Cuba Believed Sending Arms to Salvadoran Rebels by Way of Mexico

Cuba is believed to be sending weapons to leftist rebels in El Salvador through a remote land route that begins in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, according to U.S. officials.

Cuba has traditionally used Nicaragua as its primary transit point for weapons deliveries to its allies in El Salvador but is believed to have started using the alternative route some time ago, the officials said.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, said indications are that use of the route through Mexico has increased recently.

It was not clear whether Mexican officials have been approached by U.S. diplomats about the alleged shipments. There was no comment from the Mexican government.

Historically, Mexico has been sympathetic to the Salvadoran rebels, but that support has been more muted since President Carlos Salinas de Gortari took office a year ago.

Much of the weaponry sent to the Salvadoran insurgents is supplied by the Soviet bloc and delivered via Cuba, according to officials. Recent Administration statements indicate that it sees Cuba--not the Soviet bloc--as the principal villain in these activities.

As described by officials, the Cubans ship the weapons across the narrow channel that separates Cuba from the Yucatan Peninsula. From there, the equipment is sent by truck to El Salvador through Guatemala, although the precise route is not clear.

Nicaragua’s leftist government has been criticized internationally for its alleged collaboration with Cuba in supporting the Salvadoran rebels.

As U.S. officials see it, Cuba’s apparent search for new ways to help the Salvadoran rebels--without relying exclusively on Nicaragua--may be an effort to limit the chances that the Sandinista role will be exposed more than it has been.

Nicaragua has denied that its territory has been used for subversive activities in El Salvador. Such interference is a violation of Central American agreements signed by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

The Sandinista government has been in the forefront of the international effort over the last week to have the Bush Administration condemned for its invasion of Panama. Cuba’s response also has been indignant.

The Administration views Cuba’s purported use of the route through Mexico as a supplement to the support the Nicaraguans are providing as a transit point for Cuban-supplied weapons.

As evidence that the Sandinista connection has not been abandoned, the Administration has cited the discovery of weapons by Honduran officials aboard a truck said to have been headed to El Salvador from Nicaragua.

The driver of the truck involved in the Oct. 18 weapons seizure told authorities that he had been making the run between Nicaragua and El Salvador monthly since August 1988.

According to officials, a more revealing incident occurred on Nov. 25 when a plane carrying surface-to-air missiles crashed in El Salvador. The plane had taken off from Nicaragua and its destination reportedly was rebel-held territory in El Salvador.

The officials contend Cuba and Nicaragua are intent on providing assistance to the Salvadoran rebels during the current period because it may be more difficult in the coming months. One reason: peacekeepers from the United Nations are being assigned to Central America to ensure that provisions of regional agreements are being kept.

The Bush Administration has been pressing U.N. officials to ensure that the peacekeepers, among other duties, are on the lookout for deliveries to the Salvadoran rebels from outside the country’s borders.