Arms Shipped to Salvador Rebels, Nicaragua Admits

MEXICO CITY —  President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua was quoted in an interview published here Wednesday as saying that the armed forces of Nicaragua have supplied weapons to leftist guerrillas in El Salvador and that arms may still be moving to the rebels through Nicaraguan territory, but without the consent of his government.

It was believed to be the first public admission by Ortega that Nicaragua has delivered weapons to the Marxist-led insurgents in El Salvador.

The Reagan Administration has long accused Nicaragua’s Sandinista government of arming the rebels, who are fighting against the U.S.-backed government of President Jose Napoleon Duarte. Reports of arms shipments from Nicaragua to El Salvador were used by the Reagan Administration to justify arming the Nicaraguan contras against the Sandinistas.

Logistical Support

Ortega was quoted as saying in the interview, an account of which appeared in the influential Mexico City newspaper Excelsior, that Nicaraguan military officials gave logistical support to the Salvadoran rebels shortly after the Sandinistas took power in 1979.

“Some members of the armed forces, through their own initiative, turned over some arms to the Salvadoran movement,” Ortega was quoted as saying. He did not say when such aid stopped. As for recent shipments, he reportedly said:

“I cannot deny that with regard to the movement of arms, which all revolutionary movements carry out, like those we undertook in the past, some (shipments) cross all the countries that are necessary to cross in order to reach their destination and don’t necessarily cross these countries with the consent of governments.

‘Smallest Quantities’

“It could be that a quantity of arms passes through Nicaragua to El Salvador, but they are the smallest quantities of armaments.”

He was quoted as saying that such supplies also travel through Costa Rica and Honduras and that “one cannot say that the policy of the government of Nicaragua is to establish a logistics route to the Salvadorans.”

Most of the arms used by the Salvadoran rebels are arms they themselves take from the soldiers of El Salvador, Ortega reportedly said.

The Salvadoran rebels, allied in the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, have long had representatives in Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, and rebel leaders sometimes travel to Nicaragua for consultation and rest.

Ortega was also quoted in the interview as appealing for aid from governments in Europe and elsewhere in Latin American as a show of support for Nicaragua and a demonstration of independence from the United States.

Soviet Oil Cut

“Of course,” he was quoted as saying, “such support is urgent for Nicaragua, because it is suffering aggression, suffering a financial blockade in multilateral organizations, suffering the direct impact from U.S. aggression in economic harm.”

The appeal for help follows reports that the Soviet Union is reducing deliveries of oil to Nicaragua. In the Excelsior interview, Ortega said he expects the Soviet Union to supply only 50% of Nicaragua’s oil requirement this year. Moscow has supplied Nicaragua with almost all of its oil since 1984.

Meanwhile, at Mexico’s Pacific resort of Ixtapa, President Miguel de la Madrid of Mexico met Wednesday with President Raul Alfonsin of Argentina, and the two discussed possible economic support for Nicaragua. Alfonsin would tell reporters only that “it’s a slow process.”

A high Mexican government official told The Times that the Mexican Foreign Ministry is negotiating with other Latin American governments about ways to make up a shortfall of oil in Nicaragua caused by the reported Soviet cutback. However, the Mexican official said, if other governments refuse to join in, Mexico will make no move to supply Nicaragua by itself.

After Mexico, Latin America’s leading oil exporter is Venezuela. Peru and Ecuador are also important producers. Argentina produces oil for its own use.

Would Be Blow to U.S.

Stepped-up hemispherical oil sales and economic aid to Managua would be a diplomatic blow to the Reagan Administration. Washington has maintained that Latin American governments, despite their public pronouncements, in fact support the overthrow of the Sandinista government. A show of economic support for Nicaragua would undermine that position.

The Soviets, while not confirming any reduction in oil shipments, seem to recognize the diplomatic potential of increased Latin involvement. Recently, a Mexico City newspaper quoted the Soviet ambassador here as saying that diversification of Nicaragua’s oil supplies would “demonstrate that this is a conflict within the American continent” and not an East-West issue.

“The idea is that it should not be just one country helping Nicaragua at this time but, rather, it should be getting help from all the countries of Latin America,” the ambassador, Rostilav A. Sergayev, was quoted as saying.

Oil Is a Key Issue

He said his government will not abandon Nicaragua and “will continue to supply military and economic aid.” The Soviet Embassy here declined to confirm or deny the newspaper account.

Last month, on a trip to Mexico, Nicaragua’s Vice President Sergio Ramirez appealed to Mexico to increase oil deliveries to Nicaragua, the Mexican government official said. Until 1984, Mexico was one of Nicaragua’s main suppliers, but in that year, because Nicaragua could not meet its payments, Mexico cut back its shipments from 3 million barrels a year to about 500,000 barrels. At the time, Nicaragua owed Mexico $500 million.

The Soviet Union stepped in to pick up the slack, at bargain prices. It is not clear why the Soviet Union has suddenly decided to reduce its oil deliveries.