Ronald Reagan's efforts to eradicate Communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent Contras' cause in Nicaragua was particularly dear to him. The Contras, a rebel group fighting against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, received support from the Reagan administration after Congress cut funding for military aid to them.
The president and Congress clashed over welfare, crime, defense spending, and whether to fund Contras in Nicaragua. Despite the funding cut, Reagan sought alternative ways to support the Contras in their fight against the Sandinista regime.
Toward the end of Jimmy Carter's presidency, in late 1979, a military junta in El Salvador consolidated its power following a coup against the government. This political instability in the region further fueled Reagan's determination to support anti-Communist forces like the Contras.
Thirty years ago, Ben Linder was gunned down by the American-funded Contras while building infrastructure for the poor in Nicaragua. This incident highlighted the controversial nature of Reagan's support for the Contras and raised questions about the morality of backing rebel groups in foreign conflicts.
An expert on Latin America, he left the agency and called out the Reagan administration for overselling the Communist threat in Nicaragua. Critics accused Reagan of exaggerating the dangers posed by the Sandinista government to justify his support for the Contras.
In a short-lived victory for the Nicaraguan policy of the Reagan administration, the President signs into law an act of Congress approving continued support for the Contras. This move sparked further debate and controversy over the ethics of funding rebel groups in foreign countries.
Undeclared US wars fought against phantom or created enemies for profit; illegal and covert CIA interference in foreign countries — these were some of the criticisms leveled against Reagan's support for the Contras. The Reagan administration's actions in Nicaragua raised concerns about the United States' involvement in foreign conflicts and its impact on international relations.
The U.S. government releases a report detailing how the “insurgency in El Salvador has been progressively transformed into a textbook case" of foreign intervention and covert operations. This report shed light on the complexities of Reagan's foreign policy in Central America and the consequences of supporting anti-Communist forces in the region.
