492. Telegram 645 From the Embassy in Nicaragua to the Department of State1 2

[Page 1]

Joint State/AID/DOD Message

Subj:

  • Assistance to Guardia Nacional Police

1. As set out in Nicaragua CASP (page 15 et seq. of our A–5) assistance to improve public safety capability of Guardia Nacional is major USG objective in Nicaragua. Due to service character of Guardia Nacional—which carries out all of country’s police and other internal security functions, other conventional military functions and various civilian-type activities such as control of communications—USG assistance to police to date has been channeled exclusively through MILGP.

2. We continue to believe MAP program and MILGP organization should focus efforts on Guardia’s public safety/internal security role. However, due difficulty of obtaining certain police-type expertise through DOD, we have come to conclusion MILGP public safety/internal security efforts should be supplemented by assignment of AID public safety adviser with ample experience in civilian police work. Other job requirements would be fluency in Spanish and prior experience in AID overseas public safety program. If available, an excellent candidate would be Michael Salceda, who would amply meet these criteria, and would work cooperatively and effectively with Guardia and MILGP officers. Adviser would work closely with MILGP and [Page 2] provide technical advice to MILGP officers, but be funded and supervised directly by USAID, with technical backstopping by AID/OPS.

3. While USAID Director and COMUSMILGP agree with need for technical assistance in police areas neither USAID nor MILGP presently has funds or position under OPRED ceiling available for this purpose. Accordingly I recommend an additional position and funding therefore be established for AID public safety adviser, to arrive in Nicaragua at early date. I also believe it would be useful to have senior OPS officer visit Nicaragua soonest to survey local police situation and assist Country Team re adviser’s job description, funding arrangements, etc.

4. USAID Director strongly objects to above recommendation to initiate public safety project in AID program and believes such program, as in the past, should continue to be exclusively as the substantive and administrative responsibility of MILGP. He recommends that funding be provided for this purpose under MAP and that civilian technician from whatever source be detailed on reimbursable basis to MILGP. He also suggests that provision of personal services or eventually of commodities to Guardia with its uni-service nature is contrary to PD-45 on relationship of economic and military assistance.

5. As Country Team has recommended and IG/ARA has agreed in Nicaragua CASP review, public safety is important area of USG interest here. Moreover, an able and experienced officer, Colonel Francisco Rodriguez Somoza (a cousin of President Somoza’s), has recently been appointed as Managua Police Commander and this fact plus President Somoza’s having told Ambassador he agrees priority attention should be paid to police program lead us to conclude opportunity is at hand to achieve useful results in public safety area.

Crockett
  1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 1 NIC–US. Limited Official Use. It was repeated to USCINCSO and USCINCSO for POLAD. The CASP enclosed in Airgram A–5 is published as Document 488.
  2. The Embassy noted that assistance to improve public safety capability of Guardia Nacional was major U.S. Government objective in Nicaragua and requested the assignment of a Public Safety Adviser to Nicaragua.