Contacts with Israelis on Arming Contras Date from 1982 Deborah Tyroler

University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository

NotiCen Latin America Digital Beat (LADB)

2-13-1987 Contacts With Israelis On Arming Contras Date From 1982 Deborah Tyroler

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen

Recommended Citation Tyroler, Deborah. "Contacts With Israelis On Arming Contras Date From 1982." (1987). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/noticen/ 434

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin America Digital Beat (LADB) at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NotiCen by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LADB Article Id: 077111 ISSN: 1089-1560 Contacts With Israelis On Arming Contras Date From 1982 by Deborah Tyroler Category/Department: General Published: Friday, February 13, 1987

According to Feb. 7 statements by a "senior American official," a group of former Israeli intelligence officers approached the CIA nearly five years ago and offered to supply untraceable weapons to the Nicaraguan contras. The official, said the NEW YORK TIMES (02/08/87), assumed the overture, which came at a time when Tel Aviv was requests through normal diplomatic channels to send weapons or money to the contras. A report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, quoted a series of intelligence studies in 1984 and 1985 that said Israel was covertly shipping arms to Iran. While designed to facilitate Israeli foreign policy objectives, the arms deals were carried out privately through middlemen. A congressional investigator said the Israelis use this technique to maintain "plausible deniability." The Israeli government has repeatedly and emphatically denied assistance to the contras. In recent weeks, however, several pieces of evidence have emerged that suggest otherwise. A Reagan administration official said it was "common knowledge" within the US government that Soviet-made weapons captured by Israel during the invasion of Lebanon had been provided to the contras. A US citizen, Jack Terrell, now at the International Center for Development Policy, was involved in assisting the contras on site in Honduras in 1984 and 1985. He recalled telling contra leader Adolfo Calero in November 1984 that he needed Uzi submachine guns and 9-millimeter ammunition for a commando raid being planned against Managua. He quoted Mr. Calero as saying: "I'll get this as soon as I can. We're expecting two ships in from Israel in February. When they get in, you will get your stuff." Terrell said the Uzis were later distributed to some of the contras. Terrell also indicated that in early 1985 he was toldof a trip to Israel by Mr. Calero's brother, Mario Calero, to buy 10,000 Soviet-made AK-47 rifles captured by the Israelis in Lebanon. He said that he was told that the weapons were shipped with the necessary documentation by Honduran military officials. The weapons were then reportedly sold to the contras with Honduran officers making a 30% profit on the deal. Terrell contended that the Israeli arms dealers were acting with at least the tacit approval of their government.

-- End --