Central America Cursed

The communique from Havana last week sounded downright chummy. "Fidel expressed to Daniel the readiness of Cuba to cooperate with Nicaragua as far as possible to make the policy a success," read the statement. Fidel, of course, was the bearded one. And Daniel was Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra. The topic of conversation: a peace plan for Central America that Ortega had signed in Guatemala City the previous week.

The get-together with Castro may have revived doubts about Ortega's status as an independent decision maker, but it was far friendlier than a session in Washington on the same subject. When Ronald Reagan met with more than a dozen conservative supporters to discuss his tentative support of the Guatemala plan, as well as his sponsorship of a rival accord hammered out with Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright, his guests angrily denounced both pacts. They argued that either one of them would destroy the U.S.-backed contras who are fighting to overthrow Ortega's Sandinista government. Said Howard Phillips, chairman of the Conservative Caucus, a 700,000-member lobbying group: "I think it's the biggest mistake that Reagan has made during his presidency."

The heated reaction from Reagan's longtime supporters sowed further discord within an Administration that had not made up its mind about the wisdom of either agreement. As Reagan waffled last week, first embracing the Guatemala plan, then amending his own accord, the White House found itself attacked on all sides. On Friday, Central American Special Envoy Philip Habib resigned, reportedly because he was not consulted on the Reagan-Wright accord and was doubtful that the Guatemala plan would work.

At the heart of the debate are the timetables for bringing about peace. The Guatemala plan, signed by the Presidents of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, calls for cease-fires in the region's civil wars, an end to outside aid for local insurgents, democratic reforms and free elections. The agreement gives the Central American governments 90 days from the date of its signing -- until Nov. 7 -- to work out the details. That is five weeks after the U.S.'s current $100 million aid package for the contras expires on Sept. 30. The Reagan-Wright proposal, on the other hand, calls for an immediate cease-fire in the contra war, followed by talks leading to new elections in Nicaragua. Under this scenario, if the Sandinistas did not institute democratic reforms by Sept. 30, the Administration would seek new funds for the Nicaraguan rebels.