View source for Contras

The '''contras''' is the name given to the rebel groups that were active from 1979 through to the early 1990s. They were against the [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinista]] [[Junta of National Reconstruction]] government in [[Nicaragua]]. Among the separate contra groups, the [[Nicaraguan Democratic Force]] (FDN) emerged as the largest by far. In 1987, virtually all contra organizations were united, at least nominally, into the [[Nicaraguan Resistance]]. During the war, the Contras' tactics included terrorism and human rights violations against civilians.

From an early stage, the rebels received financial and military support from the [[United States|U.S. government]]. President [[Ronald Reagan]] supported the group. After the U.S. support was banned by [[United States Congress|Congress]], the Reagan administration secretly gave them money from profit they gained after selling weapons to [[Iran]]. These secret activities soon became known as the [[Iran–Contra affair]].

== Contras Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Frente Sur Contras 1987.jpg|Contra Commandos from [[Nicaraguan Democratic Force|FDN]] and ARDE Frente Sur in the [[Nueva Guinea]] region of [[Nicaragua]] in 1987

File:Smoke break el serrano 1987.jpg|Members of ARDE Frente Sur

File:Bush reagan.jpg|President [[Ronald Reagan]] and Vice President [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush]] in 1984
</gallery>
== Related pages ==
* [[Iran-Contra affair]]
* [[ISIS]]
* [[Communism]]
* [[Cold War]]
== Other websites ==
*[http://www.tnr.com/article/confessions-contra Confessions of a Contra: How the CIA Masterminds the Nicaraguan Insurgency] by ''[[The New Republic]]'', 5 August 1985
*[http://www.unz.org/Pub/PolicyRev-1988q3-00056 "The Contras' Valley Forge: How I View the Nicaragua Crisis"], by [[Enrique Bermúdez]] (with Michael Johns), ''Policy Review'' magazine, Summer 1988.
*[http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552661 The Contras and U.S. Funding] from the [http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552494 Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives]
*[http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552675 U.S. Policy Towards the Contras] from the [https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552494/browse?type=title Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives]

[[Category:20th century in Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Presidency of Ronald Reagan]]
[[Category:Rebellions in North America]]
[[Category:Wars involving the United States]]

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