CIA CHIEF WARNS OF 'COUP PLOTTING' IN LATIN AMERICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000401650021-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: February 9, 1989
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

S1, Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/24: CIA-RDP99-01448R000401650021-0
STAT
CIA Chief Warns of 'Coup
Plotting'. in .Latin America
By JACK NELSON, Times Washinpion Bureou Chief
WASHINGTON-CIA Director
William H. Webster warned
Wednesday of increasing unrest
and "coup plotting" in Latin Amer.
ican countries and declared that a
bipartisan policy must be deveI.
opcd to support covert action in the
region.
Some of the democracies in the
region are so fragile. he told The
Dimes, that their survival depends
"upon the attitude of their military
and the capacity of their military to
Webster expressed particular
President Carlos Salinas de Gortar-
America and see outer similar signs
of coup plotting," he said. "There is
no eey solution. but_tt'a_not-any
n Panama, Webster said
mill-
,
~-y strongman Manuel A. N' mie-
ga's "survival capacities are good"
and that despite U.S. economic and
political pressures designed to
force him out after he was indicted
in Florida on drug trafficking
charges, "he's in no imminent dan-
ger unless new initiatives are de
-
veloped." ;
The pressures on Norlega con-
to be strong and he still must
faces increasingly severe economic
problems, labor strikes and pro=
tests as well as widespread official
corruption in narcotics trafficking.
"1 know that the Administration
would like to give Salinas all the
support that it can and help them
through their debt problem so that
It would become one of the anchors
in a good, sound Latin American
Policy." Webster declared. "But it's
like every other place down there.
It is fragile."
In his foreign policy, President
Bush can be expected to give high
priority to Latin America because
"he has to do that," said Webster,
predicting that Mexico .will be
given far more attention than it has
been in the past."
In a breakfast interview with
reporters and editors of The Ti
other economic responsibilities, but
he has learned to live with a
_--diminished economy,. according-to-
Webster. The CIA' director noted
that the United States still lacks a
clearly defined policy on how to
deal with Noriega.
Since such pressures have not
forced his ouster, Webster said, it is
up to President Bush to consider
whether to try to increase the
pressures or turn to "alternatives,"
which the CIA director declined to
define.
On the issue of covert action,
Webster did not specify what kinds'
of activity he had in mind or in
which countries such action should
be applied. But he said that as
_ someone assigned"to.come-up with.-
covert support for our foreign poli-
cy and convince the Congress that
what we propose to do is good and
should be done and should be
funded through covert action pro.
grams ... I know how important it.
is that a bipartisan approach to
these solutions be developed. We
are not on our own. We have
oversight committees that regulate
the extent to which we can func-
064
Washington Bureau, Webster
al s
STAT,id that in El Salvador and many
other, Latin -American -countries
that Is so much unrest it to difficult
to predict what will happen and
that this is one of the biggest
problems facing Secretary of State
James A. Baker M..
T"There's no question (about} the
STA+oblems in Nicaragua, concurrent
problems in Honduras and because
of the Nicaraguan problem, Pana-
ma, Haiti.... You can just go
down the list and go into South
The Washington Post
The New York Times
The Washington Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
New York Daily News
USA Today
The CCiicago Tribune
lion in support of these progra n&'
Discussing the situation in me*.
Co. Webster said that some people
there have been encouraged by the
forceful way that Saline moved
-_ against.the-allegedly-corrupt-lead--
ership of the oil workers union last
month and then acted to prevent
violence and protect oil Installa-
tions after the protesting oil work.
ers disrupted production through.
out that country.
Salinas' action was seen in Me)d-
co as a message that the new
president Intends to curb the power
that unions traditionally have ex-
erted. sometimes violently, In the
country's economy and within ;tai
ruling Inatttug anal Revolutionary
pany.
. The Saline government also
recently asked to examine infoar.
station-In-U.9.-investigative-dies,
allegedly liking some of Mexico'..
top law enforcement officials with,
narcotics was reluctant to discuss the matter-
because Saline had stipulated that ,
he wanted no publicity.
Some U .SL offlclal have ex.
pressed fear, that turning over.:
information to Mexican authorities
could cornproani,e sensitive U.&.;
Intelligence sources.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/24: CIA-RDP99-01448R000401650021-0