| Washington D.C., April
12, 2005 - As John Negroponte faced questioning today
about his activities in Honduras during the contra war,
the National Security Archive posted additional documents
from his chron file as ambassador. The documents, part of
a large file of 470 cables obtained by the Washington
Post through the FOIA, provide a virtual day-to-day
record of Negroponte's unique tenure as ambassador, as he
secured Honduran military, logistical and political support
for the controversial CIA paramilitary campaign to overthrow
the Sandinista government.
Click
here to read Part 1 of the Negroponte File
|
 |
| President
George W. Bush nominated John Negroponte as the first
Director of National Intelligence on February 17, 2005.
(Source: White House) |
|
More
documents on Negroponte and the Contra War
Note: The following documents are in PDF format.
You will need to download and install the free Adobe
Acrobat Reader to view.
1)
April 5, 1983, "Support for Anti-Sandinistas"
In the wake of a major New York Times expose on U.S.-directed
contra operations being run out of Honduras, Negroponte confers
by phone with State Department official L. Craig Johnstone,
and follows up with a written cable. The ambassador lays out
a military-political strategy for advancing the contra war which
includes escalating activities on Nicaragua's southern front,
and "raising profile of our contacts with anti-Sandinistas."
The cable is cleared by CIA station chief, Donald Winters, who
is posing as a political officer at the Embassy.
2)
August 8, 1984, "Ambassador's August 7 Meeting with Honduran
President Suazo and Presidency Minister Carlos Flores"
As the U.S. Congress moves to cut off all funding for the contra
war, Honduran officials begin to suggest they will clamp down
on the rebels' use of Honduran territory as a base of operations.
In this cable, Negroponte reports that he is lobbying President
Suazo "not rpt not do anything to deprive FDN of their
Honduran support base…." Negroponte tells Suazo that
the contras are having "success…in obtaining additional
funding through private sources." In truth there are no
private sources, only other governments such as Saudi Arabia
that the Reagan administration has requested to provide secret
funding for the contra war.
3)
January 25, 1985, "Sandinista Forces Threaten FDN Forward
Base"
Negroponte issues a detailed report on Sandinista military
movements along the Nicaraguan-Honduran border which threaten
a large contra camp in Las Vegas, inside Honduras. Although
previous public statements and cables have denied the presence
of contra camps on Honduran territory, this one provides hard
data on the amount of contra troops in various camps that are
in Honduras. Negroponte also requests U.S. intelligence on Sandinista
forces which will presumably assist the contras if any fighting
breaks out.
4)
February 6, 1985, cable, "Honduran Military Views on the
Anti-Sandinistas"
Negroponte reports in this cable on the views of senior Honduran
officials toward the contra forces. While expelling the contras
from Honduran territory does not seem to be imminent, he warns,
"if present levels of effort and success were not improved,
GOH at some not too distant point would reconsider its entire
approach." Of concern to the Ambassador is the pending
vote in Congress on renewing CIA assistance to the contras,
which was terminated in October 1984. "A definitive defeat
in our Congress on this issue could well bring the end of continued
GOH cooperation with or even toleration of armed anti-Sandinista
elements in any form." These warnings become the basis
for the Reagan administration's decision, taken the very next
day at a Crisis Pre-Planning Group meeting at the NSC, to secretly
provide "enticements to the Hondurans"-enhanced military
and economic aid, and CIA payments-to continue to support the
contras despite the Congressional cutoff. President Reagan approves
the quid pro quo on February 19; John Negroponte is
selected to deliver a letter to the Honduran military that contains
the quid; another secret emissary will then meet with
them to discuss the pro quo.
5)
February 8, 1985, "Meeting with General Lopez Afternoon
of Feb. 6: Alleged Anti-Sandinista Human Rights Violations"
Of more than 400 cables released from the Negroponte chron
file, this is the only one that deals at length with allegations
of human rights atrocities committed by the Honduran military
and contra forces. The catalyst for the discussion with Honduran
military chief Walter Lopez (who has replaced the ousted General
Gustavo Alvarez) is an article in Newsweek magazine
reporting that 200 people have disappeared in Honduras, some
of them at the hands of the contra forces. "The impression
has been conveyed that Honduras today has a serious problem
with death squads," Negroponte complains, when Honduras
should be "getting credit for an improving human rights
situation." Although the CIA station has gathered intelligence
on Honduran atrocities during Negroponte's tenure, he asks Lopez
for "the real truth of the matter." On the allegations
of atrocities committed by the contras, he writes, "thus
far the GOH has provided us nothing which would substantiate
claims in some newspaper articles to the effect that the anti-Sandinistas
are engaged in gross and consistent human rights violations."
He concludes by stating that "on top of all of this, we
can only assume that the propagandists and disinformation specialists
in Havana and Managua are having a field day [with] these alleged
human rights problems."
ADDITIONAL
DOCUMENTS
Posted
below is the second set of documents released by the State Department
on April 11, 2005. [The first set is available
here.]
1981
December
18, 1981: Central American Regional Grouping
December
19, 1981: Military Assistance to Honduras
1982
January
7, 1982: DAO Staffing at Tegucigalpa
January
12, 1982: Central American Regional Grouping
March
22, 1982: Nicaraguan Air Force Defectors
April
2, 1982: Conversation with Dr. Suazo, April 2
April
13, 1982: General Nutting's Visit to Honduras March 21 -23,
1982
April
27, 1982: Visit of Honduran Minister of the Presidency, Carlos
Flores
April
29, 1982: Hijacking
April
29, 1982: Hijacking
June
9, 1982: Will Honduras Change Its Foreign Policy?
June
11, 1982: Soviet View of Nicaraguan Situation
July
6, 1982: Conversation with General Alvarez July 6
July
26, 1982: Additional Military Assistance for Honduras
July
28, 1982: Honduras / Nicaragua Border Situation
August
10, 1982: Honduras Military Strategy Assistance Team
August
30, 1982: Security Assistance Policies and Priorities
September
28, 1982: San Pedro Sula Hostage / Barricade Incident: After-Action
Report
October
25, 1982: Meeting with General Alvarez
November
8, 1982: November 6 Meeting with Minister of Presidency: Newsweek
Story and Aftermath
November
8, 1982: President Suazo's Comments on Anti-Sandinista Activity
November
15, 1982: Honduran Request for Helicopter Support
November
26, 1982: Ordway Grove
1983
February
14, 1983: Exercise Ahuas Tara
March
10, 1983: Ordway Grove Deployment
March
11, 1983: Meeting with President Suazo
March
14, 1983: General Alvarez on Salvadoran Military
March
21, 1983: Honduran Confidence Building Activities
March
28, 1983: Training in Honduras for Salvadoran Forces
April
5, 1983: Support for Anti-Sandinistas
April
8, 1983: Training in Honduras for Salvadoran Forces
April
18, 1983: Participation in Planned CPX Exercises
April
19, 1983: Training in Honduras for Salvadoran Forces
May
21, 1983: Continued Honduran Interest in Location of School
of Americas in Honduras
May
23, 1983: Adolfo Calero
May
27, 1983: Adolfo Calero
November
29, 1983: Contadora at the OAS
December
21, 1983: December 19 Meeting with Doctor Suazo
1984
July
6, 1984: GOH Plans to Re-Examine USG / GOH Relationship ! ?
July
9, 1984: General Lopez and Paz Barnica on Continued Support
for the Anti-Sandinistas: Need for FDN Discretion
August
8, 1984: Ambassador's August 7 Meeting with Honduran President
Suazo and Presidency Minister Carlos Flores
August
13, 1984: Possible Threat on Life of Honduran President Suazo
August
14, 1984: President Suazo
September
26, 1984: Honduran Terms of Reference for Negotiations on Bilateral
Cooperation: Ambassador's Sept. 25 Conversation with Fonmin
Paz
September
27, 1984: [ Excised - Discusses How to Continue Mutual Military
Cooperation despite refusal of Hondurans to train next Salvadoran
Battalion ]
1985
January
4, 1985: Visit by USCINCSO
January
10, 1985: [Excised - Informal translation of complimentary letter
by President Suazo to President Reagan about the departure of
Ambassador Negroponte]
January
18, 1985: [ Excised - Text of President Reagan's letter replying
to President Suazo letter to Reagan about departure of Ambassador
Negroponte ]
January
25, 1985: Sindinista [sic] Forces Threaten FDN Forward Base
January
25, 1985: Acceptance of Honduran Decoration by Ambassador
January
29, 1985: Invitation to President Suazo for Official Working
Visit
February
1, 1985: Target Transfer Dates
February
1, 1985: [Excised - Ambassador's Acceptance of Honduras' Order
of Morazan
February
4, 1985: Target Transfer Date
February
7, 1985: Prospects for US / Honduran Bilateral Talks
February
8, 1985: Elections 1985: Impact on Carlos Flores of New Presidential
Candidacy of Oscar Mejia
February
8, 1985: Meeting with General Lopez Afternoon of Feb. 6: Alleged
Anti-Sandinista Human Rights Violations
February
11, 1985: Investment Climate Statement for Honduras
February
16, 1985: Winds of Change: GOH - USG Dialogue may be Improving
GOH Confidence in Relationship with United States
February
15, 1985: [Letter to Gwendolyn Symon in England ]
February
16, 1985: [ Letter from Foreign Minister of Panama to the Foreign
Minister of Costa Rica transmitting the communiqué from
Contadora Countries ]
February
21, 1985: Vice President's Visit for Brazilian Inauguration
February
6, 1985: Honduran Military Views on the Anti-Sandinistas
March
4, 1985: [ illegible ] …. View on Talks [ between new
Salvadoran Ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Ernesto Arrieta Peralta,
with Ambassador March ]
March
12, 1985: Vice President Bush's Visit: Update for [illegible]
ing Papers
March
15, 1985: [illegible - Meeting Vice President at Palmerola Air
Field ]
March
19, 1985: Transfer to OES
April
2, 1985: Betancur Visit to Honduras
April
4, 1985: U.S. Central American Peace Initiative: Letter from
President Reagan
April
8, 1985: Duarte, Travel and Honduran Relations
April
30, 1985: Systematic Debriefing of Nicaraguan Refugees
May
4, 1985: Suazo Visit to Washington
May
10, 1985: President Suazo's Official Working Visit to Washington
May
11, 1985: President Suazo's Trip to Washington / Exceptions
to Proposed Schedule
May
15, 1985: CODEL [Congressional Delegation] Boren
May
15, 1985: Security Assurances to Honduras
May
20, 1985: [Letter from Senator Murkowski to Ambassador Negroponte]
May
28, 1985: Letter from Senator Murkowski
