(8. Oktober 1991) As the State Department‘s point man on Latin America, Mr. Abrams headed the Restricted Interagency Group, a panel that coordinated the Administration‘s Central America policy among officials at the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon.

Other members included Mr. North, the Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and White House aide who managed the day-to-day operations of secretly aiding the Nicaraguan rebels, and Alan D. Fiers Jr., who supervised Central Intelligence Agency activities in Central America.

In this capacity, Mr. Abrams operated as a high-visibility figure who seemed to relish his combative public role in defending Administration policy in Central America, while at the same time working closely with officials who were engaged in secret efforts to supply the rebels with arms after Congress barred direct military assistance in late 1984.