Rebels Infiltrating Nicaragua, State Dept. Official Says

Thousands of Nicaraguan rebels have filtered back into their homeland recently as part of a plan to carry their struggle against the Sandinista government to all parts of the country, a top State Department official said Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams linked the infiltration of the rebels to the resumption of U.S. military aid to the insurgents last fall.

Speaking to a small group of reporters, Abrams said there were about 5,000 of the contras inside Nicaragua before President Reagan signed legislation in October providing $100 million in assistance to the rebels. Approximately $70 million of that money is designated for military equipment.

No Specific Figures

These 5,000 rebels have been joined by additional “thousands” since early December, Abrams said, declining to give specific figures. With the infusion of U.S. aid, he said, the contras “are going to go all over the country and do lots of things.”

During a two-year period when there was a ban on direct or indirect U.S. military aid for the resistance forces, thousands of rebels were forced to return to base camps in Honduras because of a lack of food and equipment.

Now, select committees in both the House and Senate, and a court-appointed independent counsel, are investigating to determine, among other things, whether the Reagan Administration violated the congressional military aid ban by using the proceeds from the sales of arms to Iran to help the contra cause.

On Nov. 25, Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III revealed that from $10 million to $30 million in arms sales proceeds were diverted to the use of the forces in Central America resisting the leftist government in Managua.

The new assistance approved by Congress this fall is expected to provide the insurgents, believed to number about 20,000, with training and an air defense capability for use against high-performance Soviet-made helicopter gunships.

Critics’ Position

Critics of the U.S. aid program say the money is being wasted because the contras are not an effective fighting force. They note that the rebels have been unable to take and control any territory inside Nicaragua since their struggle began five years ago.

Abrams insisted, however, that it would be silly for the contras to try such a strategy.

“To try to take and hold territory is to permit the Sandinistas to concentrate on their two great advantages: greater firepower and greater numbers,” he said.

Abrams predicted that the rebels would increasingly rely on “hit-and-run” tactics against the Sandinistas, but declined further comment on their strategy. He said the contras can prove they are worthy of U.S. support by showing they are spending the money wisely, by fighting effectively and generating popular support within Nicaragua for their cause.

New Congressional Aid

If they are successful, Abrams said, Congress will be likely to approve additional aid the Administration expects to seek for fiscal 1988, beginning next Oct. 1.

The Administration is expected to seek at least another $100 million and possibly more, he said. The current aid allocation runs out Sept. 30.

Abrams said he had no information that any of the funds from arms sales to Iran ever reached the contras. The disclosure that such a diversion took place led to the resignation on Nov. 25 of National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter and the firing of National Security Council staff deputy Oliver L. North on the same day.