay for medi-
say. cine, clothes and food.
t,U.i "It's been awash so far," Represent- Rebel officials also complain of re-
ative Dave McCurdy, Democrat of ceiving conflicting signals from the
Oklahoma, said in a telephone inter- Centf'al Intelligence Agency, the Na-
tional Securit Council the State De-
Y
ten their act together. They aren't gain-
ing momentum."
Q Mr. McCurdy is a member of the
House Intelligence Commitee, which
monitors the guerrilla movement. He
strongly supported renewed financial
aid to the rebels. An American official
who monitors the rebels said he was
becoming pessimistic about their
chances in the absence of a political
program capable of attracting greater
support.
If they don't get together, we could
face a prolonged Bay of Pigs," he said.
Directors Differ on Alms
The rebels' difficulties appear to be
partly inevitable as the Reagan Admin-
istration tries to transform a purely
military rebel army originally trained
and financed three years ago by the
Central Intelligence Agency and Ar-
gentina into a broader-based opposition
pertinent and the White House.
"The Administration doesn't know
what its policy is," a senior rebel offi-
cial said. "It has not decided if it wants
to overthrow the Sandinistas or if it
wants to negotiate with them."
Behind the Disputes
Some of the disputes between the
UNO leaders seem to reflect a simple
power struggle, with each of the three
directors trying to appoint people loyal
to him to top positions. Other differ-
ences appear more ideological.
Mr. Cruz and Mr. Robelo appear to
represent the more liberal wing of the
rebel opposition. Both are former sen-
ior Sandinista officials who actively
supported the Sandinistas in their
struggle to overthrow Anastasio
Somoza Debayle, the Nicaraguan
dictator, and whose supporters include
a number of disaffected former Sandin-
stas. Mr. Calero is a former business-
man who appears to represent the con-
servative wing of the rebel pposition.
movement with a well-defined political i Most of the troops in guerrilla
program- army are conservative, Roman Catho-
But the obstacles have proved lic.peasants from northern Nicaragua
greater than-expected,. according to dedicated to overthrowing the Sandin-
rebel and American officials as well as istas. Many, though by no means all, of
Congressional sources who were inter- Mr. Calero's aides and important back-
viewed in Costa Rica, Honduras, ers were sympathetic to Mr. Somoza
Miami and Washington in recent and the Nicaraguan National Guard.
weeks. Some are former NationalhGuard offi-
cers.
UNO directors have been made more
acute because Mr. Calero is also the
head of the Nicaraguan Democratic
Force, the largest and most effective
guerrilla army. The position has al-
lowed Mr. Calero to forge close ties
with the White House and the C.I.A. As
a consequence, Mr. Cruz and Mr.
Robelo feel literally outgunned by Mr.
Calero and at times have thought that
when they argue with Mr. Calero they
are also arguing with the C.I.A., ac-
cording to three different rebel offi-
cials.
'UNO Will Not Dissolve'
Mr. Cruz and Mr. Robelo have no
regular contact with top military com-
manders in Mr. Calero's rebel army,
the officials said.
"There is no sense among the mili-
tary commanders of what the UNO
stands for," a senior UNO official said.
A Congressiaei who moni-
tors the rebel movesaid that in
some key debates the C.I.A. has en-
tered the discussion and backed Mr.
Calero against Mr. Cruz and Mr. Robe-
lo. At other times, however, the C.I.A.
has sided with Mr. Cruz and Mr. Robe.
lo, the source said.
In an interview here, Mr. Calero
denied that there had been significant
disputes within the UNO leadership. He
said enemies of the rebels were trying
to create discord with damaging
rumors.
"We are an alliance and naturally
there are differences," Mr. Calero
said. "But the UNO will not dissolve. In
fact, it will become stronger."
However, Congressional and rebel
sources said in interviews that the dis-
putes had been strong enough for Mr.
Cruz to consider resigning two months
ago, an option, they said, that he still
may choose.
'I'm Not Ready to Quit'
Mr. Cruz refused to say in an inter-
view if he had almost resigned, adding
that he intended to stay in the UNO.
"We have an obligation to continue
working to create an effective UNO,"
Mr. Cruz said. "It's very difficult, but
I'm not ready to quit."
Mr. Robelo could not be reached for
comment, despite repeated telephone
calls to his office. A Western official
said that the rebels also had practical
difficulties and that in particular they
needed to create a more rational logis-
tic~l system.
At present giost supplies for the
Nicaraguan Democratic Force army
are handled by Mr. Calero and by Mr.
Calero's brother and brother-in-law,
the official said. He added that the
C.I.A. had said."the existing structure
should not bq changed" in order not to
demoralize Mr. Calero's supporters.
Mr. Calero defended his organization,
saying that it had proved itself over
three years to be the only rebel force
capable of attracting enough support to
mount a sustained campaign against
the Sandinistas.
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000403940043-6