I N F R O N T O F T H E C O S T A R I C A F O R E I G N M I N I S T R Y I N S A N J O S E , C O S T A R I C A . L E F T T O R I G H T : S T A T E R E P . E D D I E C A V A Z O S , F O R M E R L U L A C P R E S I D E N T M A R I O O B L E D O , S V R E P A N D S V R I P R E S I D E N T W I L L I E V E L A S Q U E Z , F O R M E R N E W M E X I C O G O V E R N O R T O N E Y A N A Y A , L A P C O O R D I N A T O R A N T O N I O G O N Z A L E Z , S V R I E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R B O B B R I S C H E T T O

It was the end of January 1988. Willie Velasquez and the Southwest Voter Research Institute-Latin America Project (SVRI-LAP) T A L E S O F C E N T R A L A M E R I C A delegation were on route to DC from their V I G N E T T E 1 week-long fact-finding mission to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. WILLIE VELASQUEZ Velasquez was accompanied by a AND THE CONTRAS distinguished group of Latino leaders that included former New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya, former LULAC National President Mario Obledo, State Representative Eddie Cavazos, UTSA Professor Avelardo “Lalo” Valdez, Brownsville Refugee Attorney Linda By Antonio Gonzalez Yanez, NPR Correspondent Alfredo Cruz, SVRI Executive Director Bob Brischetto and LAP

MAY 9, 2018 Coordinator Antonio Gonzalez who all went ostensibly to learn about the Left: Thai Curry / Top: Sausage Rice Topping / Bottom: Burger and fries

I N F R O N T O F A P O P U L A R M U R A L I N E S T E L I , N I C A R A G U A . L E F T T O R I G H T : M A U R I C I O ( O U R G U I D E ) , M A R I O O B L E D O , B O B B R I S C H E T T O , E D D I E C A V A Z O S , G O V E R N O R O F E S T E L I D E P A R T M E N T , U T S A P R O F E S S O R A V E L A R D O “ L A L O ” V A L D E Z , R E F U G E E A T T O R N E Y L I N D A Y A N E Z , T O N E Y A N A Y A , A N T O N I O G O N Z A L E Z , W I L L I E V E L A S Q U E Z , N A T I O N A L P U B L I C R A D I O C O R R E S P O N D E N T A L F R E D O C R U Z

“Contadora Peace Process” supported by them to vote against Congress authorizing Venezuela, Panama, Colombia and Mexico and more military aid to the Nicaragua the “Esquipulas Peace Agreement” chiefly mercenaries called Contras who under CIA advocated by Costa Rica. guidance had waged guerrilla war mostly in northern Nicaragua since 1981. In the 1980’s President Reagan’s policy of so 30,000 Nicaraguans perished during the called “low intensity war” in Central America had Contra war. caused a massive influx of refugees into US Latino communities in the southwest as well as Willie’s groups’ experiences during their fact- Florida, New York, Maryland, and Illinois. Indeed finding mission had convinced them more New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya created than ever that Mexican Americans leaders quite a stir in 1984 when he declared New had to take a stand against funding Reagan’s Mexico a sanctuary state for Central American “low intensity war” in Nicaragua. At that time refugees. Anaya was Co-Chair of Jesse Jackson’s involvement in any foreign policy issue was Rainbow Coalition at the time. considered off limits by the big majority of Mexican American organizations, especially Willie’s plan was to meet with the 18-member groups receiving government, corporate or Congressional Hispanic Caucus and persuade Cuban-exile funding.

TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 PAGE 2 L E F T T O R I G H T : N P R C O R R E S P O N D E N T A L F R E D O C R U Z , W I L L I E V E L A S Q U E Z ; S V R I E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R B O B B R I S C H E T T O , F O R M E R L U L A C P R E S I D E N T M A R I O O B L E D O , N U E V O D I A R I O E D I T O R F E R N A N D O C H A M O R R O , F O R M E R N E W M E X I C O G O V E R N O R T O N E Y A N A Y A , S T A T E R E P E D D I E C A V A Z O S , U T S A P R O F E S S O R L A L O V A L D E Z , L A P C O O R D I N A T O R A N T O N I O G O N Z A L E Z

The only flight available from Costa Rica was After a minute or so I refocused and started on American through Miami with an looking around and lo and behold on the overnight stay, so I booked our group of six mirrored front desk were two thick long (we had lost Professor Lalo Valdez who lines of cocaine. We had obviously returned to Mexico City where he was living interrupted a party. I saw movement in the as a Fulbright scholar, Attorney Linda Yanez corner of my eye and a sheepish young who returned to Brownsville, TX, and NPR Cuban unfurled from a crouch behind the Correspondent Alfredo Cruz who returned to front desk. He gave me a smirk and quickly ) on the flight and for one night checked us in. Neither one of us at the Miami Airport Hilton. mentioned the coke lines right under our noses. It was Miami the cocaine capital of When we arrived bone tired past midnight at America in the 1980’s after all. the airport hotel, I sat the group in the hotel lounge and went to check us in. Except no We flew bright and early the next morning one was at the front desk, which was to DC. When we arrived, Willie went to see completely mirrored. Even in those days CHC Chairman Albert Bustamante, who Miami was glitzy. I yelled out softly “Hello, had been his bitter enemy dating back to anybody here” in English and then in Spanish Willie’s days as a Raza Unida Party (an “Hola, hay alguien aqui?” several times. independent nationalist Mexican American party in the southwest) leader in San TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 Antonio in the 1960’s. PAGE 3 A T U S A I R B A S E I N P A L M E R O L A , H O N D U R A S W I T H J U N E 1 9 8 6 C E N T R A L A M E R I C A I N F O R M A T I O N C E N T E R D E L E G A T I O N T O H O N D U R A S A N D N I C A R A G U A . L E F T T O R I G H T : T O P R O W E D D I E L O P E Z , L E E H A R R I S , M A R T H A ? , U S E M B A S S Y S T A F F P E R S O N , H O N D U R A N C O L O N E L , I R E N E M E N D O Z A . B O T T O M R O W : J U A N B E N G A R C I A , R I C K Y H E R N A N D E Z , S I L V I A L O P E Z , A N T O N I O G O N Z A L E Z

Bustamante was of course a conservative "In 1985 Willie had publicly Democrat who hated Raza Unida. threatened to run against Bustamante for his support Indeed in 1985 Willie of military aid to the had publicly Contras."

threatened to run ANTONIO GONZALEZ against Bustamante for on elective office in south and west Texas his support of military had resulted in electing these two

US Rep aid to the Contras. “caranchos” (as he would say) who were Albert Bustamante Willie was also irked supporting US military intervention against of San Antonio, TX that US Rep Solomon one of the poorest countries in the Ortiz of Corpus Christi was supporting the hemisphere. Contras too. It was a personal affront to Willie that all the work of Raza Unida in the Contra aid surprisingly was a big issue in 60’s and 70’s and Southwest Voter sleepy San Antonio where SVRI was based. Registration Education Project (SVREP) in That’s because as a military town (back in the 70’s and 80’s to empower Mexican the day San Antonio had six military bases American voters and break the strangle hold most of which were closed in the 1990’s) lots of reactionary good old boy white farmers of US-Latin America interventions were staged in San Antonio. TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 PAGE 4 I remember in 1986 after my first trip to Nicaragua and Honduras with the Central America Information Center, my friend Eddie Lopez, who wore an eye patch (and thus was nicknamed Danger Mouse after the cartoon character spy who wore a patch over one eye) and I went to his favorite bar to chat about the trip.

We were joined by his friend Ralph an active duty GI. When I spoke about our experiences in the northern Nicaragua town of Ocotal on the Honduran border, Ralph perked up “you were just in Ocotal?” “Yes…why?” I responded, “So was I” Ralph replied.

In fact, Ralph was Special Forces and regularly parachuted from 50,000 feet high (called High Altitude Low Opening-HALO) into northern Nicaragua to plan and direct terrorist attacks with the Contras on the villages. When done with his missions Ralph would be evacuated James Bond style with those slow flying, prop driven planes that scoop up a balloon tethered to the evacuee on the ground, who would then be reeled into the plane.

Moreover, uber popular San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros had catapulted to the national stage in politics based in part on his appointment by President Reagan to the Kissinger Commission on Central America in 1983. Ever the triangulator Mayor Cisneros managed to end up appearing to support Reagan’s anti-Nicaragua policies while submitting a little circulated liberal dissent crafted by liberal UTSA Latin Americanist Dr. John Booth. Cisneros’ performance was good enough to get him Vice Presidential consideration by Dem. Nominee Walter Mondale in 1984 -a first for US Latinos.

TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 PAGE 5 S P R I N G 1 9 8 7 S T A F F P H O T O O F M E X I C A N A M E R I C A N L E G I S L A T I V E C A U C U S O F T E X A S S T A T E H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S , A U S T I N , T E X A S . L E F T T O R I G H T : J E S S E R O M E R O , I N T E R N , A N T O N I O G O N Z A L E Z , L I Z Z E R M E N O A N D I N T E R N S

A few months earlier in summer 1987 I (on Willie’s behalf) had met and made the peace with US Rep Henry B. Gonzalez, Bustamante’s mentor and former boss precisely over his staunch opposition to Contra Aid. Indeed, SVRI had been circulating Henry B.’s articles and speeches - which were quite good- on the issue, Henry B. was quite pleased that we were using his materials. Stroked his healthy ego I suppose.

U S R E P . H E N R Y B . G O N Z A L E Z I had also been systematically working with Silvia Arreola, Bustamante’s O F S A N A N T O N I O , T X district director in San Antonio. Arreola was a former MALDEFian and friend of SVRI from our immigration reform work in Texas two years earlier. She had smoothed the way for the Bustamante-Velasquez rapprochement with her boss.

Finally, during summer 1987 Willie had deployed me to put some grassroots pressure on Bustamante and Ortiz in their home districts on the sly. Using non-SVRI resources I had sent Jesse Romero –a young organizer who had worked for me as an intern at the Mexican American Legislative Caucus in Austin during the first half of 1987 before I came back to SVRI upon the closing of the legislature in May. Romero had spent two months on a letter writing campaign in San Antonio and Corpus Christi. The real deal Romero generated hundreds of letters opposing Contra Aid to the two Congressmen from Mexican Americans at tienditas and such.

TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 PAGE 6 The two met, it was cordial, and Chairman Bustamante confirmed he was organizing a press conference for Velasquez and Governor Anaya the next day “to give voice to the grassroots” on the Central America issue. The nuance was Bustamante did not agree to support us. But to give us a platform. That was good enough for Willie.

Meanwhile Albert Jacquez, Legislative U S R E P E S T E B A N T O R R E S L O S A N G E L E S , C A Director for Congressman Esteban Torres of Los Angeles (known as “ET”) and I were frantically organizing turnout for the press conference. “ET” was the most progressive “ET” was the most member of the CHC and was very progressive member of supportive of SVRI’s Central America the CHC and was very efforts. supportive of SVRI’s

The next day before a packed room of Central America Latino staffers, DC Central America efforts. activists and the media SVRI had its press ANTONIO GONZALEZ conference with Gov. Anaya and Willie doing the talking. It was a smashing success. “ET” and Congressman Bobby The next day our group went home. Garcia from New York City came by and Exhausted. gave thunderous supporting remarks as well. The next week Congress by a narrow margin voted to cancel military aid to It all looked quite impressive with our the Contras, closing yet another ugly group and the Members of Congress chapter of US military intervention backing up Governor Anaya and Willie. against sovereign Latin American Chairman Bustamante was there too as nations. The majority of the CHC voted moderator ably handling the press against Contra Aid for the first time conference. since 1984. Chairman Albert Bustamante and US Rep Solomon Ortiz both reversed their previous votes and opposed military aid to the Contras.

TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 PAGE 7 Note 1: A few years later Bustamante was defeated by Republican newscaster due to a bribery scandal. Bustamante was later convicted and did federal prison time. His southwest Texas border district (TX23) has become quite embattled changing hands back and forth repeatedly between Dems and Reps over the years. In 2018 it is once again targeted as one of the key swing districts in the country.

Note 2: Unbeknownst to all of us Willie was already ill at the time. Five months later he passed before his time on June 14, 1988. In 2013 the Texas Legislature declared his birthday May 9 “Texas Recognition Day”. He was 44 years old.

Note 3: In 1997 SVRI changed its name to WCVI -the William C. Velasquez Institute and the Latin America Project-LAP changed its name to InterMestic Initiatives-IMI.

A b o u t t h e a u t h o r : A n t o n i o G o n z a l e z i s t h e W C V I a n d S V R E P P r e s i d e n t s i n c e 1 9 9 4 . H e j o i n e d t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n 1 9 8 4 / 8 5 . E - m a i l : a g o n z a l e z @ w c v i . o r g T w i t t e r : @ A G o n z a l e z 1 2 1 7 w w w . w c v i . o r g

TALES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, VIGNETTE 1 PAGE 8