contra

(noun)

A label given to the various rebel groups opposing the Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government in Nicaragua that were active from 1979 through to the early 1990s.

Related Terms

Examples of contra in the following topics:

  • The Iran-Contra Scandal

    • The Iran–Contra affair was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986.
    • Under the Boland Amendment, Congress had prohibited further funding of the Contras by the government.
    • Contra militants based in Honduras waged a guerilla war to topple the then-Marxist government of Nicaragua.
    • While President Ronald Reagan was a supporter of the Contra cause, the evidence is disputed as to whether he authorized the diversion of the money raised by the Iranian arms sales to the Contras.
    • Pro-Contra propaganda by the U.S.

  • Central America

    • -funded air shipments of supplies to the Contras.
    • The Iran–Contra affair was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November of 1986.
    • Contra militants based in Honduras waged a guerilla war to topple the then-Marxist government of Nicaragua.
    • Direct funding by the United States of the Contras insurgency had been made illegal through the Boland Amendment.
    • While President Reagan was a supporter of the Contra cause, the evidence is disputed as to whether he authorized the diversion of the money raised by the Iranian arms sales to the Contras.

  • The Middle East

    • Reagan's involvement in the Middle East is most known for the Beirut Barracks Bombing, the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the Iran-Contra affair.
    • His first term was marked by the Beirut Barracks Bombing, while his second term is known for the 1986 bombing of Libya and the revelation of the Iran-Contra affair.
    • In 1986, a scandal shook the Reagan administration stemming from the use of proceeds from covert arms sales to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua—activity which had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress.
    • The Iran-Contra affair became the largest political scandal in the United States during the 1980s.
    • Reagan’s desire to aid the Contras even after Congress ended its support led him, surprisingly, to Iran.

  • The Reagan Administration

    • Reagan's second term was primarily marked by foreign matters, such as the ending of the Cold War, the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the revelation of the Iran-Contra affair.

  • The Election of 1988

    • After Reagan's image was tarnished in the Iran-Contra scandal, along with Democrats winning back control of the Senate in the 1986 congressional elections, Democratic leaders felt more optimistic about winning the presidency in 1988.

  • NATO and the Militarization and Interventions Abroad

    • After initial Iraqi military victories were reversed and an Iranian victory appeared possible in 1982, the American government initiated Operation Staunch to attempt to cut off the Iranian regime's access to weapons (notwithstanding their later shipment of weapons to Iran in the Iran-Contra Affair).

  • Conclusion: Political Crises in the 70s and 80s

    • The Reagan administration’s secret sales of arms to Iran, known as the Iran-Contra Affair, proved disastrous, however, and resulted in indictments for administration officials.

  • Interventions in Latin America and the Middle East

    • The armed forces also took power in Argentina in 1976, and then supported the 1980 "Cocaine Coup" of Luis García Meza Tejada in Bolivia, before training the "Contras" in Nicaragua, where the Sandinista National Liberation Front, headed by Daniel Ortega, had taken power in 1979, as well as militaries in Guatemala and in El Salvador.