Contras
Death squad
| Contras link () | |
|---|---|
| File:Contras.png | |
| Successor | Recontra Frente Norte 380 |
| Staff | 23,000 |
| South American death squads that were supported by the United States. | |
The contras is a label given to the various U.S.-backed rebel groups that were active from 1979 to the early 1990s in opposition to the socialist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government in Nicaragua. HRW reported in 1989 that they were "major and systematic violators of the most basic standards of the laws of armed conflict, including by launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians, selectively murdering non-combatants, and mistreating prisoners".[1]
Iran-Contra
- Full article: Iran-Contra
- Full article: Iran-Contra
With the US Congress blocking further contra aid, the Reagan administration sought to arrange funding and military supplies by means of third countries and private sources.[2] Between 1984 and 1986, $34 million from third countries and $2.7 million from private sources were raised this way.[2] The secret contra assistance may have been run by the United States National Security Council, with officer Lt. Col. Oliver North in charge.[3] North carried the can for a cabal-run organization called "The Enterprise" which had its own airplanes, pilots, airfield, ship, operatives and secret Swiss bank accounts. It also received assistance from personnel from other government agencies, especially from CIA personnel in Central America.[2] These efforts were somewhat exposed in the Iran–Contra Affair of 1986–1987, which facilitated contra funding through the proceeds of arms sales to Iran, but which left the drug trafficking of cocaine into USA more or less unaddressed.