U.S. Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America and the Caribbean

The Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America and the Caribbean (S/LPD or ARA/LPD) was an intra-agency propaganda organization established in the United States during the administration of Ronald Reagan. It was founded and managed by the Cuban-American Otto Reich, an ardent opponent of Fidel Castro.

In theory, the S/LPD operated under the auspices of the Department of State, but congressional investigations later determined it reported directly to Reagan's National Security Council aide in the White House, Colonel Oliver North. The S/LPD collaborated with Central Intelligence Agency propaganda experts and Army psychological operations specialists to disseminate what it called "white propaganda" with the goal of influencing public opinion and spurring Congress to continue to fund the Reagan administration's military campaign against Nicaragua's Sandinista government. By covertly disseminating intelligence leaks to journalists, it sought to trump up a Nicaraguan "threat," and to sanctify the U.S.-backed Contra guerrillas fighting Nicaragua's government as "freedom fighters."

The S/LPD drafted pro-Reagan op-ed pieces that ran under fabricated bylines in U.S. newspapers. It also planted stories designed to embarrass or contradict the Sandinista regime. In addition to manipulating the press, the S/LPD also supplied information to pro-Reagan lobbying groups and political organizations that favored the Contra war.

On the eve of Reagan's re-election, the S/LPD spread the story that Soviet MiG fighter jets were arriving in Nicaragua. With journalists citing unnamed "intelligence sources", the story was repeated throughout the U.S. media and spurred a Democratic senator to discuss a possible airstrike against Nicaragua. However, the story later turned out to be a hoax. Several journalists later acknowledged they had been handed the story by Reich's office. According to the Miami Herald, the S/LPD also spread a rumor that Nicaragua had acquired chemical weapons from the Soviets. Newsweek reported that it told reporters that high-level Sandinistas were involved in drug trafficking, but US drug officials said there was no evidence for such a charge.

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