Word: nicaragua
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...diplomatic maneuvers looked a bit flat-footed, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra seemed to execute several deft pirouettes. He announced that three exiled priests could return to Nicaragua and hinted that the Roman Catholic Church's radio station might be reopened within 90 days. Some Central American officials speculated that Ortega was merely trying to embarrass the Reagan Administration; others argued that with Nicaragua's economy a shambles, Ortega was genuinely bent on procuring peace. Whatever the case, on the public relations front, conceded a U.S. official, "the Sandinistas have certainly done much better than we have...
...Reagan had intended to present the Sandinistas with a proposal that they could only reject, then ask Congress for new contra funding before the current aid expires on Sept. 30. But the scheme went awry. Three days later, when the Presidents of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua met in Guatemala City to discuss a homegrown peace proposal, the Central American leaders allied with the U.S. felt compelled to sign their version. "What were we supposed to do?" asks a Honduran official. "Be the only ones not for peace?" One major difference between the two pacts: the Reagan...
...Washington's distress, the Guatemala plan has almost totally eclipsed ) the Reagan Administration's version in public discussions. Three of the contras' six civilian directors embraced the accord last week, saying they would return to Nicaragua if conditions for a cease-fire scheduled for Nov. 7 were met. "We are prepared to give the plan a fair try," said Alfonso Robelo. "We won't put up any hurdles." Contra Military Commander Enrique Bermudez, however, asserted that the rebels would not lay down their weapons on Nov. 7, nor would they accept an amnesty offered by Ortega. During their meeting with...
...Nicaragua, Ortega went to unusual lengths to demonstrate his commitment to the Guatemala agreement. His boldest gesture was to name Miguel Cardinal Obando y Bravo, one of the Sandinistas' harshest critics, to a four-person commission that will oversee Managua's compliance with the plan. While State Department Spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley applauded Obando's appointment, she charged that "the Sandinistas have stacked the council in their favor...
Ortega's determination at least to act like a peacemaker seems to stem primarily from economic concerns. The war, which consumes more than half of Nicaragua's annual budget, is taking an enormous toll on the economy. The most immediate concern is oil. This year the Soviet Union and its East-bloc satellites are expected to supply 490,000 tons, or 64% of the total need, compared with 95% in 1986. Oddly, the crisis has neither lowered the monthly gas ration of 20 gal. for each vehicle nor inspired the state to ease the controls that hold the official price...