CIA exposed in La Penca murders
1990Jeff Mackler 1990-02Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 18 →
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18 SOCIALIST ACTION FEBRUARY 1990 The Central Intelligence Agency is responsible for the 1984 bombing of an Eden Pastora press conference in La Penca, Nicaragua, according to a 54-page report released by Costa Rican authorities.
The report was compiled by a special prosecutor and approved by Dr. Jose Marina Tijerina, Costa Rica's equivalent of an attorney general. Based on the testimony of 50 witnesses and the transcripts of the U.S. Iran-Contra hearings, the report details how the CIA took control of Costa Rica's Directorate of Intelligence and Security by creating a special 15-member unit responsible to the U.S. Embassy.
According to the report, the unit took orders directly from a CIA agent, Dimitrius Papa. A panel of Costa Rican judges will now decide whether to formulate charges against Papa and the secret group known as the "Babies," which he directed.
Three journalists were killed in the bombing and two dozen others seriously injured. Among them was Tony Avirgan, who— along with Martha Honey and the Washington-based Christic Institute-initiated a lawsuit against those involved in the bombing.
A 1985 report written by Avirgan and Honey titled "La Penca-Report of an Investigation" argues that the bombing was designed to spark anti-Sandinista sentiment in the United States and thereby foster a climate favorable to a U.S. invasion of Nicaragua.
The bombing was also aimed at murdering Pastora, who planned to use the press conference to announce a break with the CIAcontrolled contras because of their involvement in drug running and their association with the National Guard troops of deposed Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza.
The Costa Rican report recommends that murder charges be filed against CIA-linked John Hull, a Christic Institute lawsuit defendant who used his Costa Rican ranch for the transfer of drugs and guns from Colombia to Miami. Manuel Noriega is alleged to have supplied the pilots for these operations.
The report clearly validates the Christic Institute lawsuit, now on appeal. It provides strong support in the Institute's fight against Eyewitness Report: "Revolution in Romania"
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