New Central American Leaders Reluctant to Back U.S. Policy on Nicaragua

MANAGUA, Nicaragua —  The Reagan Administration is having trouble getting a new crop of Central American presidents to support its military policy toward Nicaragua. Newly elected leaders in Guatemala and Costa Rica have irritated the Administration by openly questioning its support for the guerrillas fighting Nicaragua’s Sandinista government.

The Administration argues that military pressure from the contras is needed to force the Marxist-led Sandinistas into a negotiated agreement on a non-Marxist political system for Nicaragua. But without support from Nicaragua’s Central American neighbors, the policy lacks an important element.

Administration officials contend that although Central American leaders may be reluctant to speak out in favor of Washington’s financing of the contras, they privately endorse the policy of putting military pressure on the Sandinistas.

It is difficult, though, to assess the alleged discrepancies in public and private positions, especially when Washington is reported to have twisted the arms of some leaders behind the scenes.

A Western diplomat said that Philip C. Habib, Reagan’s special envoy for Central America, admonished President Jose Azcona of Honduras and President-elect Oscar Arias of Costa Rica last week for their questioning of President Reagan’s pro-contra policy.

“They have been told they have been embarrassing the President and that this could cost them,” the diplomat said.

Azcona has not openly criticized the contra policy, but before he took office in January, he expressed reservations about it.

Arias, since his election in February, has said repeatedly that he does not share the U.S. contra policy. He suggested that instead of financing the contras, the United States should provide more funds for economic development in friendly Central American countries.

Insistent Dissenter

Among Central American leaders, the most insistent dissenter from the U.S. contra policy has been President Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala, who took office in January.

“We oppose any formula of confrontation,” Cerezo said this week while visiting Venezuela.

President Jose Napoleon Duarte of El Salvador, in office since 1984, has not questioned U.S. support for the contras, but neither has he openly endorsed it.

The government of El Salvador is opposed by a Marxist-led guerrilla movement, and Duarte may fear that by openly endorsing U.S. aid to the contras, he could be seen as legitimizing foreign aid to guerrillas in his own country.

El Salvador and the United States accuse Nicaragua of aiding the Salvadoran guerrillas. Because of that, and because the United States provides military aid to El Salvador for its anti-insurgency war, Duarte is said to privately support U.S. aid to the contras.

Used as Base

The Ilopango military airport outside the Salvadoran capital has reportedly been used by U.S. planes making supply drops in Nicaragua for the contras.

Honduras supports the contras by permitting them to maintain bases on Honduran territory. Although Honduran officials are known to be uncomfortable with the contra presence, they also fear the large Sandinista army and depend heavily on U.S. defense aid.

“They don’t want the contras to break up and go to Miami,” one diplomat said, “because that would leave them alone with the Sandinistas.”

He said the Honduran government hopes that more U.S. aid to the contras will permit the rebels to “liberate” a piece of Nicaraguan territory that could be used as a base in place of Honduran territory.

Edgardo Paz Barnica, foreign minister in the previous Honduran government, said this week that the contras should be in Nicaragua.

“It is extremely grave that the contras continue to be living here instead of fighting in Nicaragua,” Paz Barnica told a Honduran newspaper.

Lets Supplies Through

The previous Honduran government, in its last months in office, blocked the delivery of U.S. supplies to the contras, apparently to reinforce requests for more U.S. aid. But President Azcona has been letting supplies go through.

Some Nicaraguan rebels move back and forth across the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border. Costa Rican authorities say they cannot control the contras because their country does not have an army, only a national police force.

Costa Rica has long maintained a neutral, anti-military foreign policy. At the same time, it is a conservative country, and fears of the Marxist Sandinistas are widespread.

President-elect Arias reflected anti-Sandinista sentiment in his election campaign but began distancing himself from the U.S. policy after the election.

Disagrees With U.S.

A Central American diplomat said Arias’ disagreement with the Reagan Administration over the contras is real. “He said it sincerely--he didn’t support it,” the diplomat said.

Another diplomat said that since U.S. envoy Habib met with Arias last week, Arias has not voiced his differences with the U.S. contra policy.

“He has learned a lesson,” the diplomat said.

But President Cerezo of Guatemala apparently has not. And Cerezo has scheduled a May meeting of the Central American presidents in an effort to find peaceful solutions to Central America’s conflicts.

Reagan is not invited, but President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua is.