Source: San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/ Pubdate: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 Section: Page A10 Author: Edward Hegstrom Chronicle Foreign Service COCAINE PLANE SCANDAL ROCKS NICARAGUAN ELITE President says he was innocent victim Managua -- Maybe Arnoldo Aleman's mother never warned him against accepting rides from strangers. Aleman, the president of Nicaragua, allowed himself to be flown around earlier this year in a plane allegedly owned by a silver-haired Cuban American named Jose Francisco Guasch. But now Aleman probably wishes he hadn't done that. The jet was stolen from a Florida airport days before Guasch brought it to Managua last December to offer free rides. In addition to carting around the president, his wife .and several other unsuspecting dignitaries, the plane was also used to transport large quantities of cocaine, according to Nicaraguan Police. Authorities say they don't know whether the jet ever transported cocaine at the same time that it transported Aleman and his associates. The case has resulted in the firing of government officials, including the head of the Civil Aeronautics Division, who now awaits trial on drug-trafficking charges. Like just about every other important Nicaraguan taken for a ride on the jet, Aleman says he was an innocent victim. "I think the whole nation has been jarred by these events," Aleman told an investigating judge. He blamed his civil aviation authorities and security guards for allowing him to fly on the plane. U.S. authorities say they believe Aleman. "We have no information linking the president either to the theft of the airplane or to narco-trafficking," said an embassy spokesmanin Managua. Court records in Managua contain a copy of an American passport indicating that Guasch, 52, was born in Cuba and naturalized as a U.S. citizen. The records also contain a letter from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency indicating that Guasch has previously been investigated in connection with international drug trafficking. But there is no indication that he has ever been arrested. Months before bringing the plane to Managua, Guasch began visiting Nicaragua to look into the possibility of setting up a commercial airline, which he planned to call Ceylon Air. He met with the head of Nicaragua's Civil Aeronautics Division, Mario Rivas Montealegre, whom he knew from Florida pilot schools in the 1980s. Guasch told Montealegre that he worked for the CIA, according to court records. When it came time to form the company, Guasch needed a Nicaraguan to be named as the majority owner. Montealegre volunteered his chauffeur, who became listed as the owner in the paperwork. But the new airlines still needed an airplane. No problem. On the morning of December 16, workers at a small Fort Lauderdale airline arrived at the airport to discover their jet was missing from the hangar. Police dutifully took a report about a stolen 1975 Lear jet, white with gold and maroon trim, and eight leather passenger seats. Estimated value: $3 million. A few days later, the jet showed up in Managua, accordmg to authorities. Guasch told people that he had bought it in Germany. Instead of parking the plane at the principal international airport, Guasch decided to Store it at a mostly abandoned airport known as Brasiles. The airport has no active control tower and no immigration inspectors. As part of Ceylon Air's rollout, Guasch offered 10 hours of free flights to his new friends in the government. The transportation minister used the plane to fly to Montelimar, an exclusive beach resort on the Pacific. The trip was billed as an official opportunity to inspect the quality of the runway there. The tourism, minister and the vice president also made trips. Aleman's wife, Dolores, flew with friends to visit the Atlantic coast. Aleman and his aides took the plane to a February Conference of Central American presidents in El Salvador. Exactly what other flights the plane took Out of the uncontrolled airport are not known. Authorities are aware of one April flight where the plane went from Managua to San Jose, Costa Rica, where it was also allowed to land without being searched. It went On to Medellin, Colombia, before heading home the next day. While top officials were enjoying the seemingly limitless access to the luxury jet, police were groing suspicious. In May, Officials entered the hangar and searched the plane. A sophisticated drug-detecting device found high levels of cocaine residue in 12 of the 13 locations searched. The presence of residual cocaine, even in compartments led authorities to conclude that the plane had recently been used to transport large quantities of the drug. No actual cocaine was found, however. Four people have been arrested, including Montealegre and his chauffeur. Guasch slipped out of the country and remains at large. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski