center for national security studies, first principles, vol 10, no 2, the cia and political violence...
DESCRIPTION
At least one case has come to light in which the CIA routinely provided the Salvadoran government with information on an individual in an apparent effort to assist the security forces in identifying suspected subversives in the United States. On June 21, 1981, Ana Estela Guevara Flores and several other Salvadorans entered the United States illegally by crossing the Mexican border. Three days later, Guevara was arrested and, according to a report by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, "a leftist appearing letter was found hidden in her underwear."This information was provided to the FBI, and on June 30, a confidential source told the FBI that Guevara was "one of the top five members of the revolutionary movement in El Salvador." The FBI cabled its office in Panama, which inquired of the U.S. embassy in El Salvador. According to an FBI document, the bureau was advised by Fred Bruger, the CIA's Deputy Chief of Station in San Salvador, that "El Salvadoran authorities determined that subject is not a known guerrilla/subversive" and that they "do not believe subject is identical to Norma Guevara, for whom they have arrest warrants. They stated, however, that it is against the laws of El Salvador to possess subversive literature and she could be detained in El Salvador for possession of same."Neither the CIA nor the Salvadorans had ever heard of the organization mentioned in Guevara's letter. However, the Salvadoran authorities requested, through Bruger, "that copies of all documents found in subject's possession be forwarded to them for analysis. In addition, if subject is deported back to El Salvador, they would desire to be notified of the date and flight number ... Perhaps copies of documents found on subject could be furnished the captain of [the Salvadoran airplane] for passage to El Salvador National Guard, to the attention of Col. Eugenio Vides Casanova, director general." The casual and obliging nature of this exchange between CIA and Salvadoran security officials suggests that it was not an unusual event.TRANSCRIPT
