CIA WAS BEHIND TOPPLING OF PASTORA, CONTRAS SAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000200880043-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 14, 2010
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: May 31, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14: CIA-RDP91-00587R000200880043-9
VM!AP
sili
STAT
31 May 1986
CIA Was Behind Toppling
Of Pastors, Contras Say
Associated Press
Nicaraguan rebel leader Eden
fa tpta_,quit the contra war effort
after six of his top lieutenants left
his command to join a rival U.S.-
backed umbrella group at the urg-
ing of a man known to them as a
:,IA officer, according to officials o--
nval contra factions.
Rebel officers said a man iden-
'ified only by the cover name of
'Armando" but previously known to
them as a CIA contact offered Pas-
tora's commanders military aid if
they would join the U.S.-sponsored
United Nicaraguan Opposition
(UNO). The rebels, known as con-
tras or counterrevolutionaries,
were told that the military aid
would come through UNO but not
where it would originate.
The desertions by all but one of
his top commanders led Pastora to
quit the contras two weeks ago and
complain that "this is a war of the
United States against Nicaragua."
Since 1984, Congress has barred
the Central Inteligence Agency
from giving military aid and advice
to the contras, although the agency
is allowed to exchange intelligence
with them. The CIA has also secret-
ly funneled several million dollars to
the rebels for political projects this
past year, U.S. officials say.
Rebel officials said UNO's Costa
Rican-based forces recently re-
ceived five shipments of arms that
were used to entice Pastora's poor-
ly supplied troops to switch alle-
giances. Bosco Matamoros, a contra
spokesman, said UNO's military
supplies came from "international
sources" but would not elaborate.
Asked about a CIA role in Pas-
tora's downfall, CIA spokeswoman
Kathy Pherson had no commgnt.
Pastora, now seeking political asy-
lum, is being detained by Costa Ri-
can authorities. In a telephone in-
terview from jail, he also declined to
discuss the alleged CIA role.
The rebel officials, representing
both Pastora and UNO, said they
have known "Armando" as an Amer-
ican CIA officer attached to the
U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. The
rebels, including Alvaro Jerez, a
leader of a Pastora-allied group,
said "Armando" has been for several
years a CIA liaison to the rebels.
One Nicaraguan at a weeklong
series of meetings in Costa Rica
said "Armando" offered military aid
to Pastora's commanders but in-
sisted they first join UNO. On May
9, the Nicaraguan said, the com-
manders signed an agreement.
The ouster of Pastora culminates
three years of CIA attempts to
force the charismatic former San-
dinista commander to unite with
competing factions of the contra
rebel movement and accept greater
U.S. control.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14: CIA-RDP91-00587R000200880043-9