The historic first Contadora meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela, held on the Panamanian island of that name on 8–9 January 1983, dealt with general statements of concern and principles which would lead to a peaceful resolution of Central America's several conflicts.
The "Contadora Declaration" itself made an urgent appeal to the countries of Central America to engage in dialogue and negotiation so as to reduce tension and lay the foundations for a permanent atmosphere of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect among states.
Confidence-building measures also appear in the Cancún Declaration in the form of recommendations for joint boundary commissions and direct communications between governments, as well as the need to give prior notice of troop movements near frontiers when the contingents exceeded certain limits.
The Canadians, reflecting their long experience with UN peacekeeping, strongly recommended that this issue be left in the hands of the United Nations, which could provide a credible political mandate as well as a coherent logistical structure.
As the Contra demobilization process wound down in mid-1990 and the Chamorro government settled in, the Esquipulas Security Commission continued its work of attempting to establish an inventory of troops and arms, and encourage a broad range of multilateral CBMs.
Some of the Honduran ideas found an echo in the speeches made at the Ibero-American Summit which followed immediately afterwards, including Peruvian President Fujimori's proposal for a disarmed Latin America [citation needed] .
For example, in June 1991 plans were announced for the establishment of a formal "hot line" which would provide secure and immediate telephone links between the presidents of the five Central American nations plus Panama.
The specific references to "confidence-building mechanisms" and "transparency in arms transfers" are clear indications of the significance of CBMs in contemporary Latin American thinking on security issues.