Dr. James Phillips, author of Honduras in Dangerous Times, also has many years of experience in Nicaragua. In an article published in Counterpunch, he writes of the legacy of the US sponsored contra war on both countries and of new reports about armed groups forming in Honduras and Nicaragua. He underscores the concerns of Honduran human rights defenders about the predictably deadly impact of this “convergence of forces and interests among gang members, narcotraffickers, and former Contras in Honduras, together with anti-Ortega re-Contra groups in Nicaragua…. A neat distinctions between armed political opposition and criminal groups seems increasingly untenable in this context that affects both countries. That these groups are actively supported by United States agencies is uncertain but widely suspected, based on a long history of U.S. support for “regime change” in Nicaragua.” Phillips emphasizes the need to learn from the tragic mistakes of the past. ” Maybe someday, with our help, Washington will leave Nicaragua to sort out its own problems in peace.” https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/08/20/calm-and-con%EF%AC%82ict-a-dispa…