U.S. Wants Nicaragua to Destroy Missiles

Nicaragua and the U.S. are negotiating the destruction of hundreds of Soviet-made SAM-7 missiles that Nicaragua acquired to fight U.S.-backed rebels in the 1980s.

The U.S. government has long pressured Nicaragua to destroy the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles as part of a global effort to eliminate old weapons that could fall into the hands of terrorists.

Nicaragua already has destroyed about half of its 2,000-missile stockpile. In July, President Daniel Ortega offered to destroy 651 of the remaining 1,051 in return for U.S. medical supplies and helicopters or planes to fight drug trafficking and illegal logging.

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