The Region - News from March 10, 1986

Nicaragua contras leader Eden Pastora was greeted by more than 200 anti-Sandinista emigres at a downtown Los Angeles rally to raise funds and support for the U.S.-backed rebels. Pastora, also known as “Comandante Zero,” is a former Sandinista who turned against that government and now heads a guerrilla faction based in Costa Rica. Pastora has been in the United States for the last three weeks, lobbying for congressional support for President Reagan’s new $100-million proposal for aid to the contras. At the rally, held at the Casa Camino Real, Pastora urged Los Angeles’ Nicaraguan community to put pressure on Congress to back Reagan’s proposal.