Poindexter Makes Secret Latin Trip

New National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter traveled secretly to Central America this week, the White House disclosed Friday, and there were indications that the trip was related to a possible Administration request for renewed military aid to the rebels fighting Nicaragua’s leftist government.

Poindexter paid brief visits to Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama on Wednesday and Thursday, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said, to assess “the entire range of things that are taking place in Central America.”

Asked if the trip signaled a move by President Reagan to increase aid to the Nicaraguan rebels, known as contras, Speakes responded, “Certainly we do support democratic actions in Central America, and that (the contra resistance) is one of them.”

He added, “It follows that, in the context of the review,” the direction of U.S. policy could change and Reagan may ask Congress “for more aid,” an apparent reference to military aid.

Accompanying Poindexter on the trip was Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, who told Congress in testimony last week that the Administration would like to resume military aid to the rebels.

A White House official who spoke on the condition that he not be named said Central American officials told the visiting Americans that “more needs to be done” to assist the contras and that they would be willing to give more than moral support themselves.

The Reagan Administration originally supplied weapons covertly to the contras through a CIA operation based in Honduras, but in 1984 Congress ordered a complete cutoff. Congress lifted the ban last July to permit sending $27-million worth of “non-lethal” aid, such as clothing, food, medical supplies and trucks.