PRIVATE GROUPS STEP UP AID TO CONTRAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200007-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: May 3, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200007-2
1F-12;L LTFFk2
Dg FADE
,%'ASdI\?T )N D3ST
3 `1iv 193
Private Groups Step Up Aid
to `Contras'
By Peter H. Stone
Sornal to Thr Wa%h,nginn Po',
Whether President Reagan
regionwide. About $3 million of that has Jenkins said in an interview that his group
gone to refugees in Honduras, where many has sent $1.5 million in medical aid to ref-
of the families of Nicaraguan contras are ugee groups in Honduras, including some
living. Miskito Indians. His wife, Diane, a group
The president of the Americares Foun- director, said the aid includes 25,000 "shoe-
dation, Robert C. Macauley, acknowledged boxes" from private donors.
that there is no way to guarantee that re- "They're like little CARE packages [with)
cipients are apolitical. Other aid donors, a pound of beef, rice, soap, vitamins, can-
such as Singlaub, openly are helping the dies and salt," she said, and sometimes in-
"contras" fight the Sandinistas. clude fishing lines, hooks and a mirror or
In a recent interview, Singlaub said that, photographs of the donors. She said they
he has raised almost $2 million outside the! are worth $25 to $30 each.
United States for arms for the Nicaraguan,. Imposition of U.S. economic sanctions
rebels, primarily through the World Anti-; against Nicaragua, announced Wednesday
Communist League. (U.S. law bans fund by President Reagan, will lead to "thou-
raising inside U.S. borders for weapons to, sands of people fleeing out of Nicaragua,
be sent overseas.) He and Calero said they, and we hope to increase our efforts," espe-
were seeking military and financial help cially on the Pacific Coast near the Ni-
congressional approval of funds for rebels
fighting Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista gov-
ernment, a private-sector campaign involv-
ing well-known conservatives is intensifying
its efforts to keep the insurgents well-
supplied.
The rebels continue to claim that they
.are well-funded, though it is impossible to
establish precisely where the money is com-
ing from. The two most prominent and ac-
tive support groups identified so far are the
World Anti- u e e (WACL) and,
its U.9 c the United States Council;
for World Freedom (USCWF). The head of
bo organizations - isretired Army major from WACL chapters in South America, caraguan border, Jenkins said.
general John K. Si ub, who was ousted noting that the chapters in Brazil and Ar- Singlaub said the U.S. drive by USCWF .
as chief of s a of U.S. Aces in South Ko- gentina are large and active. and its allies is bringing in just under
rea in 1977 when he publicly criticized The. humanitarian side of Singlaub's $500,000 a month, one third to one half of
President Jimmy Carter. drive-collecting medicine, food, clothing it from a group of wealthy Texas conserva-
Singlaub apparently is an informal link and other nonlethal aid-has focused on tives. They include Bert Hurlbut, president
among several other organizations raising domestic donors. This effort, he said, "has of First Texas Royalty and Exploration Co.,
money and political support for the "contra" the support of the White House, the Pen- j prominent, conservative donor Ellen St.
rebels, whom they call "freedom fighters." Ji tagon and [the Department of] State.." John Garwood and Mr. and Mrs. John How-
laub works actively for the Ni- ell of Howell Instruments. All confirmed
donors and membership lists of Sin
The boards
,
g
these groups overlap, often reading like. a caraguan rebels' cause. Six weeks ago he
"Who's Who".of the right. They say that in was at a contra training camp with Calero
the wake of congressional refusal to provide offering advice and encouragement and
U.S. aid to the rebels, it is up to private promising to do more fund-raising. Within
Taiwan, according to retired Air Force lie
citizens to show U.S. support for democrat- days, the general was seeking donations at
is efforts worldwide. ! a Palm Springs meeting of the conservative, tenant colonel Albert Koen, who was
Adolfo Calero, political chief of the Ni- 400-member Council for National Policy, USCWF treasurer until May 1984. Koen
caraguan Democratic Force, the largest made up of business, religious and political, said conservative Colorado businessman
rebel group, said in an interview that a sub- leaders, of which he is a board-member. Joseph Coors was one of the group's few
stantial. part" of his arms 'funds have come Singlaub also is a board member of West-
through Singlaub. He said his cash flow has ern Goals, a conservative educational group, early backers and remains a -staunch sup-
improved recently, and estimated his total founded by the late Rep. Larry McDonald porter.
receipts at "close to $10 million," of which The USCWF board includes several
(D-Ga.), and is on the advisory board of Ref- prominent conservatives: Retired lieuten-
40 percent is arms and the rest nonlethal ! u gee Relief International, an, organization' p
help. ' that has aided Salvadoran refugees that was! ant general Daniel 0. Graham of High Fron-
Many 'organizations send humanitarian established by editors of Soldier of Fortune'' tier, the "Star Wars" lobby, as vice chair-
aid to refugees in the area and try to avoid , -magazine, a journal specializing in stories' man; Anna Chennault, president of Trans-
ation and Communications (TAC) In-
supplying any of the various armed groups. about mercenaries. Singlaub has said he has port
The Connecticut-based Americares Foun- helped raise funds for Friends of the Amer ternational;- John Fisher of the American
dation, for example, dispatched $14 million icas, a Louisiana-based ,group chaired by' Security Council; former U.S. represent-
in medical aid last year, mostly to El Sal- Louisiana state Rep. Woody Jenkins, a con-~ ative John LeBoutillier (R-N.Y.), and Sam-
vador, and plans $20 million this year, dis- servative Democrat. 1 my Y. Jung, a Korean business consultant..
tributed through Knights of Malta groups Hurlbut, who sits on the advisory-board
of the USCWF, said he heard about Sing-
laub through High Frontier while-helping it
raise funds. Since he joined iii 1982,-"the
that they had made donations.
Singlaub set up the U.S. Council for
World' Freedom in Phoenix, Ariz., in late
1981 with a loan of about $20,000 from
u-
Approved For Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200007-2
 Approved For Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200007-2
a -
general and I have been working the fund- "This program has been coordinated by
raising side of the street," Hurlbut said. He the JHonduran] president's wife, the amba- ram war he ran a classified covert operation
has traveled around the world with Singlaub sador's wife and my wife," Woellner said. from war h to l c known as the Studies
and said the general is "treated like royalty Former U.S. ambassador to Honduras Phii- and O1966 6
bservation Grou , or SOG. Using
by resistance forces everywhere." ip Sanchez is now head of Causa's U.S' about 10,000 men, v ran secret raids,
Hurlbut has been heading the private branch, and its board of directors includes
svc old ical operations in
drive in Texas with Singlaub. He said he Daniel Graham of High Frontier and Lloyd sabotage and
North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos .
~,nd Mrs. Garwood have contributed more Bucher, commander of the USS Pueblo His
deputy during that program was Brig.
than $100,000, but emphasized that the when it was captured by North Korea. Gen. Harry C. Aderholt, who now runs the
money is used for medicine, food and cloth- WACL's most visible annual activities Gn. Air Command w runs the
ing for the contras, their families and ref- have been its conventions and its World Florida-based transports r om adoal sso other that ogees. Freedom Day rallies. Since the early 1970s, supplies to refugees, primarily in El Sal-
Sal-
"None of the funds from this country go WACL conventions in Europe, Latin Amer-
for hardware. We've sohcited funds else- ica and Asia have drawn delegates from 100 vador.
Another torganization, the Ci
where for that. The entire WACL board is member countries and international groups. Another
to help out with arms," Hurlbut said. Recently they have included representa- viln thMilitary en transport r Tom Posey and Assistance based in in Group, , headed
imy
The WACL chapter in France "has been tives from the anti-Castro Cuban terrorist very good in helping out" and the one in group Alpha 66 and the far right Italian po- more has sent than several volunteer members teams nationwtdide and
fight
Britain "has been getting more involved," he litical party Italian Social Movement. The with the contras. Two of its men were killed
said, referring to arms purchases. Chapters Italian terrorist group Ordine Novo, Cro- w wept. the
1 when their helicopter was' shot "
in Taiwan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia atian terrorist organizations and the Argen- down over Nic
are among.the most active and generous, tine AAA death squads also were repre- wn Nicaragua.
for
sented, according to freelance writer Hen- Fred Last year,
kle, the Singlaub laub headed adedr a of panel
defense
each contributing more than $100,000 a rik Kruger, author of the book "The Great rthe uof
of
year for WACL general operating purposes Heroin Coup." for the
more unconventional unconh ch rec. recommended warfare onde America. Also last year, tactics use s to La in
and more for emergencies or special pro- Calero mentioned that he attended the more police. which
jects, Hurlbut said. His statements could WACL convention last September in San
not be independently confirmed. Diego and discussed contra needs with two set up a private center in boulder, Colo.,
The World Anti-Communist League was WACL board members: Ku and Belgian called the Institute for Regional and inter-
formed in' Taiwan in .1967 as an outgrowth Sen. Robert Close, a retired general who national Studies. He said it will "recruit peo-
of the Asian Peoples "Anti-Communist heads the European branch. "They said they pIe" with intelligence-gathering and psvcho-
League, a regional' alliance against commu- logical operations skills to. train the Sal-
nism launched at the behest of Chiang Kai- were going to help and my understanding is vaaor police and perhaps the Nicaraguan
shek after the Korean war. 'WACL board that they have come through," Calero said. rends.
member and honorary chairman Dr. Ku.', ': Hurlbut said some USCWF board mem- Singlaub is, now',,.planning this year's
Cheng-kang, head of the Taiwan chapter, b6rs have helped in innovative ways. Sam- USCWF conference in Dallas this Septem-
has been a high level member of the ruling my Jung, the Korean consultant to Amer bor. The final night's-schedule is set: it will
Nationalist Party in Taiwan .for almost 50 ( ican, Korean and Taiwanese firms, has ob- be a "Freedom Fighters Ball and Banquet"
years. tamed a large quantity of clothing for 'the to support the contras.
Hurlbut maintained that the Taiwan and I contras at reduced rates. Hurlbut. said he is Staff writer Joanne Omang contributed td
South Korea chapters are sending $50,000 trying to get a wealthy clothing manufac- this report.
per month each to the contras. But Singlaub tuner in Taiwan to provide similarly inex-
said that was "wishful thinking" and that pensive clothing for the rebels, and said he
Hurlbut was not in a position to know the has approached the Mormon church about
figures. providing seed'packages in large quantities.
Some WACL chapters have close ties to In the past month, Singlaub has made
the Unification Church of the 'Rev. Sun fund-raising trips to Fort Worth and Palm
Myung Moon. The Japanese chapter of Springs, Fla., where he said he obtained
WACL was founded in the late 1960s by about $100,000 in commitments from fel-
Rvoichi Sasakawa, a wealthy conservative low members of the Council for National
businessman who now heads the Japanese ' Policy. The 400 or so members of this
Shipbuilding Industry Foundation. He was group,. headed until recently by Woody
jailed as a war criminal after World War II Jenkins, are religious, business and political
and subsequently helped start the Unifica- conservatives including oil magnate Nelson
tion Church in Japan. Bunker Hunt, Christian Broadcasting Net-'
An arm of the Unification Church called work chief Pat Robertson, singer Pat Boone
Causa has run media seminars around Latin and Robert J. Perry of Perry Homes.
America for several years in the "cause" of An aide to Hunt confirmed that he has
anti-communism. Its director, retired gen- donated funds to aid Miskito Indians; Hurl-
eral E. David Woellner, said the group has ' but said Perry was a contributor to refugee
"set up our own channels of shipment and aid, but Perry could not be reached.
programs" to aid refugee groups in Hondu- Much of Singlaub's 35-tear-military ca-
ras with food, clothing, toys, blankets and 1 reer invo ved classified programs and co-
canvas for tents. He said the estimated $1 Vert operations. starting witn the Office of
million in aid the group has sent since mid-
1984 included a field kitchen, and that for-
mer U.S. ambassador John Negroponte had
provided "cooperation."
Strategic Services in or War 11 an ten
as a CIA station chief in uk en, China. He
was deputy CIA station chief in outh Korea
during the war there, and during the Vi-et-
Approved For Release 2010/08/20: CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200007-2