Costa Rica Won’t Allow Contras

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias criticized U.S. military aid to the Nicaraguan rebels today and said he will not allow the contras to use his country as a base for military operations in neighboring Nicaragua.

Arias, at a news conference as he wrapped up an official visit, criticized the Managua government, which he said had betrayed the ideals of the 1979 Sandinista revolution. But he said change “should come through pressure in the political field, not in the military one.” Arias said he did not register his criticism during his Oval Office meeting Thursday with President Reagan.