CIA activities in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a country in Central America. Bordering it are the Caribbean Sea, the North Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica, and Honduras. Nicaragua is slightly larger than Pennsylvania and is slightly smaller than New York. As of 2016, there are 5,966,796 Nicaraguans in the country. The country is reigned by a presidential republic government type.

Nicaragua was originally established as a colony by Spanish in Panama in the 16th century. The people of Nicaragua claimed their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. In 1838, the country became an independent republic. In the early 19th century the British Empire occupied the country's Caribbean Coast. Through the passing years, the Nicaraguan government eventually grew stronger and British influence faded.

Background Information and the Precipitation of the Contra Conflict

In 1961, the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN) was founded in Havana, Cuba. The development of the FSLN represented the merger of "Carlos Fonseca's Nicaraguan Patriotic Youth organization ... with Tomas Borge's Cuban-supported insurgent group." The FSLN remained a largely unsuccessful and marginal political movement until 1972, when an earthquake rocked the Nicaraguan capital, Managua. The Somoza government, which had assumed control of Nicaragua shortly following the withdrawal of United States military personnel in 1933, was seen to be profiteering from international relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. This led to a dramatic change in the influence and importance of the FSLN as their position within the Nicaraguan public sentiment began a rapid ascension. Between 1972 and 1978, fighting between the FSLN guerrillas and the Nicaraguan National Guard steadily increased. In 1978 "Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, editor of the opposition newspaper La Prensa" was assassinated; this caused widespread protests and an increase of support from the FSLN including "non-Marxist groups." The opposition to the oppressive Somoza government was beginning to come to a head.

The Ouster of Somoza

In February 1979, the United States suspended all foreign aid to Nicaragua due to Somoza's unwillingness to compromise. By July, he had fled the country. FSLN Sandinista forces quickly assumed power in Managua, and the United States quickly moved to recognize the legitimacy of the new government and offer aid, however the FSLN chose instead to look to global Communist interests including the Soviets and Cubans for support. By 1980, the Government of National Recognition (GRN) under Cuban influence had begun installing pro-Marxist, anti-U.S. doctrine into the Nicaraguan educational system. U.S. policy on Nicaragua began to favor support for anti-Sandinista "contras," because most people involved in the U.S. intelligence operations, including Richard Nixon feared that "defeat for the rebels would probably lead to a violent Marxist guerrilla movement in Mexico and in other Central American countries."

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