The World - News from May 8, 1985

A Nicaraguan rebel who accepted a government amnesty offer accused his former comrades of raping and assassinating civilians in their battle to topple the Sandinista government. Jose Efrain Mondragon said in Managua that he deserted the U.S.-backed rebels because of “crimes” he had witnessed, including kidnaping of Nicaraguan peasants and raping of women. Mondragon said that in Honduras, where the contras are based, he had seen Nicaraguans “assassinated for refusing to fight.”