— A leading State Department official has disclosed that the Palestine Liberation Organization is supporting terrorists in EI Salvador and other Central American countries “to harass and hassle the United States and create pressure in a vulnerable area.”
James Cheek, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, told the National Leadership Development Conference of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith at a meeting here that the PLO, at little or no cost, derives many benefits from its involvement with extremist revolutionary movements in Central America.
He said one of the objectives of “the radical Palestinians” is to obtain political leverage with the United States so that they can proffer a quid pro quo, “if you accommodate us in the Middle East, we’ll get off your back in Central America.”
In its involvement, Cheek went on to say, the PLO also acts as a “surrogate” for the Soviet Union which, therefore, does not have to utilize its own people. A further benefit is that the PLO support for leftist revolutionaries pleases not only the USSR but “fulfills obligations” to other friends such as the Cubans and the radical Arab states.
Pointing out that the PLO presence in the various Central American countries is “not massive,” Cheek noted that the training cadres sent to the area are rotated periodically. He also observed that the PLO trains Central American terrorists in its camps in Lebanon and other Middle East areas and help supply arms to the terrorist bands through its contacts with Libya.
While the United States is monitoring the situation throughout Central America closely, Cheek admitted that the full extent of PLO involvement may not be known because of Its “clandestine” nature. However, he stressed that the United States is trying to impress on Central American governments “the peril of permitting a PLO base to be established.” He added that if a base is set up, “the country permitting this could expect trouble with us.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
