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The Contras were a collection of guerilla groups and political parties dubbed "counter-revolutionaries" by the leftist [[Sandinista]] government of [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s.  The [[United States of America|United States]] under Presidents [[Jimmy Carter]] <ref> "After the Sandinistas took power, Carter authorized the CIA to provide financial and other support to their opponents." [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html] </ref>

The '''Contras''' were a collection of freedom fighters and political activists opposed to [[communism]] in [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s. They were dubbed "counter-revolutionaries" by the leftist [[Sandinista]] government of [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s.  The [[United States of America|United States]] under Presidents [[Jimmy Carter]] <ref>"After the Sandinistas took power, Carter authorized the CIA to provide financial and other support to their opponents." [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]</ref>

and  [[Ronald Reagan]] covertly supported the Contras and their death squads.

and  [[Ronald Reagan]] covertly supported the Contras.

Revelations of this covert funding fueled the [[Iran-Contra_Affair|Iran-Contra affair]]. [[Oliver North]], who was intimately involved with the funding, is currently a senior correspondent at the [[Fox News Channel]].

Revelations of this covert funding fueled the [[Iran-Contra Affair|Iran-Contra affair]]. [[Oliver North]], who was intimately involved with the funding, is currently a senior correspondent at the [[Fox News Channel]].  No one was ever convicted of violating any law by funding the Contras.  Convictions for other aspects of the covert operation were overturned on appeal.

Opponents of the Contras portrayed them as notorious brutes. According to this portrayal, they regularly destroyed health centers, schools, agricultural cooperatives, and community centers-symbols of the Sandinistas' social programs in rural areas. [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]

Leftist propaganda portrayed them as even more notorious brutes than the [[Sandinistas]]. According to this portrayal, the Contras "regularly destroyed health centers, [[school]]s, agricultural cooperatives, and community centers-symbols of the Sandinistas' social programs in rural areas." <ref>[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html www.thirdworldtraveler.com, a Leftist website]</ref>

Despite their reputation for brutality, the Contras were called the "Moral Equivalent of our Founding Fathers" by President Reagan.

President [[Ronald Reagan]] honored the Contras by describing them as the "Moral Equivalent of our Founding Fathers."

See: [[Boland amendment]].

Over the course of the war, nearly 30,000 Nicaraguans were killed by the Contras, with many more wounded. <ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/29/opinion/the-contra-war-1981-1990.html nytimes.com]</ref>

==Sources ==

==See also==

 

*[http://cuban-exile.com/doc_201-225/doc0224.html#Nicaragua Cuba: State Sponsored Terrorism] Nicaragua 1979.

*[http://cuban-exile.com/doc_201-225/doc0224.html#Nicaragua Cuba: State Sponsored Terrorism] Nicaragua 1979.

*[[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]]

*[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html]

 

 

[[Category:1980s]]