Cruz Quits in Blow to Contras’ Efforts to Unify

Arturo Cruz, the former Sandinista official whom the United States wanted to remain part of the Nicaraguan contras’ leadership, announced his resignation Monday.

Cruz arrived at the Foreign Ministry here for a 4 p.m. meeting and brushed past reporters waiting for him because of reports from members of his family that he was quitting as one of the three directors of the United Nicaraguan Opposition, the contras’ umbrella organization.

Asked if the reports were true, he responded: “Yes. It was long overdue.” Then he entered the building for an appointment that he and the other directors of the umbrella organization had with Foreign Minister Rodrigo Madrigal.

Arias’ Decision

Madrigal was to formally communicate to the rebel leaders a decision by President Oscar Arias Sanchez banning meetings of the umbrella group in Costa Rica and barring its leaders from this country if they take charge of contra military operations, as they had hoped to do.

Coming as it did on the heels of Arias’ decision, Cruz’s resignation dealt a blow to the contras’ efforts to organize all of their activities against Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinistas in under a united body of civilians acceptable the U.S. Administration and to Congress.

Alfonso Robelo, one of the two other United Nicaraguan Opposition directors, arrived at the Foreign Ministry soon after Cruz did for the same meeting. He told reporters that Cruz’s resignation “is a loss for us.”

“It weakens our position, but we have to continue fighting,” Robelo said.

Arias’ move against UNO, as the umbrella group is known by its acronym in Spanish, was made public Sunday night as UNO’s general assembly was holding a two-day meeting here to consider a plan to restructure the organization and enlarge it. The meeting was adjourned without a vote on the plan when it ran into opposition from conservatives who dominate the assembly.

The plan had been proposed by Cruz, Robelo and Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Jr., the third UNO director. It would bring two more contra groups under the UNO umbrella, expand membership in the assembly membership from 28 to 48 delegates and create a new, grass-roots organization among Nicaraguan exiles opposed to their country’s Marxist-led government.

UNO, which represents a dozen Nicaraguan exile groups, maintains an office in San Jose and Robelo and Chamorro both live here in exile.

Young Cruz’s Announcement

News that Cruz was quitting UNO’s leadership first came to light in Washington with an announcement by his son, Arturo Jr. The younger Cruz said that his father was fed up with the “whole mentality” of the rebel movement but that he still was “shocked” to hear about his father’s decision.

In Miami, Cruz’s wife, Consuela, said her husband’s decision to leave the leadership was final and effective immediately.

It was, she said, “a family decision” that was not supposed to be known until today (Monday) with the scheduled publication in the Miami Herald of a letter written by Cruz.

Consuela Cruz read the letter to a reporter and in it, Cruz condemned the largest contra fighting organization, the Honduras-based Nicaraguan Democratic Force, as a “hegemonistic tendency” that is seeking to dominate the entire anti-Sandinista movement. He said the Democratic Force has allied itself with conservatives in the Reagan Administration to lock out more liberal contra figures such as himself.

A U.S. Tool?

As a result, Cruz charged, UNO has failed to make itself politically legitimate but instead appeared to be a tool of the United States.

“The Nicaraguan resistance remains headquartered in the United States,” he said.

Cruz wrote that he had fought for reforms in three areas: bringing all contra fighters under civilian UNO control, putting the Democratic Force’s financial resources under UNO’s supervision and reorganizing the UNO assembly in exile. But he said he had met stiff resistance on all three.

The letter, dated March 10, was 2 1/2 pages long, in Spanish, and addressed to “the People of Nicaragua.” It declared:

“Just as the sad development of Sandinism, once in power, has brought tragedy to our people, there is a group within UNO that would perpetuate the same unwelcome trends.

“A certain faction in the government of this great nation (United States), in its singular perspective on the Nicaraguan project . . . has led to (U.S.) support for hegemonistic tendencies within UNO.

“No one person alone can fight against that force.”

A Former Banker

Cruz, an economist and a former official of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank, was once a member of the Sandinistas’ ruling junta and was later Managua’s ambassador to Washington. He broke with the Sandinistas, he said at the time, because of the Marxist elements of their program.

He has feuded with his rebel contemporary, Adolfo Calero, who is the civilian leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force. Cruz was at the point of resigning his UNO post last month but remained after Calero resigned instead and was replaced by Chamorro. Calero agreed at that time with a demand of Cruz that rebel military activities be placed under the overall command of UNO’s civilian leadership.

In February, Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, said that it would be a “real blow” to UNO if Cruz stepped down, calling him almost irreplaceable.

The State Department had no immediate comment Monday on Cruz’s resignation.

A Longtime Plague

UNO--Spanish for “one”--was originally created at the urging of the United States in an attempt to unify the disparate contra groups. But it has been plagued since its inception by disputes between its moderate and conservative members.

In his Sunday announcement, President Arias banned further UNO meetings in Costa Rica and said that rebel leaders would violate Costa Rica’s neutrality if they managed either the finances or the military planning of the war against the Sandinistas on Costa Rican soil.

Only last week, UNO’s three directors had approved a resolution saying they would handle all military as well as political finances in an attempt to make the contra fighters more responsive to UNO direction.

Arias’ announcement said that UNO, “which up to now has had a political-civic character, will now come to control and use funds directed toward the insurgents operating against the established regime in Nicaragua.”

If UNO officials “include in their political activities direct or indirect links with the armed struggle in Nicaragua, they cannot continue enjoying asylum in Costa Rica,” he said.

‘Reverse Our Decision’

UNO director Robelo said of Aria’s announcement, “We may have to reverse our decision and stick only to political matters.”