Central America

What once seemed impossible is now just a week away. Come Nov. 5, hostilities are supposed to cease throughout Central America under a peace plan signed by five of the region's Presidents last August in Guatemala. As the date approaches, every little event is being analyzed, every statement weighed and debated.

Honduran President Jose Azcona Hoyo's visit to Washington last week received especially close scrutiny. Of the accord's five signatories, Azcona is most mindful of the Reagan Administration's reservations about the plan. Two weeks ago, Azcona hinted strongly that if the Sandinistas fail to comply with all the requirements of the peace plan by the Nov. 5 cease-fire, he would no longer feel bound to abide by the accord. Last week, however, he encouraged President Reagan to withhold further military aid to the contras at least until January, when the five Presidents will evaluate the plan's progress. He suggested that Congress might approve Reagan's request for $270 million in new aid, then place it in escrow.

The contras, meanwhile, were feeling the heat for three alleged kidnapings. Two Nicaraguan clergymen, released last week after an eleven-day captivity, charged that the rebels had threatened to kill them. Witness for Peace, a U.S. human rights group, charged that a volunteer, Paul Fisher, had been abducted. Rebel Spokeswoman Marta Sacasa said that all three men had been detained for their own protection and promised that Fisher would be released "as soon as there are secure circumstances."

In Nicaragua, former Contra Leader Edgar Chamorro returned to Managua under a government amnesty. Chamorro had been expelled by the rebels in 1984 after he made public a CIA training manual that encouraged the guerrillas to assassinate opponents. More unsettling for the contras was Miskito Leader Brooklyn Rivera's decision to travel to Managua for peace talks. The Sandinistas, who have mistreated the Miskitos for their dogged pursuit of autonomy, are now offering the Indians a separate peace.

The Sandinistas' glad hand did not extend, however, to Radio Catolica, the religious station that was permitted to reopen last month after a 20-month hiatus. The government last week prohibited Radio Catolica from broadcasting news, saying it must first obtain requisite permits. The Sandinistas also suspended a six-week-old visitors' program with Costa Rica after more than 1,200 Nicaraguans failed to return home from cross-border visits with relatives. Some skeptics wondered if such measures might signal the beginning of an attempt to slow the pace of reforms called for in the Guatemala plan.