Sanders wrote a letter to Reagan on October 17, 1983, calling for him to end the CIA's war in Central America stating that "in the strongest possible terms, I urge you to stop the CIA war against the people of Nicaragua and allow them to develop their independent nation as best they can". Sanders wrote a letter to Reagan in December 1986, informing him that Burlington voters had voted 7,001 to 5,914 in a referendum to condemn the United States' aid to the Contras in Nicaragua. On April 23, 1984, Sanders met with a Nicaraguan official at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, D.C., who suggested that Puerto Cabezas could become a sister city to Burlington. Sanders spoke at a rally celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1984. Sanders later introduced , a Nicaraguan priest and a representative from the Organization of American States, who stated that American propaganda was causing elections in Nicaragua to be delayed and criticized the United States' policy in Nicaragua. On July 16, 1985, Sanders visited Nicaragua where he patriated in a rally attended by over 400,000 people on July 19, celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Nicaraguan Revolution, where Sanders was the highest-ranking American official attending. A spokesman for the Nicaragua embassy in Washington, D.C., stated that Sanders was one of the "real friends of Nicaragua".