Word: junta
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...This is a polite revolution" With those words Sergio Ramirez Mercado, soft-spoken leader of Nicaragua's revolutionary junta, summed up all the changes in his nation since the overthrow of Dictator Anastasio ("Tacho") Somoza Debayle five weeks ago. Polite has meant, above all, merciful. After 46 years of stifling one-man rule, the pervading atmosphere of fear is gone. There has been no reprisal by the victors; not a single member of Somoza's national guard has been executed, though its members killed thousands during the revolt. Despite predictions to the contrary, the unity of diverse political...
...sooner did the junta feel secure enough in victory to lift a 7 p.m. curfew than Managua burst into noisy life. Roadblocks at major intersections came down, and the streets filled with honking traffic. Restaurants and theaters showing old American films like Mandingo began to attract crowds. Radio Sandino, voice of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (F.S.L.N.), adjusted to the brand new beat: to its broadcasts of revolutionary anthems it added disco hits by the Bee Gees...
...Sandinistas were reluctant to give up their "liberated" booty. Last week a 52-article provisional constitution was announced, containing guarantees of equal justice under law, the abolition of torture and capital punishment, and the right to free expression. Of the 3,000 guardsmen and Somoza thugs that the junta had held in custody while determining if they had committed atrocities in the despot's name, more than 1,000 have been cleared and allowed either to go home if they wished or enlist in the revolutionary army...
...Their leaders feared that a domino effect might engulf them in a wave of leftist insurgency inspired by the success of Nicaragua's revolt. In all three countries, leftist terrorism has been on the rise, largely because more peaceable democratic opposition groups have been ruthlessly suppressed. Though the junta has denied any plans to "export our revolution," Defense Department and intelligence officials are urging that the U.S. resume arms shipments to the three nations, which have been cut off since the Carter Administration began its human rights campaign...
...Honduras the three-man military junta headed by General Policardo Paz has made a few concessions that may isolate the leftist terrorists who are trying to bring it down. The government paid no more than lip service to Somoza's plea that it crack down on Sandinista bases near the Nicaragua border. "They've made some of the right moves," says a State Department official, "but the violent opposition, which is heavily Marxist, still remains powerful...