Contras

Contras
Contras
	The Nicaraguan Contras in Nueva Guinea, 1987
Leaders	Adolfo Calero; Enrique Bermúdez; FDN – Commandante Franklin; ARDE Frente Sur – Cúpula of 6 Regional Commandantes; YATAMA – Commandante Blas; Misura – Steadman Fagoth
Dates of operation	1979–1990
Motives	Overthrowing the left-wing FSLN government of Nicaragua
Active regions	Nicaragua; All rural areas of the country, from the Río Coco in the north to the Río San Juan in the south, excluding some Pacific regions
Ideology	Anti-communism; Right-wing populism; Nationalism
Political position	Right-wing
Size	125,000[citation needed]
Allies	United States (see Iran-Contra Affair); Argentina (see Operation Charly); Brazil; Chile; Honduras; Israel; Taiwan
Opponents	FSLN
Battles and wars	Major operations at La Trinidad, Rama highway, and Siunalatisha and Bonanza. Numerous FSLN bases overrun throughout Jinotega, Matagalpa, Zelaya, Chontales, and Río San Juan.

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In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: La contrarrevolución, the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista National Liberation Front and the Junta of National Reconstruction, which came to power after the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1979.^[2]^[3]

In the aftermath of the Nicaraguan Revolution, where the political dynasty (1936–1979) of the Somoza family was overthrown by the Sandinistas, various groups were formed in opposition to the Sandinistas, including by Samoza allies and former members of the National Guard members, and also by Anti-Somozistas. The United States and several other countries provided military assistance and financial aid to the Contras. In 1981, the CIA and Argentina's Secretariat of Intelligence pursuaded several Contra groups to unite into the larger Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN). In 1986, the Boland Amendment was passed to end U.S. aid to the Contras; yet the Reagan administration continued to illegally fund the Contras, which resulted in a scandal known as the Iran–Contra affair. By 1987, most of the Contra militias had united into the Nicaraguan Resistance, within which the Nicaraguan Democratic Force was the largest group.

During the war, the Contras' tactics featured terrorism and human rights violations against civilians.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] The Reagan administration said that the Contras tactics did not include attacks against civilians.^[11] The CIA said that Contra terrorism resulted from "the poor discipline characteristic of irregular forces", and that terrorism was not official military doctrine of the Contras,^[11] and that the Contra leader responible was executed.^[11] The Global Terrorism Database reports that Contras carried out more than 1,300 terrorist attacks.^[12]

^ Baron, James. "The Cold War History Behind Nicaragua's Break With Taiwan". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^ "The Contras Murdering Their Own: A Grisly Retribution | Alicia Patterson Foundation". aliciapatterson.org. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
^ "The American That Reagan Killed". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
^ Feldmann, Andreas E.; Maiju Perälä (July 2004). "Reassessing the Causes of Nongovernmental Terrorism in Latin America". Latin American Politics and Society. 46 (2): 101–132. doi:10.1111/j.1548-2456.2004.tb00277.x. S2CID 221247620.
^ Greg Grandin; Gilbert M. Joseph (2010). A Century of Revolution. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0822392859.
^ Todd, Dave (26 February 1986). "Offensive by Nicaraguan "Freedom Fighters" May be Doomed as Arms, Aid Dry Up". Ottawa Citizen.
^ Albert J. Jongman; Alex P. Schmid (1988). Political Terrorism: A New Guide To Actors, Authors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories, And Literature. Transaction Publishers. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-1-41280-469-1.
^ Athan G. Theoharis; Richard H. Immerman (2006). The Central Intelligence Agency: Security Under Scrutiny. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 216. ISBN 978-0313332821.
^ "Empire Politician - 1980s: U.S. Support for Contra Death Squads in Nicaragua". The Intercept. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
^ Kinzer, Stephen; Times, Special To the New York (20 February 1986). "Contras' Attacks on Civilians Cited". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Atrocities in the Nicaraguan civil war" (PDF). CIA.
^ LaFree, Gary; Laura Dugan; Erin Miller (2015). Putting Terrorism in Context: Lessons from the global terrorism database (1 ed.). London and New York: Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-415-67142-2. In Nicaragua, Contra groups including the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ARDE), and ultimately the Nicaraguan Resistance umbrella group carried out more than 1,300 terrorist attacks, mostly in opposition to the Sandinista government.

[1] Baron, James. "The Cold War History Behind Nicaragua's Break With Taiwan". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 24 April 2022.

[2] "The Contras Murdering Their Own: A Grisly Retribution | Alicia Patterson Foundation". aliciapatterson.org. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

[3] "The American That Reagan Killed". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

[Non-governmental_Terrorism-4] Feldmann, Andreas E.; Maiju Perälä (July 2004). "Reassessing the Causes of Nongovernmental Terrorism in Latin America". Latin American Politics and Society. 46 (2): 101–132. doi:10.1111/j.1548-2456.2004.tb00277.x. S2CID 221247620.

[Grandin_&_Joseph-5] Greg Grandin; Gilbert M. Joseph (2010). A Century of Revolution. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0822392859.

[Todd-6] Todd, Dave (26 February 1986). "Offensive by Nicaraguan "Freedom Fighters" May be Doomed as Arms, Aid Dry Up". Ottawa Citizen.

[7] Albert J. Jongman; Alex P. Schmid (1988). Political Terrorism: A New Guide To Actors, Authors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories, And Literature. Transaction Publishers. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-1-41280-469-1.

[8] Athan G. Theoharis; Richard H. Immerman (2006). The Central Intelligence Agency: Security Under Scrutiny. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 216. ISBN 978-0313332821.

[9] "Empire Politician - 1980s: U.S. Support for Contra Death Squads in Nicaragua". The Intercept. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

[10] Kinzer, Stephen; Times, Special To the New York (20 February 1986). "Contras' Attacks on Civilians Cited". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

[:0-11] "Atrocities in the Nicaraguan civil war" (PDF). CIA.

[lafree-12] LaFree, Gary; Laura Dugan; Erin Miller (2015). Putting Terrorism in Context: Lessons from the global terrorism database (1 ed.). London and New York: Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-415-67142-2. In Nicaragua, Contra groups including the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ARDE), and ultimately the Nicaraguan Resistance umbrella group carried out more than 1,300 terrorist attacks, mostly in opposition to the Sandinista government.

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Contras
The Nicaraguan Contras in Nueva Guinea, 1987
Leaders	Adolfo Calero Enrique Bermúdez FDN – Commandante Franklin ARDE Frente Sur – Cúpula of 6 Regional Commandantes YATAMA – Commandante Blas Misura – Steadman Fagoth
Dates of operation	1979–1990
Motives	Overthrowing the left-wing FSLN government of Nicaragua
Active regions	Nicaragua All rural areas of the country, from the Río Coco in the north to the Río San Juan in the south, excluding some Pacific regions
Ideology	Anti-communism Right-wing populism Nationalism
Political position	Right-wing
Size	125,000^{[citation needed]}
Allies	United States (see Iran-Contra Affair) Argentina (see Operation Charly) Brazil Chile Honduras Israel Taiwan^[1]
Opponents	FSLN
Battles and wars	Major operations at La Trinidad, Rama highway, and Siunalatisha and Bonanza. Numerous FSLN bases overrun throughout Jinotega, Matagalpa, Zelaya, Chontales, and Río San Juan.