U.S. drops plan to overthrow government of Surinam
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New York Times – by Philip Taubman
WASHINGTON — The Reagan administration dropped a plan this year to overthrow the government of Suriname, the former Dutch colony in South America, after congressional committees objected, administration officials said Tuesday.
The plan, according to the officials, called for the formation of a small paramilitary force composed mainly of Surinamese exiles opposed to the authoritarian government of Lt. Col. Desi Bouterse. The force was supposed to infiltrate the capital, Paramaribo, and oust the government, the officials said.
Bouterse, who seized power in a military coup in 1980, is viewed by Reagan administration officials as an unpredictable leader with pro-communist sympathies. Last December his regime rounded up 15 leading opponents, including prominent citizens, and had them summarily executed, according to the administration.
Whether the plan to overthrow Bouterse called for his arrest or deportation or other action against him was unclear. The assassination of foreign leaders, formally prohibited by President Ford, was also barred by President Reagan in an executive order on intelligence activities he issued in 1981.
The plan was sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to House Intelligence Committee members. The purpose was to overthrow Colonel Bouterse. The CIA was reported to have told congressional committees that his ouster would eliminate the possibility that the Soviet Union and Cuba would try to use Suriname as a base from which to expand their influence in South America.
Several members of the House and Senate intelligence committees said Tuesday that they had objected because they felt the administration had not demonstrated that Suriname posed a threat to United States interests. Suriname, on the north coast of South America, is bordered by French Guiana, Brazil and Guyana, a former British colony.
While not opposed in principle to the idea of attempting to overthrowing a foreign government, committee members said they had criticized the CIA for advocating what one House member called the most extreme measure before less severe methods were used to try to steer Suriname away from Soviet and Cuban influence.
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