Guinea-Bissau - Carlos Gomes Jr. and Raimundo Pereira Are Freed - NYTimes.com Soldiers on Friday released two leading politicians they arrested in an April 12 coup, and the army said it would agree to admit a force of more than 600 soldiers from a regional group of West African states. Carlos Gomes Jr., the former prime minister and the front-runner in an interrupted presidential campaign, and interim President Raimundo Pereira were freed Friday after a visit by military chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States, or Ecowas, and flown to Ivory Coast. Their release came a day after Ecowas announced plans to deploy a force in Guinea-Bissau to secure the return to civilian rule, and threatened sanctions against soldiers who blocked the process. The coup leaders have claimed that Mr. Gomes intended to reduce the size of the army.