◆ SpookStack

TOP~ET to be approved or authorized; but it was quite clear that the Agency wished to defer to State on the matter of the formal loan applications and to put the political burden on the Department's back. 54/ At the same time that the Agency was holding Somoza's hand, Headquarters was being extremely concerned that none of our assurances to Nicaragua got put into writing. 55/ On a very local level, Somoza pointed out to Ambassador Whelan that because the government of Nica- ragua had diverted funds which had been appropriated by the Nicaraguan Congress to keep the railroad and road systems operating in order to support TIDE activities, he was going to be in a very embarrassing position should TIDE collapse, and should the US fail to provide the $(US)2 million loan. 56/ In Washington, Ambassador Sevilla-Sacasa pressed Napoli for assistance in getting high level assurance that Nicaragua would not suffer in either the UN or OAS because of her anti-Castro position. Sevilla-Sacasa suggested that Berle, Rusk, or President Kennedy would be a suitable US spokesman to indicate that Nicaragua's position would be supported should any international or regional sanctions be