Ortega May Stall New Contra Aid

U.S. Agency for International Development officials said Tuesday that they are prepared to begin distributing non-military aid to the Contras this week, but they admitted that these efforts may be thwarted unless the Nicaraguan government gives its permission.

On Monday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega termed as illegal the $47.9-million humanitarian aid program recently passed by Congress, saying he could not go along with a program directed by the U.S. government.

AID Administrator Alan Woods told reporters Tuesday that his agency, which is part of the State Department, expects to hire private companies and airlines to distribute food, clothing and other supplies to the Contras. He acknowledged that they will need to obtain approval from Ortega’s government to enter Nicaragua.

Under the March 23 cease-fire agreement, the Contras agreed to accept only humanitarian aid from a “neutral organization.” Since then, the Contras, the Nicaraguan government and the United States have been embroiled in a dispute over how to interpret this phrase. Nicaragua says that it means a group like the International Red Cross. The Contras and the Reagan Administration have said that the distributor could be a private airline or any other group not embroiled in the Nicaraguan civil war.