Daniel Ortega was the [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] president of [[Nicaragua]] whose government the Reagan administration sought to overthrow through the [[Contras|Contra]] war and covert operations. Ortega led the Sandinista government that came to power after the 1979 revolution that ousted Anastasio Somoza.[^1] ### Target of Covert Operations The entire Contra war was designed to destabilize and ultimately overthrow Ortega's government. CIA agent [[Dagoberto Nunez|Dagoberto Nuñez]] obtained a contract with H&M Corp. to cover an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at Ortega, preparing to sign an agreement for shrimping rights off the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua as cover for espionage. The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] employed multiple schemes to gather intelligence on Ortega, including attempts to [[Jorge Ochoa|recruit Colombian drug lords]] to publicly implicate him in drug trafficking. The DEA sent agent James Kible to visit jailed [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]] boss Jorge Ochoa in [[Spain]] to persuade him to implicate the Sandinistas.[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 15. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 15, Ch. 19.