ABSTRACT
In September 1987 an unusual trial began before the Organization of American States Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica. The United States, they asserted, had a "moral obligation" to continue providing "humanitarian assistance" until such time as the Sandinistas complied with their promises. The United States was encouraging the contra leaders to return to Nicaragua and continue the struggle by other means/ it sought to preserve the guerrilla army in Honduras. Once in Honduras the force of some 1,500 Nicaraguan soldiers found itself within striking distance of a lightly defended supply depot that held almost half of the guerrillas' rapidly diminishing cache of weapons and ammunition. The CODEH immediately blamed the armed forces, the government, and the US embassy for the killings. Any benefits achieved in military and government circles were more than offset by the angry public reaction. Peace, it seemed, would be more corrosive than war. The contras began to fight among themselves.
