WikipediaExtracts:Contras
Extracted from Wikipedia --
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.
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. The Reagan administration said that the Contras tactics did not include attacks against civilians. 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, and that the Contra leader responible was executed. The Global Terrorism Database reports that Contras carried out more than 1,300 terrorist attacks.
