U.S. Finds Latins Lack Contra Aid Enthusiasm : Presidential Delegation to Central America Returned Less Than Optimistic, Official Says

A top-level Reagan Administration group that visited Central America returned less than optimistic that the leaders of Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador would call for renewed aid to Nicaragua’s Contra rebels if there is no progress on the Central American peace plan, a senior official said Tuesday.

The presidential mission to Central America last week, led by Lt. Gen. Colin L. Powell, national security adviser, was intended to ensure that the leaders of the four Central American democracies “understand the seriousness of the situation we have in Washington and the difficulty in getting additional funding” from Congress for the Contras, the senior official said.

Upcoming Meeting

The four presidents--as well as Nicaragua’s president--are scheduled to meet late this week in Costa Rica to assess compliance with the plan they signed last summer and progress toward peace.

Powell signaled to the four that their cooperation is needed to make U.S. aid for the Contras politically feasible and stressed that Nicaragua’s Sandinista government is unlikely to enact peaceful reforms if the Contra opposition is allowed to dissipate.

Summarizing Powell’s report to President Reagan after the trip, the official, interviewed by a small group of reporters, said: “All four of these countries are disturbed over Sandinista intransigence but, for political reasons,” none can “jump up and say we love the (Contra) freedom fighters and ‘keep the aid coming.’ ”

The meeting Friday and Saturday of the presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua marks the deadline set for adherence to nearly all the major goals of the peace plan they forged last year. The plan calls for cease-fires in the guerrilla rebellions in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

In attempting to boost the Administration’s effort for continued U.S. aid to the Contras, Powell was joined on the trip by Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs.

The senior official denied that Powell made any “veiled” threats during his two-day visit in the Central American nations.

And he said that while many of the peace plan’s goals are unmet and violence continues in the region, there is speculation that the Central American leaders will opt to extend the deadline rather than acknowledge that the effort has failed.

Extension Could Hurt

Addressing that possibility, the Administration official remarked: “If they merely extend the deadline without taking note of what we believe is a lack of performance by the Sandinistas (in meeting the terms of the accord), then it would be very detrimental to getting additional funding” for the Contras.

Such a statement would be needed to persuade Congress to authorize Contra aid, officials said.

Under the peace accord, the five nations of Central America are committed to taking a series of steps leading to a more democratic system, including freedom of the press and freedom of assembly.

Barring major progress in the peace effort, Reagan is expected to seek renewed long-range funding for the Contras on Jan. 26. Under a procedure set by Congress last month in providing approximately $13 million in temporary Contra funding, the House must vote on the proposal Feb. 3 and the Senate would vote one day later.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz and other Administration officials indicated late last year that the Administration would seek approximately $270 million in funding over a 15-month period, and the President is expected to review options for specific requests next week.

Was Not ‘Crying Wolf’

The senior Administration official said that if the Costa Rica meeting produces no criticism of the Sandinistas, “it will be that much more difficult” to win renewed Contra funding from Congress. He said that Powell did not make the journey to Central America “to cry wolf--this is the real wolf.”

If the Central American leaders allow the Contras to weaken, officials have said, the rebel forces might not be able to put pressure on the Sandinistas if the leaders later decided to call for it.

The senior official said that under the current provisions for Contra aid, failure to win approval of the requested money for the rebels next month would lead to a cut-off in deliveries of weapons and non-lethal assistance on Feb. 29.

In the meetings with the U.S. delegation, the Central American leaders were “holding their cards close to the chest,” the senior official said.

“They have to think through carefully what Central America would be like if at the end of February there is no longer an effective force of 15,000 troubling the Sandinistas.”

The official said that Powell “left them with the message to ‘think this through carefully, folks.’ ”