LADBAC@UNMB.BITNET (Dr. Barbara A. Kohl) (10/21/89)
October 20, 1989
CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE
Copyright 1989
(Latin America Data Base, Latin American Institute, University
of New Mexico. Project Director: Dr. Nelson Valdes. Managing
Editor: Dr. Barbara A. Kohl)
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GENERAL
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SALVADORAN PEACE TALKS TO CONTINUE IN VENEZUELA NEXT MONTH
After extending talks for one day at a Roman Catholic
convent in Costa Rica, on Oct. 18 representatives of the
Salvadoran government and the Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front (FMLN) agreed to resume the talks next
month in Venezuela. (See CAU 10/18/89 for details of both
sides' proposals and summary of first two days of meeting.)
Justice Minister Oscar Santamaria said the agreement
was "no great achievement, but it strengthens the peace
process."
FMLN commander Shafik Handal said, "It's not something
spectacular, but it's a step on the path to a political
solution."
In a two-page final communique, the two delegations
listed differences on major issues such as how to define the
end of the war. According to the New York Times, several
members of the FMLN delegation were disappointed that the
communique did not include an agreement to prevent human
rights abuses and reduce the war's effects on civilians.
In San Salvador, a communique by the National
Salvadoran Workers Unity (UNTS) said that the government's
proposal presented in Costa Rica demonstrated that it lacked
"real power" which remains in the hands of the military,
evidenced by demands for the guerrillas' immediate surrender
and incorporation into civilian political life. The
statement said, "As long as the problems of the Salvadoran
majority are not resolved, there will be no peace."
According to the UNTS, since the civil war is an all-
encompassing phenomenon in El Salvador, an equally sweeping
solution to the war must be found. The communique said the
government's repression of civil liberties and economic
plans are forms of war rather than peace, while the cost of
such policies is borne mainly by workers.
The UNTS called on the government to "dismantle the
death squads, cease indiscriminate arrests, terminate
dismissals of public sector employees and restructure its
preferred economic model...that benefits only business
owners."
The communique asserted that recent assassinations of
labor union activists, as well as civilians and family
members of military officers "are part of the government's
strategy, perpetrated by members of ARENA [Nationalist
Republican Alliance] who oppose negotiations." (Basic data
from Notimex, Xinhua, 10/18/89; New York Times, 10/19/89)
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EL SALVADOR
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U.S. MEDICAL TEAM SAYS SALVADORAN ARMY CONDUCTS
CAMPAIGN AGAINST HEALTH CARE WORKERS
In an article published this week in The New England
Journal of Medicine, a team of seven US medical specialists
said the Salvadoran military has conducted a nationwide
campaign against doctors and health-care workers and
attacked guerrilla field hospitals in violation of the
Geneva convention. The team--comprised of five doctors, a
congressional staff aide, and a lawyer--visited El Salvador
for a week in June. The article said, "The arbitrary
refusal to allow the delivery of medical services, medicines
and other essential goods imperils the health of many
Salvadorans."
The team said the Salvadoran army violated the 1949
Geneva convention by having attacked several rebel field
hospitals and routinely denying doctors and health workers
access to conflict areas. The convention specifies that
medical personnel be protected, and the right to medical
care for the wounded and sick.
The team found that health care workers were subjected
to long delays in obtaining passes required to visit rural
areas, were routinely turned away at army roadblocks, and
are rarely permitted to take more than a few doses of
medicine into rural areas. Moreover, the military
interferes with public health campaigns. In one case
appearing in the report, army troops confiscated vaccines,
detained medical personnel and canceled a government-
approved Roman Catholic Church-sponsored campaign to
inoculate 1,000 children in Chalatenango department.
The medical team said the persecution of medical
personnel was part of a campaign to obstruct religious and
relief workers in order to undermine support for the
guerrillas. Lindsey Gruson of the New York Times said the
report includes several outdated statistics.
The report states that the Ministry of Health provides
little or no health care to the vast majority of
Salvadorans, and the government has actively obstructed
medical education. Health care in El Salvador, said the
team, is likely to continue deteriorating "disastrously."
Next, the investigators said they had not found "any
instance of systematic or intentional disruption of health
care" by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front
(FMLN) rebels despite a determined effort to document such
abuses. The team noted other types of rebel human rights
violations and said the rebel campaign of economic sabotage
had frequently prevented Salvadorans from receiving
necessary medical care. (Basic data from New York Times,
10/19/89)
EL SALVADOR: NOTE ON RECENT FIGHTING
On Oct. 18, Salvadoran military sources reported that
eight Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)
rebels were killed and five 6th Infantry Brigade troops
injured during combat in San Pedro Nonualco, located in
central El Salvador. Another rebel was killed in fighting
in San Vicente department. (Basic data from AFP, 10/18/89)
SALVADORAN REFUGEES IN HONDURAS REJECT
GOVERNMENT CONDITIONS FOR REPATRIATION
According to a report by Notimex dated Oct. 9, several
weeks ago Salvadorans residing at the Colomoncagua refugee
camp in Honduras announced their intent to return to their
places of origin, and rejection of an offer by the
Salvadoran government for relocation at the Normandia and
Nancuchiname farming communities in Usulutan department. On
numerous occasions, Salvadoran officials have accused
refugees residing in Honduran camps of collaborating with
the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).
Salvadoran Vice President Francisco Merino has said the
refugees' continued insistence on repatriation without
government direction and assistance demonstrates their links
to the FMLN.
Members of a commission representing the UNHCR, the
Honduran and Salvadoran governments were scheduled to visit
the camps at Colomoncagua, San Antonio, and Mesa Grande,
where 13,000 refugees reside. They will discuss relocation
to Normandia and Lancuchilame, Usulutan department.
On Oct. 9, some 1,500 Salvadoran refugees postponed
their return to El Salvador which had been scheduled for
Oct. 10, after the government reiterated its refusal to
permit them to return to their places of origin. The
Christian Pro-Displaced Committee (CRIPDES) announced that
the repatriation would be delayed until the government,
refugee representatives, and the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) establish an agreement guaranteeing the
refugees' safety.
In the first week of October, Deputy Interior Minister
Col. Carlos Humberto Figueroa announced that 13,000
Salvadoran refugees in Honduras will be repatriated in
January to the Nancuchiname and Normandia farms, regardless
of refugees' relocation preferences.
The Patronato para el Desarrollo Comunal (PADECOES)
announced in the same week that 8,000 residents at the
Colomoncagua camp have opted to begin repatriation on Nov.
15 to their places of origin in Los Hatos and El Barrial del
Cerro Pando, Manguera jurisdiction, Morazan department. The
refugees plan to return in groups of 2,000 at 15-day
intervals. (Basic data from Notimex, 10/09/89; 10/10/89
weekly summary by FMLN's Centro de Documentacion e
Investigacion)
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GUATEMALA
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GUATEMALA: MACROECONOMIC NOTES
On Oct. 16 in statements to Notimex, Central Bank
president and head of the Guatemalan Monetary Council,
Lizando Sosa, said estimated gross domestic product (GDP)
growth this year is 3.8%, slightly less than earlier
forecasts due to low world market prices for coffee exports.
Sosa predicted a 12% rate of inflation for the year,
and an 8% increase in export revenues.
In 1986, GDP growth was zero. In 1987, for the first
time in six years, the Guatemalan economy grew 2.7%, and in
1988, 3.7%. Inflation in 1987 was 12%, and in 1988, 10.8%.
Sosa said the Central Bank's foreign debt at present
totals $992 million, while at year-end 1988, the national
government's foreign obligations totaled $1.367 billion.
(Basic data from Notimex, 10/16/89)
GUATEMALA: CABINET RESHUFFLE, RESIGNATION
OF ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
On Oct. 16, Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo
presided during swearing-in ceremonies for two new cabinet
members. Ariel Rivera replaced Mario Palencia as Foreign
Minister, and Juan Francisco Pinto Casasola took over as
Finance Minister in place of Rodolfo Paiz Andrade.
According to the local media, Cerezo has selected
Carlos Morales Villatoro, a general and attorney, to take
over as Interior Minister, replacing Roberto Valle Valdizan.
On the same day, Guatemala's first Attorney General for
Human Rights, Gonzalo Menendez de la Riva, submitted his
resignation. Menendez said he resigned for personal reasons
linked to his advanced age.
Federico Pola, head of the Coordinating Committee of
Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial
Associations (CACIF), described the cabinet changes as
"innocuous." According to Pola, Paiz Andrade was to blame
for Guatemala's current economic crisis, reflected in the
high cost of living and deepening impoverishment. Since the
new Finance Minister, Juan Francisco Pinto Casasola, served
under Paiz Andrade as deputy minister, said Pola,
Guatemalans cannot expect significant changes in the
"imposition of arbitrary,...illegal laws" which has caused
"chaos and uncertainty" among taxpayers. (Basic data from
Notimex, 10/16/89)
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HONDURAS
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HONDURAS: BANANA PLANTATION EMPLOYEES RETURN
TO WORK AFTER 12-DAY STRIKE
In statements to reporters on Oct. 16, President Jose
Azcona Hoyo said that about 10,000 banana plantation
employees had returned to work after a 12-day strike. The
president said the US-based Castle and Cooke agreed to give
raises to 70 workers whose jobs at the El Huguerito
plantation were eliminated when a packing plant was sold.
The plantation is located 185 miles north of Tegucigalpa.
The labor dispute began Sept. 18 when Castle and Cooke
sold the plant to independent packers, and transferred the
workers without offering them a pay hike. Under Honduran
law, workers can be transferred only with their consent, and
providing there are economic benefits. Azcona said the
agreement with Castle and Cooke was reached four days ago in
talks which he mediated. The amount of the raise is yet to
be negotiated.
Azcona Hoyo had threatened to declare a state of
emergency after the Workers Confederation and the National
Farmworkers Organization announced plans to strike.
Combined membership of the two labor organizations is
500,000.
The president said that the strike caused the loss of
an estimated $5.3 million in export revenues.
Honduras exports 50 million 100-pound crates of bananas
per year to the US and Europe. Two US-based companies,
Castle and Cooke, and United Brands, account for 60% and
40%, respectively, of Honduran banana exports. (Basic data
from AP, 10/16/89)
HONDURAN ARMED FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF ACCUSED OF
MISAPPROPRIATING U.S. MILITARY AID
In its Oct. 14 edition, the New York Times reported
that unidentified senior military officers claim armed
forces commander Gen. Humberto Regalado Hernandez treated
millions of dollars in US military equipment as a personal
gift, and sold it to units under his command. The officers
said Regalado deposited the money into a special bank
account he personally controlled.
An unidentified commander of one major unit said he was
required to pay for fuel, batteries and tires provided by
the US under its military assistance program. The gasoline
acquired under the program was generally sold for about 5
cents a gallon less than the market rate, said the officer.
He added that units with severe budgetary problems were
given much greater discounts, sometimes equivalent to 50%.
The commander said, "We never got any invoices. We just
signed a paper, a requisition chit."
Senior military officers say the army then took the
money owed from the units' budget and deposited it in
Regalado's special account. The officers say the scheme has
been in operation for several years, and the general has
made millions of dollars.
The Times said the officers' allegations had not been
made public. The Honduran government has requested the US
Defense Department to investigate, said an unidentified
spokesperson for the Honduran embassy in Washington, and
unidentified senior aides to Gen. Regalado.
The Honduran army officers, who requested anonymith,
said their allegations were grounded on information from
trusted friends who assisted in creating false records for
the scheme. The officers are part of a faction seeking to
replace Regalado as chief of staff, and to prevent him from
extending his tenure after his three-year tour of duty.
In fiscal year 1989, which ended Sept. 30, Honduras
received $41.1 million in military aid from the US and $74
million in economic aid. A total of $70 million in economic
aid was withheld because Tegucigalpa did not implement US
policy recommendations.
For FY1990, the Bush administration proposed $61.25
million in military aid and $146 million in economic
assistance.
Unidentified Honduran military investigators cited by
the Times say that the general's half-brother, Rigoberto
Regalado Lara--recently sentenced to a 10-year prison term
in the US for cocaine trafficking--, told them his supplier
was a close friend of Gen. Regalado's. They say that at
least one other convicted drug trafficker, also incarcerated
in the US, told them of having discussed drug deals with the
general.
On Oct. 17 in a statement to reporters in Tegucigalpa,
Gen. Regalado denied any involvement in misappropriations of
US military assistance. (Basic data from New York Times,
10/14/89; Notimex, 10/17/89)
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NICARAGUA
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FORMER CONTRA DIRECTORATE MEMBER PEDRO
JOAQUIN CHAMORRO RETURNS TO NICARAGUA
On Oct. 13, former member of the contra political
directorate, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Barrios, returned to
Nicaragua from Miami. He is the son of Violeta de Barrios
Chamorro, presidential candidate of the National Opposition
Union (UNO).
In an Oct. 18 report, the Mexican government's news
agency, Notimex, cited Chamorro Barrios as saying that if
the February 1990 elections are free and fair, and monitored
by international observers, results must be recognized and
accepted by all parties. He said that UNO, as well, would
be obligated to recognize the results under these
conditions, including its own defeat at the polls. (Basic
data from Notimex, 10/18/89)
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PANAMA
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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND MISSION ARRIVES IN PANAMA
According to statements by Economic and Planning
Minister Gustavo Gonzalez on Oct. 16, an International
Monetary Fund (IMF) mission was due to arrive in Panama
Monday to conduct a two-week financial evaluation. Panama
is attempting to renegotiate its $4 billion foreign debt.
Panamanian interest payment arrears total $1.2 billion.
Gonzalez said that in July, the government made a symbolic
payment to the IMF.
"The economy has declined considerably, above all since
20 months ago when about 100 US companies quit paying taxes
costing the Panamanian government approximately $140
million," said Gonzalez. The minister put the overall cost
of US economic sanctions at some $600 million. He added
that some officials, including Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega,
have cut their salaries between 25% and 30% "to give an
example." (Basic data from AFP, 10/16/89)
PANAMANIAN OPPOSITION RENEWS OFFER TO PARTICIPATE
IN NEW ELECTIONS IF GEN. NORIEGA RESIGNS
On Oct. 18, former opposition presidential candidate
Guillermo Endara told reporters that the Civic Democratic
Opposition Alliance (ADOC) would participate in new
elections if Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega resigned and
democracy were guaranteed. He added that ADOC still demands
that results of the annulled May 7 elections be respected.
Endara said Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez
offered ADOC a plan to resolve the Panamanian crisis when
opposition leader Guillermo Ford visited Madrid last month.
The proposal called for respect for human rights, new
elections and Gen. Noriega's removal from power, Endara
said. Ford returned to Panama Oct. 17 after a two-week tour
of Europe and the US.
On Oct. 13, Endara told reporters that the opposition
would be "willing to hold talks on many grounds" regarding
new elections if Gen. Noriega steps down. The government
rejected such terms in negotiations mediated by an
Organization of American States team in August. (Basic data
from AP, 10/13/89; AFP, 10/18/89)
PANAMA: MINISTER OF JUSTICE & GOVERNMENT RESIGNS
On Oct. 13, Minister of Justice and Government Olmedo
Miranda resigned without explanation. Miranda was appointed
Sept. 3, two days after provisional President Francisco
Rodriguez took office.
The public payroll includes nearly 140,000 people and
one-third may be fired in the next few weeks. Earlier in
the week, the government announced tough measures that,
among other things, make it easy for the government to
dismiss employees considered disloyal.
New laws have frozen pay, suspended Christmas bonuses
and forbidden political activity by professional and
business associations. The government said the intent was
"preserving national sovereignty and defending the economy"
in the face of "aggression by the United States." (Basic
data from AP, 10/13/89)
GEN. NORIEGA ADVISES PANAMANIANS TO BE PREPARED
On Oct. 10, Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega accused the US
of trying to keep its forces in Panama to maintain control
over Latin America. He said Panama must be prepared
"because they cannot catch us by surprise again, and even if
the commander falls, the people will not fall."
Noriega said the US government's intention was not just
to eliminate him, "but to install in power the enemies of
the people."
Noriega's comments were delivered in a speech at the
People's Power assembly in Panama City. The assembly is
comprised of precinct representatives appointed by the
government to act as a legislative body. This body replaces
the National Assembly, abolished when the provisional
government of President Francisco Rodriguez was installed on
Sept. 1. (Basic data from AP, 10/12/89)
PANAMA: OPPOSITION LEADER DENOUNCES HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
At a press conference on Oct. 18, Ricardo Arias
Calderon, president of Panama's Christian Democrat Party
(PDC) and opposition vice presidential candidate in the
annulled May 7 elections, denounced stepped up government
repression and persecution of political opponents leaders
following the failed Oct. 3 coup. The press conference
took place at PDC headquarters in Panama City.
Arias Calderon said several PDC members, including
party vice president Raul Ossa, had been arrested and
tortured. Ossa was released from custody after provisional
President Francisco Rodriguez received a petition from
European ambassadors, said Arias. (Basic data from Xinhua,
10/18/89)
MORE FALLOUT IN U.S. FROM OCT. 3 ATTEMPTED COUP IN PANAMA
Oct. 11: An unidentified congressional official cited
by the New York Times, who has interviewed some of the
surviving participants in the attempted coup in Miami, said
the rebels asserted they were promised much more direct US
military support than has been acknowledged by the Bush
administration. Capt. Javier Licona reportedly has said
he had been told by the coup leader, Maj. Moises Giroldi,
that the US had promised to use helicopter gunships to fly
over Panamanian airfields and prevent the arrival of
reinforcements to Panama City by air. Licona also said that
the US had promised to block strategic roads into Panama
City much earlier than they did.
The congressional official said Licona stated that Maj.
Giroldi believed he could persuade Gen. Manuel Antonio
Noriega to retire, and that US officials told him they could
provide assistance in a coup that ended in Noriega's death.
Other rebels reportedly favored turning the general over to
the US, or killing him.
Oct. 12: An unidentified administration official told
the New York Times that the White House plans to issue
specific guidelines to US military, intelligence and
diplomatic officials in Panama with the objective of
providing more rapid and clearer communication with
potential coup plotters. Among other things, administration
officials have said they feel restrained by the Senate
Intelligence Committee from even talking to coup plotters
who might assassinate Noriega.
Oct. 16: CIA director William Webster called on
President George Bush and the Congress to consider giving
the Agency greater latitude in supporting potentially
violent efforts to overthrow foreign dictators. In an
interview with the Times, Webster said an executive order
prohibiting US involvement in assassinations had been
interpreted to prohibit US assistance to any coup that could
lead to the death of a country's leader, even in the heat of
battle.
The executive order on intelligence, as approved by
President Gerald Ford on Feb. 18, 1976, said, "No employee
of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire
to engage in, political assassination." In 1978, President
Jimmy Carter strengthened the provisions to say that "no
person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States
Government shall engage, or conspire to engage, in
assassination." President Ronald Reagan retained that
language in 1981 after a dispute among his intelligence
advisers.
The 1976 order was adopted after congressional
investigations detailed the CIA's role in assassination
plots against President Fidel Castro of Cuba and others.
Webster said: "The United States does not engage in
selective, individual assassination. But the United States
has other important overriding concerns about security and
protecting democracy in areas of the world where it has a
legitimate claim of interest. And when despots take over,
there has to be a means to deal with that short of making us
to be hired killers."
Webster said he wanted to see rules for the CIA so
clearly defined that Agency personnel "can go right up to
the edge of that authority and not worry if they or their
agency is going to get into trouble."
A former Federal judge, Webster described how he
believed the executive order was interpreted at present. He
said a US-devised plan for the assassination of Noriega was
unequivocally prohibited.
Webster continued: "Now the next thing is, hire a guy
to kill Noriega or fund a group who wants to kill Noriega.
Our executive order would have in the past been construed at
least that we could not do that, because we would just be
using someone else to do what we couldn't do ourselves.
"Now it begins to get a little tighter when you say,
`Here is a group that says it doesn't plan to kill him, but
they're going to have to play rough and it could happen.'
"Now we're in the area that has to be addressed."
Oct. 17: White House spokesperson Marlin Fitzwater
said, "We certainly are in agreement with everything Judge
Webster said yesterday."
Earlier this month, President Bush's National Security
Adviser Brent Scowcroft, who served in the same capacity in
the Ford administration, said in an interview with the New
York Times that the rules on assassination had been forced
on the executive branch by a Congress bent on
"micro-management."
Rep. Anthony C. Beilinson (D-Calif.), chairperson of
the House Intelligence Committee, said administration
officials were overstating the restrictions imposed by the
executive order to counter criticism of the White House's
handling of events in Panama. He said, "I think it's an
unfair burden to put on the executive order. It's also
unfair to use Panama as a lever to change something that has
made good sense and should be on the books in the first
place."
Beilinson said he was personally uncomfortable with the
idea of US covert aid to coup plotters whose plans called
for violence but did not include the death of their
country's leader. "I myself do not believe that we should
be involved, except in extreme circumstances, in
overthrowing governments or deposing leaders, however bad
they may be," he said.
Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (R-Ind.), who chaired the House
Intelligence Committee from 1984 to 1986, said: "No person
from the intelligence community ever came to me in those
years and said, `Look, this executive order has us
hamstrung.'"
Unidentified administration officials cited by the
Times said they would like to refine the interpretation of
the executive order to allow for links to coup plotters who
plan violence, but not the killing of their nation's leader
or leaders. (Basic data from New York Times, 10/11/89,
10/13/89, 10/17/89, 10/18/89)
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SUMMARIES & ANALYSIS
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REDUCED BUDGET FOR U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
On Oct. 13 in Geneva, the 43-nation executive committee
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
approved a reduced budget of $190 million for the first half
of 1990. The sum is well below the $389 million the UNHCR
budgeted for 1989. At present, the organization is faced
with a $50 million budget shortfall.
The committee agreed to wait until mid-1990 before
deciding on the UNHCR's budget for the second half of the
year. (Basic data from DPA, 10/13/89)
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