Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
Contras: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Origins And Composition —
Contras.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
In July 1979, the FSLN took control of the capital Managua after weeks of heavy fighting. The president at the time, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, fled the country and relinquished control of the central government. Various groups formed in response to this new power structure. These groups consisted of dissidents of the new government and members of the former National Guard. They would regularly meet and establish the Contras in 1980.
The Contras were not a monolithic group but a combination of three distinct elements of Nicaraguan society. Ex-guardsmen of the Nicaraguan National Guard comprised a significant portion of the largest Contra organization, the Nicaraguan Democratic Force or FDN. Remnants of the Guard later formed groups such as the Fifteenth of September Legion and the Anti-Sandinista Guerrilla Special Forces. Initially however, these groups were small and conducted little active raiding into Nicaragua.
Anti-Somoza activists who supported the revolution but felt betrayed by the Sandinista government also joined the movement. Édgar Chamorro was a member of the FDN's political directorate. José Francisco Cardenal briefly served in the Council of State before leaving Nicaragua following a disagreement with the Sandinista government's policies. He founded the Nicaraguan Democratic Union, an opposition group of Nicaraguan exiles based in Miami.
A third force appeared among the Miskito, Sumo and Rama Amerindian peoples of Nicaragua's Atlantic coast. In December 1981, they found themselves in conflict with the authorities following the government's efforts to nationalize Indian land. The Misurasata movement split in 1983, with the breakaway Misura group aligning more closely with the FDN.
U.S. Military Support
On the 4th of January 1982, Reagan signed the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17. This directive gave the CIA the authority to recruit and support the Contras with $19 million in military aid. By December 1981, the United States had already begun to support armed opponents of the Sandinista government. From the beginning, the CIA was in charge.
The arming, clothing, feeding, and supervision of the Contras became the most ambitious paramilitary operation mounted by the agency in nearly a decade. In fiscal year 1984, the U.S. Congress approved $24 million in aid to the Contras. The effort to support the Contras was one component of the Reagan Doctrine, which called for providing military support to movements opposing Soviet-supported communist governments.
In September 1981, the CIA and Argentina's intelligence agency persuaded several Contra groups to unite into the larger Nicaraguan Democratic Force. The FDN was led by its Enrique Bermudez, its military commander, who led its war efforts against the Sandinistas. Adolfo Calero Portocarrero, a Nicaraguan businessman, led its political directorate.
Based in Honduras, Nicaragua's northern neighbor, under the command of former National Guard Colonel Enrique Bermúdez, the new FDN began recruiting other smaller insurgent forces in the north. Largely financed, trained, equipped, armed and organized by the U.S., it emerged as the largest and most active Contra group.
Human Rights Violations
While the Contras had little military success, they did prove adept at carrying out CIA guerrilla warfare strategies from training manuals. These manuals advised them to incite mob violence, neutralize civilian leaders and government officials, and attack soft targets including schools, health clinics and cooperatives. The agency added to the Contras' sabotage efforts by blowing up refineries and pipelines, and mining ports.
According to former Contra leader Edgar Chamorro, CIA trainers also gave Contra soldiers large knives. A commando knife was given, and our people wanted to have one like that to kill people and cut their throats. In 1985 Newsweek published a series of photos taken by Frank Wohl entitled Execution in the Jungle.
The CIA officer in charge of the covert war, Duane Clarridge, admitted to the House Intelligence Committee staff in a secret briefing in 1984 that the Contras were routinely murdering civilians and Sandinista officials. He claimed this did not violate President Reagan's executive order prohibiting assassinations because the agency defined it as just killing. After all, this is war, a paramilitary operation.
Americas Watch accused the Contras of targeting health care clinics and workers for assassination, kidnapping civilians, torturing civilians, and executing civilians including children captured in combat. Human Rights Watch released a report on the situation in 1989 stating the contras were major and systematic violators of the most basic standards of the laws of armed conflict.
The Iran-Contra Affair
With Congress blocking further aid to the Contras, the Reagan administration sought to arrange funding and military supplies by means of third countries and private sources. Between 1984 and 1986, $34 million from third countries and $2.7 million from private sources were raised this way. The secret Contra assistance was run by the National Security Council with officer Lt. Col. Oliver North in charge.
North created an organization called The Enterprise which served as the secret arm of the NSC staff. It had its own airplanes, pilots, airfield, ship, operatives, and secret Swiss bank accounts. This operation functioned without any of the accountability required of U.S. government activities. The Enterprise's efforts culminated in the Iran, Contra Affair of 1986, 1987.
This scandal facilitated contra funding through the proceeds of arms sales to Iran. According to the London Spectator, U.S. journalists in Central America had long known that the CIA was flying in supplies to the Contras inside Nicaragua before the scandal broke. No journalist paid it any attention until the alleged CIA supply man Eugene Hasenfus was shot down and captured by the Nicaraguan army.
The issue of drug money and its importance in funding the Nicaraguan conflict became a subject of various reports. Senator John Kerry's 1988 Committee on Foreign Relations report concluded that senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems.
International Court Ruling
In 1984 the Sandinista government filed a suit in the International Court of Justice against the United States. This resulted in a 1986 judgment against the United States. The ICJ held that the U.S. had violated international law as well as a 1956 treaty by supporting the contras in their rebellion against the Nicaraguan government and by mining Nicaragua's harbors.
Regarding the alleged human rights violations by the contras, however, the ICJ took the view that the United States could be held accountable for them only if it would have been proven that the U.S. had effective control of the Contra operations resulting in these alleged violations. Nevertheless, the ICJ found that the U.S. encouraged acts contrary to general principles of humanitarian law by producing the manual Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare and disseminating it to the contras.
The manual advised on how to rationalize killings of civilians. In the case of shooting a citizen who was trying to leave the town or city where guerrillas were carrying out armed propaganda, the manual suggested explaining that if that citizen had managed to escape, he would have alerted the enemy. It also recommended hiring professional killers for specific selective tasks.
The United States did not participate in the merits phase of the proceedings. The U.S. blocked enforcement of the ICJ judgment by the United Nations Security Council and thereby prevented Nicaragua from obtaining any actual compensation. The Nicaraguan government finally withdrew the complaint from the court in September 1992.
Election And Demobilization
After a cutoff in U.S. military support, and with both sides facing international pressure to bring an end to the conflict, the contras agreed to negotiations with the FSLN. With the help of five Central American presidents including Daniel Ortega, the sides agreed that a voluntary demobilization of the Contras should start in early December 1989. They chose this date to facilitate free and fair elections in Nicaragua in February 1990.
In the resulting February 1990 elections, Violeta Chamorro and her party the UNO won an upset victory of 55% to 41% over Daniel Ortega. Of 92 seats in the National Assembly, UNO gained 51, and the FSLN won 39. On the 25th of April 1990, Chamorro assumed presidency from Ortega.
The Contra war escalated over the year before the election. The U.S. promised to end the economic embargo should Chamorro win. Opinion polls leading up to the elections divided along partisan lines. Ten of 17 polls analyzed predicted an UNO victory while seven predicted the Sandinistas would retain power.
There had been reports of intimidation from the side of the Contras. A Canadian observer mission claimed that 42 people were killed by the Contras in election violence in October 1989. This led many commentators to conclude that Nicaraguans voted against the Sandinistas out of fear of a continuation of the Contra war and economic deprivation.
The Contras were formed by dissidents of the new Sandinista government and members of the former National Guard. These groups established the organization in 1980 to oppose the FSLN control of Managua.
When did Ronald Reagan sign the directive authorizing CIA support for the Contras?
Ronald Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 17 on the 4th of January 1982. This document gave the CIA authority to recruit and support the Contras with $19 million in military aid.
What was the largest Contra organization called and who led it?
The Nicaraguan Democratic Force or FDN emerged as the largest and most active Contra group. Enrique Bermudez served as its military commander while Adolfo Calero Portocarrero led its political directorate.
Why did the International Court of Justice rule against the United States in 1986?
The ICJ ruled that the U.S. violated international law and a 1956 treaty by supporting the Contras and mining Nicaragua's harbors. The court found the U.S. encouraged acts contrary to humanitarian law through guerrilla warfare manuals.
How did the Contra war end in 1990?
Contra forces agreed to voluntary demobilization starting in early December 1989 following negotiations with the Sandinista government. Violeta Chamorro won the February 1990 elections and assumed presidency from Daniel Ortega on the 25th of April 1990.