On 7 August 1987, in Guatemala City, Central American presidents sign the Esquipulas II Peace Agreement — the Procedure for the Establishment of a Firm and Lasting Peace in Central America.

Mediated by Óscar Arias, the agreement provides for ceasefires, democratisation, free elections, national reconciliation and non-interference in neighbours’ internal affairs.

It complements the Esquipulas I declaration (1986) and opened the way to ending civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Arias received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for this effort. The document remains a model of negotiated regional peace.

For Central America, 7 August 1987 marks the signing of Esquipulas II.

The text is on peacemaker.un.org / diplomatic archives.

The Esquipulas II Agreement of 7 August 1987 remains the milestone of 1980s Central American peace.

Image: Central America; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Esquipulas Peace Agreement. Treaty text: Esquipulas II Peace Agreement (UN Peacemaker).