Nine years after revolution, Nicaragua is still besieged
1988Carl Finamore 1988-07Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 1 →
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Union members mourn death of co-worker killed by the contras last January. As the Nicaraguan Revolution celebrates 9th anniversary, Reagan is again appealing to the Congress for renewed military aid to the contras. Larry Boyd/mpact Visuals its Amid premature claims of an end to the contra war, there have been several reports of renewed military activity inside Nicaragua.
A week after the June 8-10 talks between the Sandinista government and the contra leadership broke down, battles between the army and mercenary forces resumed in remote regions of Nicaragua.
By June 23, seven battles had occurred, leaving 20 contras and three government soldiers dead. A government spokesperson announced that 40 civilians had been kidnapped by the contras during the week of fighting.
"I think it's time to go back and try to rebuild the military stick. Although we may not use it, at least we can show it is there," said former contra directorate leader Alfonso Robelo in late June.
From the outset, the chief negotiating strategy of the contras and their sponsors, the U.S. government, has been to renew the fighting if their reactionary demands were not satisfied during the peace talks with the Sandinistas.
Maintaining a credible military threat at the negotiating table was accomplished with the help of House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Texas) and most other liberal Democrats who voted for the $47.9 million aid package approved by Congress in March.
Since this legislation expires in September, a bipartisan congressional delegation has already called for more military funding. Wright has encouraged this by consistently assuring Reagan that "prompt consideration will be given to any military aid request" by the administration.
The contras' negotiating ploy During the final day of the latest round of talks, the contra representatives to the peace negotiations-led by Alfredo César and Enrique Bermudez, a former colonel under Somoza-raised new demands they knew (continued on page 12)