La Cordoba Case Study

On the narrow isthmus known as Central America, between the world’s two greatest oceans, Nicaragua has been marked by endless years of political turmoil, social tension and economic dismay. The turmoil’s that have shaken the country make it plausible to believe that by some metaphysical law, Nicaraguan politics have accommodated to nature’s tantrums. Like its diverse, rugged and seismically active geology, the country’s politics have been irregular, impulsive and often explosive (Pastor, 15). The Nicaraguan election of February 25, 1990 represents the country’s attempt to break from its turbulent political past and pursue economic and political stability through the establishment of a democracy. The

Nicaragua is surrounded by its beautiful nature including its incredible history. The name ‘Nicaragua’ came from a chief named Nicarao. He was chief to a digenous tribe that settled in Lake Nicaragua around late 1400’s and early 1500’s. In 1524 Hernandez de Cordoda was the first Spanish settler to live in the region of Granada on Lake Nicaragua and Leon Managua. Nicaragua gained its independents from Spain in 1821, making the country part of the Mexican Empire and becoming a member of independent Central American. Nicaragua became an independent republic.

The Iran Contra affair is historically defined as the “Reagan administration scandal that involved the sale of arms to Iran in exchange for its efforts to secure the release of hostages in Lebanon and the redirection of the proceeds of those sales to the Nicaraguan Contras.” As the Nicaraguan counterrevolutionaries, known as the Contras, began their efforts to retaliate against the Socialist Sandinista Regime, American government forces stepped in to support the Contra cause in a hope to support the world-wide elimination of Communism. To understand the entire history of the scandal, many individuals, groups, policies, and deals must be researched and put together to tell the complete history of the Iran Contra affair.

The Soviet Union placed missiles with the nuclear capabilities in Cuba that “is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America or in the Caribbean area” (document 7b). In response, the United States established a air and naval blockade around the island to prevent Fidel Castro from receiving more deadly weapons (document 7a). The U.S. also maintained close surveillance of Cuba and its military actions (document 7b). In Nicaragua, the Sandinistas established and strong military force in the country to combat non-communist after the revolution. The EPS (the Sandinista People’s Army/Ejército Popular Sandinista) and the PA (Sandinista Police/Policía Sandinista) were trained personnels from Cuba Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union (document 8a). However, Violeta Chamorro challenged the Sandinista Nicaragua’s presidential election so democracy and freedom could be brought to Nicaragua. The lives of Latin Americans changed due to the cold War. Some lost their privacy, other lost their

The United States’ involvement with the Nicaraguan Contras was limited by the Boland Amendments, which explicitly stated that intelligence agencies were forbidden to provide support to the Contras (Gordon, 2987, para. 8). While the Reagan Administration wanted to deal arms with Iran, the Boland Amendments limited ways of negotiations. Reagan used Democratic Representative Edward Boland’s statement of, “only the CIA and Pentagon [are] intelligences (Gordon, 1987, para. 8)” to use the NSC to negotiate with Iran. As a result of Boland’s statements, the Reagan Administration used the National Security Council, specifically Lt. Col. Oliver North, to provide funds for the Contras (Winess, 1989, para. 3). North would use the money from the arms deal to fund the Contras. North was heavily involved in the release of the seven hostages from Lebanon, and was a key figure in the illegal activity preformed during Reagan’s presidency. Congress appropriated $27 million for the Contras in the 1986 fiscal year (Special, 1987, para. 4). Which means the US already gave funds for Reagan to distribute in Nicaragua without having to obtain more; however, Congress did allowed the Administration “to solicit Contra aid from other nations,” but forbid them from using any funds to purchase weapons (Special, 1987, para. 4). The Reagan

In 1981 the CIA trained and armed the counter revolutionaries, which was known as Contra’s to help Nicaragua fight against the communist regime being funded by the Soviets. When Congress failed to continue funding the program, the Reagan administration imposed an embargo against the country.

The Cuban Revolution began in 1952 when a former army sergeant named Fulgencio Batista seized power during a contested election. Fulgencio was the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and dictator from 1952 to 1959. Another one of Cuba’s important men is Fidel Castro. Castro is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba. Fidel and his partner Che Guevara were both in charge of the Cuban Revolution, and made the isolated Moncada Barracks his target. Castro estimated the trip would take 5 days. However, due to engine problems, him and his men arrived late in broad daylight. On the morning of July 23, 1953, Castro made his move, but he needed weapons, and he got them. 138 men attacked the Moncada at dawn, many were captured.

The history between the U.S. and Nicaragua has always been aimed at making sure there politically ideologies remain in line with our own. With the spread of communism, the U.S. had been involved in Nicaragua since 1912. The U.S. has acted as Big Brother and used military force when pro U.S. leaders were facing rebellion. Unfortunately in 1936 when the U.S. began training the Nicaraguan National Guard, there was a forceful takeover by a man named Somoza Garcia. The era of rule under the leadership and guidance of Garcia lasted for 43 years until a group known as the “FSLN” which stands for the Sandinista National Liberation Front was created which was essentially anti Somoza Garcia. The FSLN was a communist group which wanted to make Nicaragua a socialist state. Ultimately the group took control of the country and committed numerous human rights violations and also stole foreign aid for themselves. So with this takeover began a very rocky and difficult relationship with the U.S.

This summer I will be going to latin America through a non-profit organization called Amigos de las Americas.

Later, the CIA directly assumed control of the facility and began organizing raids and mobs. And technically, this “secret war didn't violate a 1982 congressional ban against overthrowing the Sandinistas because the contras weren't strong enough to win” (C). Also, specific United States policies set in motion at this time, particularly by Reagan, realigned the political standpoint of our nation to be expressly against Socialistic and Communistic values. This was aimed directly at the Soviet Union and then indirectly at the Soviet backed Sandinistas (D). The new policies also held the firm belief that bargaining with terrorists or the like were not to be tolerated under any

General Somoza is assassinated in 1956 and is succeeded by his eldest son Luis Somoza Debayle. In 1967 Luis died and the last Somoza son, Anastasio, took over. Anastasio Somoza was the last member of the dynasty which ruled Nicaragua as a dictatorship from 1934 until he was overthrown in 1979 and assassinated in Paraguay. Nicaragua's current president, Daniel Ortega, took office for the first time in 1984. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro defeated Ortega in the 1990 election, and installed a reconciliation government. In 2006 Ortega returns to presidency for his 2nd term. During his term in 2009 he announces a plan to change the constitution of Nicaragua so he will be qualified to run another 5-year term. (BBC News) As of today, the government is a democratic republic and Daniel Ortega is the current President with Moises Omar

Additionally, he emphasized how the Sandinistas and its Marxist-Leninist regime represented destabilization to its neighbors. Even though his statements were powerful, they needed to be supported with actions. Therefore, strong financial and military support of the Contras against the communist Nicaraguan government, and the aid given to the government of El Salvador in their fight against the communist guerrillas were critical. In the case of Nicaragua's contra guerrillas, which were created to fight the revolutionary Sandinista government, Reagan referred to the Contras as "the moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers" and the United States spent $1 billion on them; the fighting in Nicaragua killed as many as 50,000 people while Honduras served as a staging ground for US Nicaraguan

When Stephen Kinzer comes to Nicaragua for the first time, he knows very little about the people or culture; everything from the burning sun to the earthquakes to the impending revolution surprises him. However, he is not the only one who seems to be unaware of the increasing tension that is mounting between the Somoza regime and the Sandinistas; even important figures, such as Colonel Laszlo Pataky, try to minimize the danger. Only Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, an anti-Somoza newspaper owner, admits that war is on the horizon. And before Kinzer leaves, he makes an exasperated statement about the relationship between the United States and Nicaragua: “The United States is the great, overwhelming factor in our national life and you don’t even know we exist!”

Fernando Cardenal, serving as the National Literacy Crusade Coordinator, and Valerie Miller, a CNA advisor, outlined that the literacy campaign would not just eradicate illiteracy, but create an identity of a “new man [and a] new woman” for Nicaraguans. Through the CNA, the Sandinistas hoped to introduce young Nicaraguans to the difficulties and hardship endured by Nicaragua’s poor rural population. For many of the brigadistas who volunteered, the 1980 literacy campaign served as their first experience with the other side of Nicaragua’s population, a side that remained unseen and not thought of by many under the Somoza regime. The life that brigadistas lived in during the CNA significantly altered their perspectives on society, both politically and culturally. The Sandinistas did in fact succeed at redefining the concept of the Nicaraguan experience for its youth.

While the USSR and Cuba funded the Nicaraguan army, the US financed the contras. The Contras were the various rebel groups that opposed the FSLN. The Contras received both overt and covert military and financial support from the US through the CIA. The goal in supporting the Contras was to establish a friendly government in Nicaragua and to steer them away from socialist views. With the great imposing influence from the north, and the blockade of