Page 2 Portland Observer, February
4 , 1982
Selective enforcement charged in prosecution of neutrality act
by Ronnie Loveier
Pacific News Service
Niearaguans train to protect their country against US aggression.
(Photo: Jose Agaz. Granma )
M I A M I — O n the tame day H a i
tian exile leader Bernard Sansaricq
and 24 others were taken into F B I
custody for their attempted invasion
o f H a iti, N icaragua’ s exile leaders
met here to plot the overthrow o f
the Nicaraguan government. None
has been arrested, or even investi
gated.
That day, Jan. 13, more than 100
Nicaraguan exile leaders met in L it
tle Havana at the behest o f Fernan
do A guerro, a form er Nicaraguan
senator who heads the recently
form ed association N icaraguan
Union o f Democratic Action.
A guerro , who lives in c o m fo rt
able exile in an exclusive M ia m i
Beach condominium, told the gath
ering o f exiles, who came from as
far away as Costa Rica and Venezu
ela, that “ armed struggle is the only
way we can retake Nicargaua."
The call to arms was repeated by
each o f the dozen exiles who took
the podium, including M axim iliano
Perez, a fo rm er member o f
N ic a ra g u a ’ s N a tio n a l G u a rd . “ I
come here to you with the convic
tion o f a professional soldier,” Per
ez said. “ Many o f you know o f my
doings in M iam i and other parts o f
A m erica. I have been involved in
military activities and 1 have gone to
collect arms for our soldiers.” The
applause was deafening.
By the m eeting’ s end, the dele
gates had reached a tacit agreement
to bring their diverse groups into
one umbrella organization to hasten
the counter-revolution. Earlier, rep
resentatives o f three a nti-g o vern
ment m ilita ry units had agreed in
F lo rid a to u n ify th e ir com m and
structure.
M e a n w h ile , in ano th er p art o f
M ia m i, fed eral a u th o rities were
filing charges against Sansaricq and
his followers for violating the 1794
United States N eu trality A ct. The
act calls for prosecution o f anyone
who, from within the United States,
“ provides or prepares a means for
or furnishes the money for or takes
part in any military or naval expedi
tion” against a foreign government
w ith which the U n ite d States has
diplomatic relations.
In a bond hearing, Sansaricq, a
longtime legal resident o f the United
States, said he and his follow ers
“ took great caution not to violate
U.S. law .” And in fact, his effort to
overthrow H a itia n d ictato r Jean-
Claude Duvalier was launched from
South Caicos island , about 100
miles north o f H aiti.
It is no secret th a t N icaraguan
and C u ban exiles are engaging in
p aram ilitary activities in training
camps in California and South Flor
ida, and that some trainees have al
ready le ft fo r C e n tra l A m erica
where they are m aking m ilita ry
thrusts into Nicaragua. Exile leaders
have pu b licly adm itted as m uch,
and federal law enforcement o ff i
cials have acknowledged the exist
ence o f the training camp.
The exile unity meeting here was
com m on knowledge in M ia m i’ s
Latin community.
W h y , then, is Sansaricq facing
prosecution under the N e u tra lity
“ a dipi**— tic r /f e r in g to calm
down Baby Doc* [D u v a lie r). M y
feeling is the State Department felt:
‘ W e had to do som ething o r we
m ight lose our standing w ith D u
valier.’ ’ *
Sonnett says that because San
saricq and his men were picked up
by the Coast Guard in international
waters, the best the prosecution can
show is that some o f the men are
residents o f south Florida.
But while D uvalier and Marcos
appear to have p o litical weight in
Washington, the Nicaraguan gov
ernment has had no success in its ef
forts to get U .S . au th o rities to
clamp down on the Nicaraguan ex
iles* param ilitary training activity.
The position o f the State and the
Justice Departments is that since the
maneuvers are conducted on private
property with legal weapons, exiles
are acting within the law. “ No alle
gations have ever been made about
the Nicaraguan exiles, or have been
brought forth to this office,” stated
Juan Briones, and FB I spokesman
in Miami.
Washington attorney Paul Reich-
ler, who represents the Nicaraguan
governm ent, argues that the de
cision not to prosecute the N icara
guan exiles is politically motivated.
“ I f you look at the bottom line, we
see that this government is prepared
to prosecute those who attem pt to
act against right wing governments
such as H a iti’s,” he said, “ but for
p o litical reasons w o n ’t prosecute
those who are engaged in acts
against government this administra
tion feels are leftist.”
Act for his ill-fatc-d attempt to oust
D u v a lie r, when the N icaraguans
appear free to act as they will? Phil
ippine exile activists in C alifo rn ia
have asked the same question in
connection with a federal probe into
possible violation o f the Neutrality
Act by Steve Psinakis, an anti-M ar
cos activist in San Francisco.
“ I t ’ s clear what they have done
here in M ia m i is single out the
H a itia n s ,*' said Ira K u rzb an , a
prom inent local attorney who spe
cializes in immigration and interna
tio n a l law . “ T h e disparate tre a t
ment is clearly motivated by foreign
policy concerns.”
The government o f Nicaragua, of
course, is at the opposite end o f the
p o litic a l R ichter scale from both
H aiti and the Philippines. Although
the repressive character o f the H ai
tian and Philippine regimes is gener
ally acknowledged, their anti-com
munist stance pleases Washington.
The socialist policies o f N icara
g u a’ s governm ent, on the other
hand, have made the Reagan A d
ministration anxious for a change in
that cou n try. “ The U .S . govern
ment is behind the Nicaraguans and
the Cubans in their training to in
vade other countries," says the Rev.
G erard Jean-Juste, director o f the
H a itia n Refugee C enter, Inc. and
spiritual leader o f M iam i's H aitian
c o m m u nity. Jean-Juste says the
prosecution o f Sansaricq and the
others is one more example o f U .S.
governm ent bias tow ard H a itia n
refugees.
A tto rn e y N eal Sonnett, who is
representing Sansaricq, believes the
charges filed against his client are
© Pacift« Newi Service, 1082
Eugene conference explores military issues
E U G E N E — Some o f the coun
try’s foremost authorities on nation
al security will gather Feb. 25-27 at
the University o f Oregon to debate
issues o f m ilita ry spending, the
d ra ft, nuclear warfare and the So
viet threat.
The Northwest National Security
C onference, organized and spon
sored by the Associated Students o f
the University o f Oregon, will center
on w hether current U .S . foreign
policy enhances or endangers the
country’s national security interests.
A ll sessions, open to the public, are
set fo r the B allro o m o f the Erb
M e m o ria l U n io n , East 13th and
University.
A m ong the con feren ce’ s 13 in
vited speakers are Ray Cline, former
deputy director o f the Central Intel
ligence Agency and now a senior as
sociate at the Georgetown Center
for Strategic and In te rn a tio n a l
Studies; Leslie Brown, a U .S . fo r
eign service officer currently serving
as deputy director o f the Bureau o f
Politico-M ilitary Affairs; and John
Draim, a retired Navy captain whp,
as an aerospace engineer and de
fense analyst, designed numerous
U.S. defense systems.
GET READY
Lt. Col. “ Deb" Ward explains intricacies of the F-
4C Phantom to Julia Robertson, Bill Newbourne
and Kay Toran during Portland Air Base tour Jan.
9. The tour provided a chance for them to learn
about Air National Guard opportunities offered in
the Portland area. Robertson is women's coordin
ator for the Urban League; Newbourne is a career
counselor at Portland Community College's Cas
cade Center; and Toran is affirm ative action di
rector in the governor's office in Salem.
< Fred Meyer
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