Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare

Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare (Operaciones sicológicas en guerra de guerrillas) was a manual written by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the Nicaraguan Contras, who were involved in a civil war with the Nicaraguan government. It was revealed by the Associated Press on October 15, 1984. The ninety-page book of instructions focused mainly on how "Armed Propaganda Teams" could build political support in Nicaragua for the Contra cause through deceit, intimidation, and violence. The manual also discussed assassinations. The ICJ case Nicaragua v. United States found that the publication of this manual had "encouraged acts ... contrary to general principles of humanitarian law." However, the CIA claimed that the purpose of the manual was to "moderate" the extreme violence already being used by the Contras.

The manual was written in October 1983 by a CIA contract employee who used the alias John Kirkpatrick, who "was a U.S. Army counterinsurgency specialist, with experience in the Vietnam War-era Phoenix Program, working under contract to the CIA's International Activities Division." Duane Clarridge, who oversaw the writing of the manual, claimed in his 2009 book that John Kirkpatrick was brought in to prepare a course for the Contras on how to interact with the civilian population and outline the rule of engagement, and that he also produced a manual consisting of this curriculum material. Kirkpatrick based his work off of existing US Army manuals, particularly 1968 Green Beret lesson plans used at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the Green Berets' Lesson Plan 643, Armed Psyop: Implicit and Explicit Terror (April 1968), and Field Manual 30-104, US Department of the Army (September 1967). Handbook on Aggressor Insurgent War. US Government Printing Office. ASIN B01FB7EDW2.  Collaborators on developing the manual included CIA Contra coordinator Ray Doty,Nicaraguan Democratic Force director of communications Edgar Chamorro, Noel Ortiz, and Laura Ortiz.

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