The World - News from July 18, 1988

Enrique Bermudez, the top military commander of the Nicaraguan Contras, announced he would run for the rebels’ policy-making body. Bermudez, 56, declared his candidacy in an impromptu news conference in Santo Domingo as Nicaraguan rebel leaders began a three-day meeting in the Dominican Republic’s capital. He portrayed his candidacy for what is now a five-member political directorate as an attempt to restructure the rebels’ organization and give the military arm of the Contra movement a formal say in political decisions. Bermudez faces opposition from some of the 54 Contra delegates who say he should give up his military position if he wants to sit on the political board.