Ortega Heads for Cuba, Seeks Support for Regional Agreement

President Daniel Ortega left for Cuba on Wednesday, saying he will seek Fidel Castro’s support for a preliminary peace accord among Central American leaders.

The five-nation agreement reached last Friday set a 90-day deadline for negotiating cease-fires in the region’s guerrilla wars and urged outside governments to stop giving aid and sanctuary to insurgent forces.

The accord signed after a summit meeting of the presidents of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica also called for talks on limiting armies, weaponry and foreign military influence in Central America.

Backs Salvador Rebels

Cuba would be affected because it supports leftist guerrillas in El Salvador and has hundreds of military advisers in Nicaragua, helping the Sandinista government fight the U.S.-backed contras.

Before boarding a flight to Havana, Ortega told reporters he will inform Castro about the summit agreement and seek the Cuban leader’s endorsement.

“This is a demonstration of Nicaragua’s willingness to gather as much support as we possibly can behind this presidential agreement,” said Foreign Minister Miguel d’Escoto, who accompanied Ortega to Cuba.

Sandinista officials have expressed strong optimism that the accord will lead to a cutoff of U.S. funding for the contras. In turn, it would require Managua to end press censorship and guarantee full political rights to unarmed opposition parties.

Ortega has pledged to comply with these steps as soon as the contras stop fighting. On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to Secretary of State George P. Shultz, saying continued U.S. support for the rebels is “the principal obstacle” to peace in Central America.

“We urge you to ask your government to give peace a chance by immediately suspending all direct or indirect, covert or open, support for the mercenary forces,” the note said.

In his remarks to reporters, Ortega went beyond the scope of the summit accord in reaffirming his support for “a withdrawal from Central America of all foreign military advisers and all foreign military presence,” including U.S. maneuvers and bases in Honduras.

“We believe this is a point that Cuba and Nicaragua ought to ratify,” he said.

This was taken as an attempt by Ortega to reassure U.S. Congress members who may feel that the Central American agreement, which calls only for negotiations on regional disarmament, does not go far enough to rid Nicaragua of military influence from the Soviet Bloc.

The Reagan Administration says Cuba maintains 2,500 to 3,000 military advisers in Nicaragua. Ortega has put the number at 700, most of them trainers.