A mutiny of contra forces against their military chief has ended after most of the rebellious field commanders signed a petition supporting Cmdr. Enrique Bermudez, sources said Wednesday.
One source said about 200 troops remain in rebellion against Bermudez, although no violence has been reported since two men were wounded in a clash between pro- and anti-Bermudez forces last week.
While the problems in the field have all but ended, rebel and diplomatic sources indicate that political problems still split the leadership of the rebels as it prepares for further peace talks with Nicaragua`s Sandinista government.
The signers of the petition supporting Bermudez had little choice, one rebel source said. ”With the Honduran armed forces and the United States against them, what else could they do?” he said. He said Bermudez controlled the distribution of food.
Key to the resolution of the crisis was the expulsion from Honduras of eight rebel civilian and military leaders, the sources said.
Seven of those leaders were arrested in early May. The eighth, Diogenes Hernandez Membrano, known as Fernando, was grabbed last week and deported Friday.
For a while Fernando led the dissident contras at their base in Yamales, 20 miles from the Nicaraguan border. But last week the Honduran military took him to meet some rebel directors, and he was not allowed to return.
A contra source said the Hondurans had hoped the rebellion would wither without its leaders.
The dissident contras wanted Bermudez out as head of the rebel army because they felt his seven-year leadership of the war against the Sandinistas was corrupt and ineffective. Supporters of Bermudez charge that the dissidents are acting on behalf of Adolfo Calero, the civilian leader of the contras, who wants to take full control of the movement.
Different rebel sources said the U.S. supported Bermudez throughout the crisis because they considered his leadership to be the most effective. One rebel source said the U.S. took no direct action in support of Bermudez.
Over the weekend many of the rebellious contra troops signed the petition supporting Bermudez, different sources said. None of the sources knew how many signatures were on the petition.
”The overwhelming concern (of those involved) has been the solution within the institutional framework of the resistance,” said Bosco Matamoros, a spokesman for the Nicaraguan Resistance, as the anti-Sandinista forces are formally known.
Matamoros said the crisis ended after a two-day meeting earlier this week attended by hundreds of contra fighters. He refused to comment on the petition.
The only holdout was reported to be the man known as Cmdr. Pofi, the former second-in-command to Walter Calderon Lopez, one of the dissidents deported two weeks ago. Pofi was said to lead about 200 troops.
There are up to 3,000 contra troops in Yamales and thousands more in other sections of southern Honduras waiting for humanitarian supplies bought as part of the $48 million U.S. humanitarian aid package for the rebels.
