ARENA
ARENA was the ultraright Salvadoran political party led by death squad commander Roberto D'Aubuisson that had connections to Contra funding and narcotics trafficking.
ARENA (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista) was the ultraright Salvadoran political party led by death squad commander Roberto D'Aubuisson that had connections to Contra funding and narcotics trafficking. Records seized from D'Aubuisson revealed financial contributions to Nicaraguan Contra operatives.1
Connections to the Contra War
D'Aubuisson, a Salvadoran army major and ARENA party leader, ran death squads during the civil war in El Salvador. Records seized from his offices revealed that he had made two "contributions to Nicaraguans," totaling $120,000, three days after the assassination of Archbishop Romero. Written underneath these amounts was the name and telephone number of Ricardo Lau, connecting ARENA to the founding of the FDN Contra army. The overlap between ARENA's death squad activities, the Salvadoran military, and the Contra war illustrated the interconnected nature of right-wing violence and U.S.-backed covert operations in Central America.2
Sources
Local network
ARENA's direct connections. Click any node to navigate, drag to pan, scroll (or pinch) to zoom. + 2‑hop expands the neighborhood one level further.