U.S. Plans to Cut Contra Aid, Shut Miami Office

WASHINGTON —  The Bush Administration plans to cut aid to the Contras, which could force the closing of the Nicaraguan rebels’ office in Miami, Contra and U.S. officials said today.

“We were notified last Friday that there will be personnel changes and a reorientation of resources,” Contra spokesman Jorge Rosales said in a telephone interview from Miami. “We don’t have all the details but it could mean the closing of the office.”

The exact amount of the cuts was not immediately known. The Contras also maintain an office in Washington.

The planned reduction in funding comes just months after the Miami staff suffered sharp cuts that led to several layoffs. Congress last spring approved $49.8 million in non-military funding for about 10,000 Contra combatants in base camps in Honduras near the Nicaraguan border.

David Shapiro, press aide to Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), said he had heard about the aid cutoff plan but had not seen it and did not know how much money would be cut.

“As a general notion, if this would provide an inducement to step up political pressure inside Nicaragua, this would be positive,” Shapiro said. “If this encourages them to return home and win the elections, the senator would favor that.”