Continued Unrest in Southern Mexico CHIAPAS, DECEMBER 5, 1994 Newly elected PRI governor Eduardo Robledo is strug- gling to establish his political legitimacy in the face of demands from the Chiapan Peo- ples Electoral Tribunal (PEPCH) that the August state election be annulled because of massive fraud. The PEPCH collected almost 2,000 complaints of fraud in over half the state's polling booths. Trying to placate the opposition, Robledo promised to form a pluralistic government with non-party representatives who will "listen to the needs" of Chiapas and search for ways to reduce social inequities and defuse the armed conflict. Dozens of municipalities have declared their autonomy since the January 1994 uprising. Since September, the Independent Union of Agricultural Workers (CIOAC) has united 20,000 Tojolobal indigenous people in declaring self-rule. Villages have expelled local authorities and returned to decision-making through regular community assemblies. "We have closed schools and clinics, and people have agreed not to pay taxes, water charges, electricity, or government credits," said Jos6 Antonio Hernandez, CIAOC regional chief. In Mexico City, indigenous legal representatives are demanding government recognition of the declarations of autonomy. The success of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in winning political space and in consolidating their grip on the liberated zone-cov- ering a fifth of the state-has inspired many in the state's non- aligned social movements to sup- port the rebel demands. One source within the Emiliano Zapa- ta Peasant Organization (OCEZ) admitted that hundreds of the organization's members had defected to the rebels, and that the guerrilla were even training on OCEZ-occupied land. Such developments are closing the gap between open and clandestine organizing. In the absence of state authori- ty, landowners and ranchers in Chiapas have taken the law into their own hands, dislodging indigenous peasants from occu- pied land. In one violent evic- tion, ranchers and armed police ejected 1,000 members of the Xi' Nich indigenous organization from a peaceful protest in the Palenque town square. The clash resulted in the death of one Xi' Nich member, and 20 disappear- ances. The Mexican military, mean- while, maintains its tight net around EZLN positions, and Zapatista troops are on perma- nent alert, anticipating a sudden strike during the first months of newly inaugurated President Ernesto Zedillo's term. Chiapas Bishop Samuel Rufz continues to explore options for peace. He recently launched the National Intermediation Commission (CONAI), composed of eight prominent, well-respected Mexi- cans. The commission is work- ing to break the stalled dialogue and reopen a peaceful road to end the conflict-a prospect which seems unlikely in the immediate future. -Michael McCaughan Army Joins Fight Against Drugs RIo DE JANEIRO, NOVEMBER 28, 1994 T he direct intervention of the Brazilian armed forces marked the beginning of a new, unprecedented phase in the war against drug trafficking and vio- lence in Rio de Janeiro, especial- ly in the city's impoverished favelas where the problem is most critical. The military's participation was made possible by an agree- ment signed between President Itamar Franco, Justice Minister Alexandre Dupeyrat and Rio de Janeiro Governor Nilo Batista. The agreement allowed the State to avoid decreeing a "state of defense," the first step along the path to a "state of siege" accord- ing to the Brazilian Constitution. It is the first time that the Brazilian armed forces have left their barracks and taken posi- tions in strategic points of the city to combat drug trafficking. Until now, they have played this role only in the border areas and the Amazon. General Roberto Camara Senna, who was designated coor- dinator of the joint actions of the armed forces and the police, designed a long-term plan that foresees the "asphyxiation" of narcotrafficking groups -by preventing them from receiving drugs and arms-followed by the identification and detention of their leaders. "This is a complex problem that will take time to be resolved. No one should expect immediate results," Camara Senna warned upon assuming command of the operations. Using almost 2,000 men, armored cars, tanks, rapid de- ployment vehicles, and artillery helicopters, the army rapidly took control of the majority of the city'sfavelas and detained an un- determined number of suspects. Human rights organizations have strongly criticized the mili- tary operations, especially the de- tention of people for not carrying identity documents and the meti- culous body searches of children. Vol XXVIII, No 4 JAN/FEB 19951 Vol XXVIII, No 4 JAN/FEB 1995 1NEWSBRIEFS Despite the commotion gener- ated by the sight of large num- bers of soldiers patrolling the streets and the extensive local media coverage, statistics of crime and violence in Rio de Janeiro are no worse than in other large Latin American cities. Governor Batista was harshly criticized for not decreeing a state of defense, even though he reminded people that the mea- sure allows the authorities to open up private correspondence, detain suspects without a court order, and tap telephone lines. -Aldo Horacio Gamboa Frente Amplio Makes Gains in Uruguay MONTEVIDEO, NOVEMBER 30, 1994 On November 27, the biparti- san system which has char- acterized Uruguay for over 165 years may have come to an end. Uruguayans, voting in their third national elections since the return to civilian rule in 1984, recog- nized the Left coalition party Frente Amplio (Broad Front) as a legitimate and viable political force. In a close three-way race, the Frente came in third. The pre- sident-elect is former President Julio Sanguinetti, who presided over the nation's transition from military to civilian rule from 1984 to 1989. But his victorious party, the centrist Colorados, received only a third of the popular vote. With about two million votes cast, a mere 28,000 votes separat- ed the Colorados from the Frente Amplio. The Colorados received 31.2% of the presidential vote, the conservative National Party (also known as the Blancos) 30.0%, and the Frente Amplio 29.8%. The three parties are expected to be about evenly rep- resented in the new Congress. The centrist Sanguinetti is expected to soften, but not aban- don the process of neoliberal reform set in motion by the out- going National Party president, Luis Alberto Lacalle. The impor- tance of these elections, however, is to be found in the unprecedent- ed showing of the coalition of Communists, socialists, ex-Tupa- maro guerrillas and other leftists. Receiving 40% more votes than in 1989, the Frente maintained control of the city government in Montevideo and broadened its base in the traditionally more conservative interior. As Uru- guay faces the challenges of regional economic integration, the nation must adapt to the reali- ties of tripartisanism within the institutional limitations of a two- party structure. -- Aimee Verdisco and Christine Ehrick Hunger Strike Calls Attention to Army Abuses GUATEMALA CITY, NOVEMBER 28, 1994 A 32-day hunger strike by a U.S. lawyer has succeeded in drawing the U.S. govern- ment's attention back to ongoing human rights abuses by the Guatemalan army. The press coverage generated by Jennifer Harbury's search for her missing husband, a guerrilla commander with the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), has led to meetings between the Harvard-educated attorney and top U.S. officials, and increased pressure on the army to clean up its act. For months, Guatemalan activists have accused the inter- national community-especially the United States-of downplay- ing continued rights abuses in favor of pushing through peace accords to end Guatemala's 34- year civil war. According to the Guatemalan Archbishop's Human Rights Office, abuses have actually increased since government and URNG negotia- tors signed a historic human rights accord in March. Harbury went on a hunger strike in a last-ditch effort to demand the reappearance of Efrafn Bdmaca VelAsquez, who she-and now, the U.S. State Department-says was captured by the Guatemalan army in 1992. Backed by international human rights groups and influential sup- porters such as former President Jimmy Carter, Harbury is demanding that Bdmaca and other prisoners of war be given fair and legal treatment. Harbury's story has captured the imagination of many in the United States. She met and fell in love with Bimaca, a leading Mayan URNG commander, in 1991. The two were married in early 1992, but Bdmaca-also known as Comandante Everar- do--disappeared in combat months later. The army said he killed himself to avoid capture, but an escaped fellow rebel reported seeing him alive and brutally tortured five months after his disappearance. An exhumation in 1993 of BAmaca's supposed grave produced a man significantly shorter and younger than BAmaca. Several residents of Bimaca' s hometown have also reported seeing him alive in army custody after he disappeared. LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN RESOURCE GUIDE Instituto Latinoamericano de Servicios Legales Alternativos, P.O. Box 077844, Bogota, Colombia. Human Rights Working Paper. Intercongregational Commission for Justice and Peace, A.A. 52332, Bogota, Colombia. Tel: (57-1) 245- 5526. Colombia Bulletin. COSTA RICA Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, Calle 36, Avenidas 1 y 3, Casa No. 119, P.O. Box 8-6410, San Jos6 1000 Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 552- 955. Fax: (506) 552-244. Asociaci6n de Desarrollo Integral de la Reserva Indigena Cocles/KkkbLdi, Apartado 170-2070, Sabanilla, Montes de Oca, San Jose, Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 24-60-90. Fax: (506) 53-75-24. Cefemina: Centro Feminista de Infor- maci6n y Acci6n, Apartado 5355, San Jos6 1000 Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 24- 46-20. Fax: (506) 34-68-75. Friends Peace Center, Apartado Postal 1507, San Jose 1000 Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 336-168. Building Peace in Costa Rica. Programa de Informaci6n para la Mujer, Apto. 1009, Centro Colon, San Jose, Costa Rica. CUBA Center for Cuban Studies, 124 W. 23 St., New York, NY 10011 USA. Tel: (212) 242-0559. Fax: (212) 242-1937. Cuba Update. Center for Studies of the Americas, Calle 18 No. 316, 3era y 5ta Avenida, Miramar Playa, Havana 13 Cuba. Tel: 296-745. Cuademos de Nuestra America. Cuba Information Project, 198 Broad- way, Ste. 800, New York, NY 10038 USA. Tel: (212) 227-3422. Fax: (212) 227-4859. E-mail: nyempower@igc. apc.org. Cuba Action. Cuba Solidarity Campaign, 129 Seven Sisters Rd., London N7 7QT England. Tel: (44-71) 263-6452. B.C.R.C. Bulletin. Global Exchange, Cuba Project, 2017 Mission St., Ste. 303, San Francisco, CA 94110 USA. Tel: (415) 255-7296. Fax: (415) 255-7498. National Venceremos Brigade, P.O. Box 673, New York, NY 10035 USA. Tel: (212) 246-3811. Radio Habana Cuba, Aptdo. de Corre- os 70-26, Havana, Cuba. Tel: 7-4954. U.S.-Cuba Medical Project, 1173-A Second Ave., Ste. 232, New York, NY 10021 USA. Tel: (212) 751-0672. Fax: (212) 752-1809. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Coalition for the Abolition of Slavery in the Dominican Republic, 2000, Alexandre de Seve, Montreal, PQ H2L 2W4 Canada. Tel: (514) 521-0095. Instituto de Investigaci6n, Docu- mentaci6n Derechos Humanos de la Republica Dominicana, C/Arzobispo Nouel No. 2, Zona Colonial, Apartado de Correos No. 21424, Santo Domin- go, Dominican Republic. International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, Avenida Cesar Nicolas Pen- son 102-A, P.O. Box 21747, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Tel: (809) 685-2111. Fax: (809) 685-2117. INSTRAWNews: Women and Develop- ment ECUADOR Agencia Latinoamericana de Informa- cin, Av. 12 de Octubre 622 y Patria, of. 503, Casilla 17-12-877, Quito, Ecuador. ALAI Servicio Informativo. Latin American Association for Human Rights, Av. Rumipamba 862 y Republi- ca Apartado 17-07-9296, Quito, Ecuador. Tel: (5932) 242472. Fax: (593-2) 549274. Union Nacional de Mujeres del Ecuador, c/o Dr. Irene Paredes, Ver- salles 1103, Quito, Ecuador. EL SALVADOR CISPES National Office, P.O. Box 12156, Washington, DC 20005 USA. Tel: (202) 265-0895. Fax: (202) 265- 7843. Alertl. Cristianos por la Paz en El Salvador, 1135 Mission Rd., San Antonio, TX 78210 USA. Tel: (512) 534-6996. Crispaz/Letter to the Churches. El Salvador Solidarity Campaign, 129 Seven Sisters Rd., London N7 7QG England. Tel: (44-71) 272-4580. Federation of Independent Associa- tions and Unions of El Salvador, U.S. Office, 1377 K St., NW, Rm. 114, Washington, DC 20005 USA. Tel: (202) 232-8539. Fax: (202) 265-7843. MADRE, 121 W. 27 St., Rm. 301, New York, NY 10001 USA. Tel: (212) 627- 0444. MADRE. Medical Aid for El Salvador, P.O. Box 3282, Los Angeles, CA 90078 USA. Tel: (213) 937-3596. National Federation of Salvadoran Workers, 1300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Rm, 808, Washington, D.C. 20036 USA. GUATEMALA Guatemala Health Rights Support Pro- ject, 1747 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA. Tel: (202) 332-7678. Fax: (202) 328-3369. Guatemala Human Rights Commis- sion/USA, 3321 12 St., NE, Washing- ton, DC 20017 USA. Tel: (202) 529- 6599. Fax: (202) 526-4611. E-mail: ghrc@igc.apc.org. Guatemala Bulletin. Guatemala News and Information Bureau, P.O. Box 28594, Oakland, CA 94604 USA. Tel: (510) 835-0810. Fax: (510) 835-0810. E-mail: gnib@igc.apc.org. Report on Guatemala. Guatemalan News Agency, Apartado Postal 74-206, Delegaci6n Iztapalapa, CP 09080 Mexico D.F., Mexico. Cerigua Weekly Briefs. Ixoquib, P.O. Box 24, Chilmark, MA 02535 USA. TELAR: A Guatemalan Women's Magazine/Una Revista de la Mujer Guatemalteca. National Coordinating Office on Refugees and Displaced of Guatemala, 59 E. Van Buren, Ste. 1400, Chicago, IL 60605 USA. Tel: (312) 360-1705. Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, 1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Ste. 241, Washington, DC 20005 USA. Tel: (202) 223-6474. Fax: (202) 223-8221. E-mail: nisgua@igc.apc.org. Report on Guatemala. Project Balam for the Defence of the Environment through Peace and Jus- tice, c/o Guatemalan Community Net- work, 427 Bloor St., Toronto, ON M5S 1X7 Canada. Tel: (416) 929-8601. Fax: (416) 929-8601. U.S.-Guatemala Labor Education Pro- ject, c/o ACTWU-Chicago Joint Board, 333 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60607 USA. Tel: (312) 262-6502. Fax: (312) 262-6602. E-mail: usglep@igc.apc.org. HAITI Committee against Repression in Haiti, 1398 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11210 USA. Tel: (718) 434-3940. Haiti Report. Friends of Haiti, 1398 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11210 USA. Tel: (718) 434-8100. Haiti Communications Project, 11 Inman St., Cambridge, MA 02139 USA. Haiti News, 131 N. Main St., Sharon, MA 02067 USA. Tel: (617) 784-8067. Haiti News. Haiti Reborn, c/o Quixote Center, P.O. Box 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782 USA. Tel: (301) 699-0042. Fax: (301) 699- 0042. Haiti Support Group, Trinity Church, Hodford Rd., London NW11 8NG Eng- land. Tel: (44-81) 201-9878. Haitian Information Bureau, c/o Lynx Air, Box 407139, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33340 USA. E-mail: hib@igc.apc.org. Haiti Info. National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, 275 Seventh Ave., 25th floor, New York, NY 10001-6708 USA. Tel: (212) 337-0005. Fax: (212) 337- 0028. HAITI Insight A Bulletin on Refugee and Human Rights Affairs. Washington Office on Haiti, 110 Mary- land Ave., NE, Ste. 310, Washington, DC 20002 USA. Tel: (202) 543-7095. Fax: (202) 547-9382. E-mail: wohaiti@igc.apc.org. Haitian News and Resource Service. HONDURAS Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras, Plaza Los Dolores, Edificio 447, A. Postal 21- 477, Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., Honduras. Instituto de Investigaciones Socioe- con6micas de Honduras, Apartado Postal 20-057, Colonia San Angel, 01000 Mexico D.F., Mexico. INSEH News Briefs JAMAICA Friends for Jamaica, P.O. Box 20392, Park West Sta., New York, NY 10025 USA. Caribbean Newsletter Joint Trade Unions Research Develop- ment Centre, 1A Hope Blvd., Kingston 6, Jamaica, West Indies. Tel: (809) 92- 72468. Sistren Theatre Collective, 20 Kensing- ton Crescent, Kingston 5 Jamaica, West Indies. Tel: (809) 92-92457. MEXICO American Friends Service Committee, Mexico-U.S. Border Program, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102 USA. Tel: (215) 241-7132. Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, Uni- versity of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0510 VOL XXVIII, No 4 JAN/FEB 1995 41 "The battle she's fighting is part of the struggle of the Guatemalan people," says Miguel Morales of the Guatemalan Mutual Support Group for Families of the Disap- peared (GAM). "If this is hap- pening with the husband of a for- eigner, what's happening to Guatemalans in the rural interior of the country? In remote vil- lages, people can't even report forced disappearances because of harassment by the PACs [paramili- tary civil patrols], military-intelli- gence agents, or the army." According to human rights groups, some 200,000 Guatemalans-- mostly poor and indigenous-have been murdered or disappeared in three decades of brutal counterin- surgency war. The sudden burst of publicity around Harbury's case prompted the State Department to reveal that, according to information gathered by various U.S. agencies, Bimaca was captured in March, 1992 and seen alive as late as that July. Sev- eral high-level U.S. officials have met with Harbury. The State Department has, however, rejected her calls for economic sanctions, despite increased defiance by the Guatemalan government. The Guatemalan army denies it keeps prisoners of war, and insists that Bdmaca is dead. Defense Min- ister Gen. Mario Enrfquez and other officials have engaged in a series of nasty public attacks against Harbury. They have questioned the legality of her marriage and threatened to bar her from the country. Guate- malan President Ramiro De Le6n Carpio has formed a government commission to investigate Harbury's charges, but continues to insist that BAmaca is dead. Yet another exhumation in November failed to produce the rebel commander, and Harbury says the Guatemalan gov- ernment is merely stalling. Harbury ended her strike in order to file criminal charges against eight army officers implicated in BAmaca' s capture and torture. -Laura Proctor Proposition 187 Comes to El Salvador SAN SALVADOR, NOVEMBER 25, 1994 The possible deportation of hun- dreds of thousands of undocu- mented Salvadorans from the Unit- ed States has generated concern bordering on panic here. Undocu- mented Salvadorans are doubly threatened, by the federal cutoff of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on January 1, and by the denial of basic public services to all undocu- mented aliens, approved by Cali- fornia voters in November as "Proposition 187." Salvadoran President Armando Calder6n Sol said that his country was unprepared for a massive deportation given the country's problems with employment, hous- ing, health and education. "Even if it's beans and tortillas, right now everyone can eat," said the rightist president, warning that the country might not be able to accommodate its "distant brothers." Jesuits here have criticized Calder6n's "out- bursts of solidarity," saying that beans and tortillas were becoming luxuries in El Salvador. "We should look at ourselves," said Father Javier Ibisate, a Jesuit priest and economist. "The officials com- plaining most furiously about Cali- fornia racism are the same ones who are denying services to Sal- vadorans who have remained here." The most pressing issue is remit- tances. Since 1988, the million or so Salvadorans living in the United States have sent an estimated $4.2 billion back to El Salvador. This year, remittances are expected to reach $1 billion, while export earn- ings from the sale of coffee will be only about $600 million. "Poor Salvadorans," said Father Ibisate, "are rescuing the economic model created by the rich for the benefit of the rich." -InterPress Service Menem's Praise of Military Provokes Outcry BUENOS AIRES, NOVEMBER 11, 1994 In mid-October, President Carlos Menem endorsed the proposed promotion of two navy captains accused by human rights organiza- tions of torturing prisoners in the "dirty war" during the military juntas of 1976-1983. Before the two officers testified before a spe- cial Senate commission during proceedings to consider their pro- motions, Menem urged the Con- gress "not to look back" at the bloody repression of the past, but to get on with healing wounds and unifying the country. The Senate, however, turned down the officers' bid for promotion after the two men admitted that they knew pris- oners had been tortured by the mil- itary to gain information, and that they had personally participated in torture sessions. One week later, the president stunned many Argentines by prais- ing the military's role during the 1970s and 1980s. "It was thanks to the presence of the armed forces ... that we fought and triumphed in the dirty war which took our com- munity to the brink of collapse," said Menem. The president said that his own imprisonment by those same military forces gave him "more authority than many to talk about this." Human rights groups reacted furiously to what they considered Menem's attempt to whitewash the military's bloody past. Hebe Bonafini, the president of the Association of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the organization of families of the disappeared, warned that conditions in Argenti- na were ripe for the return of repression and violence. Bonafini cited the recent appointment of Olimpo Garay as head of the prison system. Garay, who headed the dreaded detention camps during the dirty war, was forced to resign his new post after the prisoners held a hunger strike to protest his appointment. Some political analysts have suggested that Menem's praise of the armed forces was an effort to neutralize the growing discontent within the military over low salaries and the Senate's refusal to promote the two navy officers. Menem, however, rejected this view, saying that his relations with the military were excellent and that "there is absolute tranquility in the armed forces." -NotiSur Ortega's Faction Takes Control of Sandinista Party MANAGUA, NOVEMBER 7, 1994 he slowly expanding split in the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) widened abruptly on October 25 when the director of the FSLN-owned Barricada, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, was sacked from his post because of "differ- ences" with the party leadership. The action was seen as the latest effort to marginalize FSLN social democrats from any positions of power. Over the past few years, under Chamorro's leadership, the Barri- cada editorial policy has gradually moved away from a strict party line, and has at times been openly critical of Ortega. In a final state- ment published in Barricada, Chamorro referred to his firing as "an extreme dose of political intol- erance." The fallout from Chamorro's dis- missal has been extensive, with FSLN leader Bayardo Arce resign- ing as president of Barricada's board of directors, along with the entire editorial board and 20 of the newspaper's editors and journalists. Chamorro was replaced by Lum- berto Campbell, a member of the FSLN directorate from Bluefields with no journalistic background. Tomis Borge, a staunch Ortega supporter, is to replace Arce as president of the board of directors and the editorial board. Fueling the tensions, the poet and former minister of culture, Ernesto Cardenal, resigned from the party, accusing Daniel Ortega of having "taken over the party" to further his own political interests. Henry Ruiz, Dora Maria Tellez, Luis Carri6n, and Mirna Cunning- ham-all members of the FSLN directorate-issued a joint state- ment claiming that party hardliners were using party resources to attack other Sandinistas. -- NotiSur Cocaine Comes to Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast PUERTO CABEZAS, NICARAGUA, DEC., 1994 N icaragua' s Atlantic Coast has always been isolated and underdeveloped. What little infra- structure there was before the Con- tra war is now in shambles. But one foreign business dealing in "nontra- ditional exports" is booming. The Cali cocaine cartel is quickly becoming the employer of last resort. On Nicaragua's northeast coast, the free market means that cocaine is king. Divers and fishermen meet Colombian smugglers on the high seas to trade fish and rock lobster for cocaine. The Colombians use the fish to launder their cash on the Colombian island of San Andrns, while the Nicaraguans resell the cocaine for transshipment north or for local consumption. Hungry, demobilized Contras are also trad- ing guns, left over from the war, for drugs and commodities like stereos and clothing. Nicaraguan newspa- pers estimate that as many as 7,000 AK-47s and scores of rocket launchers have been swapped for drugs and merchandise in the last three years. The Nicaraguan army has a mini- mal presence on the Atlantic Coast. The police in Puerto Cabezas have access to one helicopter for half a day a month. Their few 75-horsepower speed boats are short on gas and no match for the Cali cartel's 250- to 500-horsepower engines. Nic- aragua's 500-mile coast is the per- fect trampoline for drug traffickers wishing to divide, consolidate or reroute their cargo. The region's 18,000 demobilized Contras and Sandinista soldiers make a willing labor pool. Earlier this year, ex-Contras from the Miskito group Yatama gunned down three Colombians who had come ashore to the remote hamlet of Sandy Bay to sell cocaine at what villagers called "ridiculously low prices." One rumor has it that the Colombians were killed be- cause they were from the Medellin cartel and cutting in on a Cali fran- chise. After killing the traffickers, the Miskito gunmen allegedly took and distributed much of the deal- ers' cocaine before calling in the police for a high-profile drug recovery. Mirna Cunningham, a Miskito nurse recently elected to the nation- al directorate of the Sandinista Front sees the drug trade as just the latest version of colonial dependence. "It makes perfect sense," says Cun- ningham. "We've had ten years of war which tried to crush an alterna- tive economic model and now no reconstruction program. What else are the thousands of demobilized troops to do? They've been told to insert themselves into the world economy so they export cocaine to you in the United States." -Christian Parenti Sources Michael McCaughan is a NACLA corre- spondent based in Chiapas. Aldo Horacio Gamboa is a freelance cor- respondent based in Rio de Janeiro. Aimee Verdisco and Christine Ehrick are Fulbright scholars currently conducting research in Montevideo. Laura Proctor covers Guatemala for Paci- fica Radio. InterPress Service is an international news service based in Italy. Its dispatches can be read on-line in the Peacenet confer- ences: ips.espanol and ips.english. NotiSur is available as a closed Peacenet conference: carnet.ladb. For subscription information: Latin American Data Base, Latin American Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; (800) 472-0888. Christian Parenti is a freelance correspon- dent based in London.
