The World - News from March 12, 1989

Honduran officials and Nicaraguan rebel leaders will meet in Washington this week to discuss a peace proposal that includes disarming the rebels, a Honduran Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Last month, the presidents of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica worked out the peace proposal, in which they agreed to draft a plan by May 15 to disband the Contras, who oppose Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista government. Most of the rebels fled to bases in neighboring Honduras after U.S. military assistance ended last year. In a related matter, Nicaragua officials said that, in accordance with the peace proposal, nearly 1,900 former members of ousted President Anastasio Somoza’s National Guard will be freed on March 19, pending formal approval by the National Assembly.