ABSTRACT
In mid-1986, the Contadora Group’s search for a negotiated settlement of the conflicts in Central America had once again reached a seemingly insurmountable impasse and an intensification of the war in Nicaragua and surrounding countries appeared inescapable. The Contadora Group was formed on January 8–9, 1983, when the foreign ministers of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Panama met on Contadora Island in Panama. The declared purpose of this meeting was to seek “Latin American solutions to Latin American problems.” Specifically, these four nations sought to provide a diplomatic alternative to the rapidly intensifying armed conflicts in the region. Encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive international reaction to their January call for peace negotiations in Central America, the foreign ministers of the Contadora Group made joint visits to all five Central American republics in mid-April 1983 to consult with the governments of the region on how to begin the peace process and the key issues to be negotiated.
