Word: sandinistas
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...banks of Nicaragua's Bocay River were once dotted with Sumo Indian villages. Until the early 1980s the Sumos, surrounded by dense tropical forest, farmed and fished as they had for centuries. The Indians are gone now, forcibly moved to Sandinista resettlement camps, and the once sleepy river teems with guerrillas of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force. Rebel dugout canoes ply the Bocay deep into Nicaragua's Jinotega province, carrying food and ammunition to contras in the interior...
...This is the axis of our resupply effort," says a lanky guerrilla known as Comandante 42, the second in command of an 800-man force that protects the supply lines. The axis, though, is fragile. Contra sentries are posted up and down the river, but Sandinista troops may lie in ambush. Government patrols can call in air support when they encounter the guerrillas...
Even so, the perilously thin lifeline has lifted the contras' spirits and military fortunes. "These bases are an important advance for us," says Comandante 42. "The big difference in the past few months is that our men can get resupplied here rather than at the border." Sandinista troops showed just how dangerous border supply operations can be when they overran the main contra base near Yamales, Honduras, in March 1986, with a 3,000-man force. The rebels beat back the soldiers after a nine-day battle...
While resumption of U.S. aid allowed the contras to return to the Bocay region, the area has changed greatly through Sandinista resettlement efforts. "Before they took our aid away we had many supporters among the civilian population here," said Renato. "We could walk around unarmed. The people sold us food, and we had many secret couriers. Now the civilians are gone. When the Sandinistas took our people away, we lost an important base of support. We have to walk days and days to find civilians...
Still, many of the contras say they are making progress. "We used to have to battle daily," said a veteran guerrilla named Hernan, recalling combat two years ago. "The Sandinistas were always on top of us, attacking. Now they are giving up territory, and we are the ones on the offensive." Guerrillas say they have downed five Sandinista battle helicopters in the past two months with Soviet-made SA-7 missiles bought with U.S. aid, a claim the Sandinistas deny. One rebel said contra forces in the area have 40 of the Soviet-made antiaircraft weapons and expect delivery...