President Alfonso Portillo had promised the 520,000 former patrolmen, an auxiliary force in the counterinsurgency campaign conducted by the military, a compensation package of US$640 apiece. This year he agreed to pay this in three instalments, the first just before the elections: by the time the PAC's called off their boycott, the authorities claimed to have paid out the funds to 400,000 former PACs. The disbursement of the remainder will be up to the new government, due to take office on 14 January. The PACs, it must be noted, have often provided `shock troops' for the ruling Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG), which will almost certainly be in the opposition come January.
NICARAGUA | Troops to Honduran border. In an operation coordinated with the Honduran armed forces, the Nicaraguan army has deployed some 300 soldiers to the border with its northern neighbour, in an offensive against cattle rustlers, drug traffickers, gunrunners and timber smugglers who cross into the northern department of Chinandega. This is one of the biggest departments (provinces) of Nicaragua, and the national police only have 332 agents to cover it. Army intervention had been requested by the mayors of border municipalities.
Colonel Víctor Boitano, commander of the army second region, says intelligence reports have determined that most of the illegal traffic is conducted through at least 18 unguarded border crossings. The gangs operating in the area have extended their activities to the Pan American highway: in the last quarter they have hijacked 19 trucks carrying merchandise.
NICARAGUA | Contras want compensation. Former Contras, who conducted a proxy war for the US against the Sandinistas in 1979-90, are seeking US$700m in compensation from the US. Salvador Talavera, president of the Partido Resistencia Nicaragüense (PRN, the party formed by the ex-Contras) says they are asking for the same treatment as the US gave to Vietnamese who fought on their side in the Vietnam War. Washington gave them some US$400m.
The PRN leader says he will also be submitting to the Nicaraguan congress, supported by legislators of the ruling PLC, a bill earmarking 1% of the budget for aid to former combatants: 32,000 ex-Contras, 50,000 former members of the Sandinista army, and some 6,000 disabled veterans of both sides.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | Violent resistance to economic policies. Seven deaths (six civilians and one policeman) and a large number of injuries was the toll of the 24-hour general strike staged on 12 November to protest President Hipólito Mejía's economic policies. The authorities had made a big effort to prevent the strike and accompanying demonstrations. In the days just before the event the police made about 600 arrests and reported the seizure of 89 pistols, 18 revolvers, 12 rifles, 410 knives, and more than 5,000 tyres meant to be used in barricades. On the day of the strike itself, street demonstrations and clashes were confined to a number of `hot spots'; otherwise, most of the country came to a standstill, its streets deserted. The strike organisers have given the government a 30-day deadline to comply with their demands, which include lowering the prices of basic goods, ending the power blackouts and increasing the salaries of government employees.
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