PRODEMCA. National Council Member. 1986.
These names are from the letterhead of PRODEMCA, otherwise known as the
Friends of the Democratic Center in Central America. It was founded in 1981
as the Citizens Committee for Pro-Democratic Forces in Central America, and
announced its new name at a 1984 press conference that featured Nicaraguan
contra leader Arturo Cruz. They received private funding from sources such
as Smith-Richardson foundation, Olin Foundation, and Carthage Foundation.
In 1985 the National Endowment for Democracy began giving grants to La Prensa,
the anti-Sandinista newspaper in Nicaragua, to be administered by PRODEMCA.
(Before 1984, when Congress ended CIA operations against Nicaragua, the CIA
assisted La Prensa more directly. After 1984 this was done through cutouts
such as NED, a quasi-private organization that is funded by Congress.)
After NED's first two grants to La Prensa, PRODEMCA's politics became
too flamboyant. In 1986 they placed newspaper ads soliciting tax-deductible
contributions for contra "military assistance." Foreign intervention is an
affair that requires a bit more discretion, so NED severed the relationship.
In 1988 a House staff report criticized PRODEMCA president Penn Kemble's
involvement with Oliver North's contra funding network and the State
Department's Office of Public Diplomacy.
Extract the names from this source
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