Contra Attacks in Nicaragua

My mother says about some individuals, “They have more nerve than brains.” This characterization is tailor-made for contra leader, Bosco Matamoros, who bemoans “propaganda points” made by the Nicaraguan government when the contras assassinated Ben Linder.

Shortly before his death, Linder had told a reporter that he and his team had been deliberately targeted by the contras because of their efforts to bring electricity to remote mountain villages.

If the contras are disturbed by the adverse reaction their actions evoke, the solution is quite simple: Let them allow those like Ben Linder, both Nicaraguans and others, to work in peace to improve the lives of the rural poor.

NORMA LITMAN

Whittier