From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (misc.activism.progressive co-moderator)
Subject: Who Were the "Contras" ? (III)continued
Organization: misc.activism.progressive on UseNet ; ACTIV-L@UMCVMB
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 01:39:51 GMT


Who Were the "Contras" ? (III)continued


[Former Contra Director Edgar Chamorro:]

"Upon reflection, I found many of the tactics advocated in the [CIA
"Assassination manual" which he helped translate into Spanish] to be
offensive, and I complained to the CIA station chief in Tegucigalpa.
The station chief defended ..the manual, and no action was ever taken
in response to my complaints. In fact, the practices advocated in the
manual were employed by FDN troops,. Many civilians were killed in
cold blood. Many others were tortured, mutilated, raped, robbed or
otherwise abused.

"As time went on, I became more and more troubled by the frequent
reports I received of atrocities committed by our troops against
civilians and against Sandinista prisoners. Calero and Bermudez
refused to discuss the subject with me, so I went straight to our
unit commanders as they returned from combat missions inside
Nicaragua and asked them about their activities. I was saddened by
what I was told. The atrocities I had heard about were not isolated
incidents, but reflected a consistent pattern of behavior by our
troops. There were unit commanders who openly bragged about their
murders, mutilations, etc. When I questioned them about the propriety
or wisdom of doing those things they told me it was the only way tot
win tis war, that the best way to win the loyalty of the civilian
population was to intimidate it and make it fearful of us." Chamorro
complained to the CIA, as well as to Calero and Bermudez, to no
avail...Shortly after that, Chamorro acknowledged to a newspaper
reported that FDN troops had killed civilians and executed prisoners.
"Calero told me I could no longer work in Honduras," said Chamorro,
"and I was reassigned to the local FDN committee in Miami. I was given
nothing to do and I no longer had much interest in working for the
FDN, or to be more accurate, for the CIA" Chamorro broke with the FDN
in November 1984. --Holly Sklar, quoting from her November 24, 1896
interview with Edgar Chamorro. See Sklar's book, p.182-83



_Washington's War on Nicaragua_, by Holly Sklar.
1988, South End Press, Boston.
[South End Press, 300 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison, NJ 08818]
[For a free catalog: 1-800-533-8478; see AML resource files]


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            =============================================
            T h e   " N i c a r a g u a   L i b r a r y "
            =============================================

*
* =========
* Nicaragua
* =========
*
  WHO-WERE CONTRAS    Contras' origins; make-up; practices - documented
  FSLN     H-RIGHTS  Documented HRs comparison w/Somoza,Guat,ES,others
  FSLN     MISKITOS  Sandinista treatment of Miskitos;Charges & Realit
  FSLN     NICAJEWS  Debunks charges of Sandinista 'Anti-Semitism'
*
  OXFAM84  NICARAG   Oxfam America's 1984 report on Nicaragua, in full
  FSLN     ACHIEVE   Documented: achievements of the Nica. revolution
*
  NICA-84  ELECTION  Documented: Fair under Sandinistas; US subversion
  FAIRNESS NICA-USA  Flwup:`Is Nicaragua More Democratic than the US?'
  NICRAGUA ELECTION  Study in US subversion of '90 Nicaraguan election

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